Medieval Medicine and Medical Progress

Question 1

What medical theory did Hippocrates develop?

Answer 1

The Theory of the Four Humours

Question 2

Name each of the four humours

Answer 2

Black bile, Yellow bile, Blood and Phlegm

Question 3

Which medical theory did Galen develop?

Answer 3

The Theory of Opposites

Question 4

What was the theory of opposites?

Answer 4

The idea that illness could be cured by balancing the 4 humours

Question 5

Which scientific method did Hippocrates encourage doctors to do?

Answer 5

Clinical Observation

Question 6

What was the problem with the training of doctors?

Answer 6

They mainly learned from reading books and attending lectures rather than direct experience

Question 7

Where was medical knowledge mostly taken from?

Answer 7

Ancient Greek and Roman ideas

Question 8

Name 4 Places one could go to get cured other than a doctor

Answer 8

Local wise person, Barber-surgeon, Local monastery, Apothecary

Question 9

What kind of care did monasteries mainly provide?

Answer 9

Palliative care

Question 10

Why were they a good place to go to be cared for?

Answer 10

Well-financed so there was fresh water, toilets, and clean conditions

Question 11

What was the purpose of a barber-surgeon?

Answer 11

To perform small surgical procedures like bloodletting and extracting teeth, and to cut hair

Question 12

Name 3 ways Christianity helped medieval medicine

Answer 12

Monks preserved, translated and studied Ancient Roman and Greek knowledge, It controlled the training of doctors in universities, Provided free care to the unwell

Question 13

What was the prevailing belief on illness?

Answer 13

That it was a punishment or test from God

Question 14

What did the Church recommend as treatment?

Answer 14

Prayer, Donation to the Church, Pilgrimage to shrines

Question 15

Name 3 ways Christianity hindered medicine

Answer 15

Approved of Galen making it difficult to criticise his incorrect ideas, Disapproved of human dissections making it hard to learn about anatomy, Discouraged doctors from exploring new ideas

Question 16

Name 2 Specialist Hospitals set up

Answer 16

Lazar Houses outside of towns for people with leprosy, Bedlam in London to cure the mentally ill

Question 17

When was Bedlam founded?

Answer 17

1330, opened in 1337

Question 18

How many people could St Leonard’s Hospital in York care for?

Answer 18

200 People

Question 19

Which two sources of finance were hospitals made from?

Answer 19

The Church, Wealthy patrons

Question 20

How did Caliph Harun al-Rashid support the development of medicine in 805AD?

Answer 20

Opened up a large new hospital in Baghdad with a medical school and library

Question 21

Name 2 Other Ways Caliph al-Rashid encouraged medical development

Answer 21

Encouraged Greek medical books to be translated into Arabic, Built up a very large library

Question 22

Why were Muslims supportive of medical learning?

Answer 22

The Quran supported medical learning, as Prophet Muhammad stated that for every disease God had given a cure

Question 23

What was the name of Islamic doctor Al-Razi’s most popular books?

Answer 23

Doubts About Galen

Question 24

Which two scientific discoveries did Avicenna make?

Answer 24

Discovered new causes of pain, Improved Galen’s theory of how the pulse works

Question 25

When was Avicenna's book the Canon of Medicine written?

Answer 25

1025

Question 26

Why was Islamic Learning not as helpful as possible?

Answer 26

Not all ideas about medicine made it across to Western Europe

Question 27

Which important discovery did Ibn Al-Nafis make?

Answer 27

First to discover how blood circulated around the body via the lungs, challenging Galen's idea that blood passed straight from the right hand to left hand side of the heart

Question 28

Why was Galen's mistake on circulation accepted until the 1600s?

Answer 28

Al-Nafis books were not read in Western Europe

Question 29

Which key belief did Hugh and Theodoric of Lucca challenge?

Answer 29

Pus was needed for a wound to heal

Question 30

What other material did Hugh of Lucca use as an antiseptic instead?

Answer 30

Wine

Question 31

Who wrote Great Surgery in 1363, challenging Hugh of Lucca's ideas?

Answer 31

Guy de Chauliac, French surgeon

Question 32

In what year was Practica written?

Answer 32

1376

Question 33

Which injury did John on Arderne develop a safer treatment for?

Answer 33

Anal abscesses, swelling common amongst knights that spent a lot of time on horseback

Question 34

Which book did Al-Zahrawi write in 1000CE?

Answer 34

Al Tasrif, an encyclopaedia of medical practices

Question 35

Which treatment was made popular by Al-Zahrawi?

Answer 35

Cauterisation

Question 36

Name 2 Other Things Al-Zahrawi achieved?

Answer 36

Invented 26 new surgical instruments, Pioneered use of ligatures to tie off blood vessels

Question 37

What were the 3 main dangers of Medieval Surgery?

Answer 37

Blood loss, shock and infection

Question 38

Define Trepanning

Answer 38

Drilling a hole in a person's skull to allow "demons" to escape

Question 39

Which natural anaesthetics were used?

Answer 39

Mandrake root, Hemlock and Opium

Question 40

Define Amputation

Answer 40

Cutting off a dangerous or damaged part of the body

Question 41

Define Cauterisation

Answer 41

To burn a wound in order to prevent it from bleeding, usually by pressing a hot iron onto the wound

Question 42

Define Bloodletting

Answer 42

Making a small cut on the inside of the arm to restore the 4 humours by letting blood out

Question 43

In what year did the Black Death reach England?

Answer 43

1348

Question 44

What number and percentage of the British population did the Black Death kill off?

Answer 44

1.5 million, 30-45%

Question 45

Which two diseases was the Black Death a combination of?

Answer 45

Bubonic Plague and Pneumonic Plague

Question 46

Name 3 Things scientists said the Black Death was caused by?

Answer 46

God, Astrology, Miasma

Question 47

What was the Black Death actually caused by?

Answer 47

Fleas carrying dangerous bacteria from rats biting humans and infecting them

Question 48

Name 4 Reasons the Black Death spread quickly

Answer 48

Overcrowding, Pneumonic form spread easily through air, Bodies disposed of badly, Filth and waste littered streets

Question 49

Which devices were used to ward off bad smells?

Answer 49

Pomanders

Question 50

How did Venice introduce quarantines?

Answer 50

Ships had to wait for 40 days before people were allowed to come ashore

Question 51

Define Flagellation

Answer 51

Flogging or beating in order to ask God for mercy and forgiveness

Question 52

Were any cures successful?

Answer 52

No

Question 53

How was water kept clean in monasteries?

Answer 53

Elaborate system of pipes delivered water to the lavatorium, as filtering systems removed impurities by allowing dirt to settle out of the water

Question 54

Name 3 Reasons monasteries had good health conditions

Answer 54

Good sanitation facilities due to wealth, Isolated from epidemics, Cleanliness considered as a good sign of piety

Question 55

Name 2 Ways monks stayed healthy

Answer 55

Access to medical books allowed them to know about sanitation and clean water, Lived simple lives with a balanced diet

Question 56

Who were gong farmers and what were their roles?

Answer 56

Gong farmers were workers tasked with emptying cesspits who were meant to take waste out of city walls but sometimes dumped it in a nearby river

Question 57

Name 2 unhygienic waste products from businesses

Answer 57

Blood and guts from butchers, Deadly chemicals from leather tanners

Question 58

Which law did Glamorgan County Council pass in 1330?

Answer 58

Stopped butchers throwing animal remains into the street

Question 59

When did the London council introduce a fee for dumping waste into the Walbrook stream?

Answer 59

1374

Question 60

Which important law on waste did Parliament pass in 1388?

Answer 60

People who threw dung and entrails into rivers and ponds would be fined 20£