Medieval Medicine Flashcards
What led to the Dark Ages?
The collapse of the Roman Empire
What did the Roman Empire split into?
An Eastern Empire and a Western Empire
What year did the Roman Empire split?
AD395
Why did Rome withdraw Roman troops from provinces?
Italy was invaded by Goths
When did the Goths invade Italy?
AD410
When was the last Roman Emperor in the west deposed?
AD476
Who deposed the last Roman Emperor in the west?
A German chieftain
What was the effect of deposing the Roman Emperor?
There was a collapse of society, leading to a loss of technical skills and academic knowledge.
Who was Nestorius?
The Christian Patriarch of Jerusalem
Why was Nestorius banished?
For heresy
When was Nestorius banished?
AD431
Where did Nestorius go?
To Persia
What did Nestorius do in Persia?
He set up a centre of medical knowledge that translated the works of Galen into Arabic.
What happened to the knowledge of the Roman empire?
It was lost from the west, but preserved in the east.
What happened in England when the Roman Empire collapsed?
The partly Romanised, partly Christian Celts were overwhelmed by waves of pagan Saxons coming across the sea.
What was the Saxon view of illness?
It was a return to medical cures based on superstition and magic.
What did the Saxons think that the Roman ruins were?
The work of giants and other mythical beings.
What happened to the Roman public health systems?
They fell into disrepair.
Why were the Roman public health systems permitted to fall into disrepair?
The people of the Dark Ages did not understand the value of hygiene and clean water.
Why were cities and towns abandoned in favour of small farmsteads?
People needed to go back to the land to support themselves, there was no longer the demand for technical skills or teachers.
How did the Christian church return to England.
Celtic monks came from Ireland, St Augustine landed in Kent in AD567
How was the Roman version of Christianity made dominant in England?
The Synod of Whitby (AD663)
What was the implication of joining the Roman version of Christianity?
Some of the communication and unity with the rest of Europe was restored, there was again some communication with the parts of Europe that had been part of the Roman Empire.
How were the Greek medical texts preserved?
Many were preserved by the Islamic Empire.
What was the name given to people following the Arabic school of medicine?
Arabists.
What beliefs did the Arabists follow?
Aristotle’s four humours; Galen’s treatment by opposites; Hippocrates’ clinical observation.
Where was Byzantium?
In Turkey. Later renamed Constantinople, today Istanbul.
What was important in Byzantium?
There were medical texts there.
Who translated the texts of Byzantium into Arabic?
Hunain ibn Ishaq (Latin Johannitus)
When were the texts of Byzantium translated into Arabic?
The ninth century. That means the 800s - the first century went up to 100.
Who distinguished measles and smallpox as separate diseases?
al-Razi (Rhazes)
When were smallpox and measles recognised as separate diseases?
AD910
Who wrote the “Canon of Medicine”
Avicenna
What ideas were in the “Canon of medicine”
The ideas of Aristotle, Galen and Hippocrates
How did classical ideas on medicine get back into Western Europe?
Mainly via Avicenna’s book “Canon of Medicine”
When was Avicenna alive?
AD980-1037
When was the parasite that causes scabies identified?
12th century, by Avenzoar
Who worked out that blood went from one side of the heart to the other via the lungs, and that therefore Galen was wrong?
Ibn al-Nafis in the 13th century
When did Ibn al-Nafis’ work reach the west?
Not until the 20th century. (1900s)
What was the Islamic view on human dissection?
It was not allowed.
What progress was made in surgery in the Arab world?
Amputations, removal of bladder stones, dental surgery, all described in a book by Albucasis.
What other things were described in Albucasis book?
Methods for handling fractures, dislocations and sewing wounds.
How were doctors trained in the Islamic empire?
Medical schools
When do we know of exams for doctors in the Islamic empire?
From AD931 in Baghdad
What public health works were there in the cities of the Islamic empire?
Piped water, public baths, hospitals before AD1000
What was the attempt to turn base metals into gold?
Alchemy
What else were alchemists trying to do?
Find the elixir of eternal life.
Where does alchemy trace its roots back to?
The Egyptians