Medieval Medicine Flashcards
Key person:Hippocrates
Ancient Greek.
Created Hippocratic oath
“Father of medicine”
Created theory of four humours
What were the four humours
Black bile, yellow bile, phlegm, blood
Key person:Galen
Ancient Roman.
Influenced by hippocrates
Wrote about anatomy and dissected animals
Developed theory of opposites
Galen
Influenced by hippocrates
Wrote about anatomy and dissected animals
Developed theory of opposites
Elemental qualities
Yellow bile-fire
Black bile-earth
Phlegm-water
Blood-air
Causes:miasma
Foul smelling air that caused disease
Causes:Astrological
Stars and planets alignment could predict future
Causes:jews/antisemitism
Used as scapegoat
“Infect christians”
Causes:humours
All disease caused by humoral imbalance
Treatment:praying
Repent for sins because they thought god was angry with them
Treatment:astrology
Use star charts and signs to diagnose and locate illnesses
Treatment:humoral
Purging and poisons to make you bleed and throw up to restore balance
Treatment:physicians
Expensive, went to university, refer to another doctor, look at samples, 7-10 year course, consulted star charts
Treatment:barber surgeons
Cheap, learn from each other, basic treatment teeth pulling etc, displayed bowl of blood in window,
Treatment:apothecaries
Prescribed poison, herbal remedies, not as skilled as physicians, cheap alternative
Treatment:hospitals
1500-1100 hospitals
Run by monks and nuns
Very clean and sterile
Patients shared beds
Prayed a lot
Treatment:home
Duty of women-accused of witchcraft
Nourishing food and herbal remedies
They didn’t trust doctors
Case study:black death
1348-came to Weymouth on boat from France
Started in Asia
Carried by fleas
Case study:1348 plague treatments
Bleeding purging-4 humours
Confess and pray
Strong smells-miasma
Burst buboes
Case study:1348 plague causes
Miasma-thought it came from earthquake or volcanos
Jews
1345:position of mars, Jupiter, Saturn predicted event
Punishment from god
Case study:symptoms
Day 1:buboes formed size off eggs
Day 2:vomit fever
Day 3:dark blotches on skin
Day 4:spasms and pain
Day 5:buboes burst sometimes survived or dead by day 7
Case study: prevention
Pray and make offerings-thought it was a punishment
Move away from areas
Quarantine
Do positive things
Carry pomanders
