Middle Ages Flashcards
How many Physicians were there in the 1300s?
Fewer than 100 physicians in England
What were the Ideas about Illness at the end of the Middle Ages?
Nothing had changed
Many believe that illness were sent by God
Doctors said that many illnesses had natural causes
They followed Hippocrates theory that illness was caused when the body’s humours were out of balance
Describe the Healers at the End of the Middle Ages
Little had changed from the 1200s
Mothers and family members treated most illnesses.’women with skills and experience were often called to help e.g childbirth
Priests said prayers to help the sick and protect from illnesses
Surgeons e.g Army surgeons, trained by observing others and improved their skills through practice
Physicians trained at Universities by reading the books by Hippocrates, Galen and some Arab medical writers.
Why was the Government a problem in the Middle Ages?
They were illiterate so had no interest in education
Kings spent their money on wards, not on sewers and baths
Describe how the “ War “ factor hindered medicine in the Middle Ages
Made travel dangerous so doctors travelled much less to gained experience
Invading tribes destroyed or neglected public healthy systems
Invasions and wards destroyed libraries and books in monasteries
Why was the collapse of the Roman Empire bad for Public Health?
Without the Roman Army there were no engineers with the technological knowledge to keep public baths, swedes and aqueducts working effectively
Who was St Apollonia?
Was the Patron saint of toothache because all her teeth had been knocked out when she was murdered because of her religion.
How did Christianity help medicine after the Roman Empire collapsed?
Preserved a great deal of knowledge handed down from the agree,s and aromas
Monks in monasteries copied out the Bible, histories and other ancient books, including books by Galen and other Medical writers from Greece and Rome.
Describe how Christianity hindered medical progress in the Middle Ages?
Christian church controlled the Universities where physicians were trained and the Church believed that ancient writings should not be questioned
If people started questioning Galen, they might question the Bible
Church supported Galen because he said each body art had a purpose which fitted the belief that God created human beings
What were Arab hospitals famous for?
The care they gave patients
By 1100s every large town had a hospital
They provided medical care and prayers for the sick
What treatments took place in the hospitals in the Middle Ages?
Nuns fed the sick and gave them herbal remedies but prayer was the important treatment
At the end of the hall(or ward) was a a altars where priests said mass seven times each day. The patients joined in, hoping that prayer would help them recover
Describe how Islam helped Medicine in the Middle Ages.
Arab rulers believed it was important to develop education
Many Greek medical books were translated into Arabic by Islamic scholars.
They City of Baghdad was the main centre for collecting and translating medical texts
Without the pose translations the books by Galen and other could well have been lost admits European Wars
How were Galen books spread around Europe in the Middle Ages?
Islam translated from Arabic into Latin and were used in Europe so that European physicians learned more about the work of Galen and Arab doctors
Describe the Everyday Treatments by the end of the Middle Ages.
Treatments were very similar
Remedies made up from Herbs, minerals and animal parts
Prayers, charms and rhymes used
Bleeding, purging and other methods to restore the proper balance of the humours, following the methods of Galen
Rest, exercise, diet.
Describe what Surgery was like at the end of the Middle Ages
Surgeons improved their techniques and instruments a little through practice
Simple surgery on visible tumours and wounds
Splints for fractured bones
Trephining (cutting hole in skull)
Plants such as opium dulled pain but there was no effective anaesthetics
Surgeons used wine, vinegar or honey to clean wounds but could not prevent infections spreading or stop heavy bleeding.
Describe Public health at the end of the Middle Ages
The Roman public health systems disappeared so in towns. And wealthy homes, public health was worse
Town governments employed people and made laws to try to keep streets clean but often had little success.
Why was it difficult to improve Public Health in the Middle Ages
Were full of animals
Houses were packed together and there were few paved streets
Kings were not expected to improve hygiene or protect public health. Their job was to defend the country and keep law and order
Epidemic diseases could still not be stopped
Why were there many hospitals built in the Middle Ages and how many were there?
It was an Important part of the work of the Christian Church
By 1400 there were over 500 hospitals in England, although many had only 5 or 6 beds.
In the Middle Ages there were lots of new hospitals built but many were picky about who could get in. Why?
Hospitals were set up for a particular cause e.g for the poor and silly persons
Anyone who had an illness that was contagious I.e pass it on to someone else was not allowed in the hospital
Why was the Hopsital in Cairo, built in 1283 special?
Had specialist wards for mental and physical problems, a surgery,’pharmacy, library, lecture rooms for teaching and a Christian chapel as well as a mosque
What were the 3 main Ideas about the causes of Diseases in the Middle Ages
God or the Devil
The 4 humours
Common sense; bad air and dirt
What Desperate ideas were there about the causes of illness in the Middle Ages?
English monk blamed the our
Tragedies fashions that people had ben wearing in recent years
God was punishing children who did not respect or look after their parents
Minority groups were blamed e.g the Jews - said to have poisoned water supplies and in some places were burned
Describe the Idea that Bad Air and Dirt caused diseases.
Many people people did link the bad air to dirt and filth in the streets but could not explain exactly what the link was
Many people said that earthquakes had infected the air
Worms caused illness: discoveries found that many people suffered from worms In their stomachs and they would have seen this in their faces
What did Ibn Al-Nafis do?
Challenged Galens idea; investigated the anatomy of the heart
Said the channels don’t exist and that blood moves from the heart to the lungs and then back to the heart, thus circulating the body
This was true but was only discovered in 1600s in Europe
