Medieval Surgery Flashcards
How did surgeons learn?
Watching and copying other surgeons or on the battlefield
What were the 3 main problems with medieval surgery?
Pain, infection, blood loss
Why was surgery painful?
No chemical anaesthetics existed and only natural anaesthetics existed to numb pain
3 examples of natural anaesthetics
Hemlock, opium, mandrake root
Why were natural anaesthetics dangerous?
Doses weren’t understood so they could kill the patient
What did many doctors believe about pus?
It helped a patient recover
What was there no link between?
Dirt and disease
Was surgery a respected job in Europe?
No
Who was surgery mostly performed by?
Barber surgeons or military surgeons
When was bloodletting performed?
When the humours were unbalanced
Why was amputation dangerous?
High scale of blood loss
What was trepanning?
Drilling a hole into the skull to let a demon out
When was trepanning used?
If patients were acting abnormally- had a mental illness or epilepsy
Why were people treated with trepanning?
They thought they were possessed by evil spirits
What technique stopped blood flow and closer up amputated wounds?
Cauterisation
What tool was used to cauterise wounds?
Heated iron
Who read the books of surgical pioneers?
Religious men in Europe
Where did surgery make some progress?
Western Europe and the Islamic Empire
What was used to clean wounds due to the ideas of Islamic surgeons?
Vinegar, wine or honey
What was the most common cause of surgical death?
Infection
