Middle ages: hospitals, surgery, public health Flashcards
How important was care in the home in the Middle Ages?
The majority of people were treated at home because it was expensive elsewhere, and physicians and surgeons were distrusted.
Women cared for the sick and grew plants known for their healing properties. They may also have performed minor surgeries.
By 1500, how many hospitals were there?
1,100.
By __, there were 1,100 hospitals.
1500.
What percentage of Medieval hospitals were run by the Church?
~30%
What were Medieval hospitals like?
They were places of rest more than treatment, many hospitals being based in monasteries.
Nuns and monks, and apothecaries w/ knowledge of Materia Medica, provided care. No surgeons present.
Rich diet of turbot and vegetables and clean environment (but shared beds).
What was the downside to Medieval hospitals?
The Church wanted hospitals to prove the healing power of prayer. Insane, terminally ill and pregnant people were often rejected.
Where were people with leprosy sent in Medieval times?
To leper houses.
What was the role of barber surgeons?
The Church limited education, so skilled surgeons were scarce.
Most surgeons were barber surgeons. They used the same tools for cutting hair as for surgery.
They would attempt tooth removal, enemas and phlebotomy.
When they tried more sophisticated surgeries, e.g. amputations, it mostly lead to death through blood loss or infection. Surgery was therefore largely ineffective and distrusted by the public.
In the Middle Ages, what was the government’s general position on public health?
It was unconcerned, leading to its attitude being referred to as “laissez-faire” (do nothing, leave to do). It also had little power compared to the Church. People took responsibility for themselves, e.g. building latrines by their windows to deposit excrement onto the street.
Why did the government start to improve public health?
Sewer systems were clogged and dysfunctional. Urban waters were polluted with sewage and were unsafe to drink from. This caused many people to become ill.
The growing unhappiness of the population threatened the government, so it had to begin making changes.
What actions did the government take to try to clean up towns - and when?
1347: littering fines.
1348: quarantine laws to stop people spreading the plague.
1348: authorities stopped cleaning streets because they believed that the miasma of rubbish, sewage and rotting bodies would drive off the Black Death.
Why were the public health measures taken by the government in the Middle Ages less effective than they could have been?
They were only taken once the problem (i.e. the Black Death) had arisen, and never as a preventative. This is indicative of its laissez-faire attitude.
