Pages 17-21 of Medicine A5 booklet (The impact of the Renaissance in Britain) Flashcards
What was the Renaissance?
It means rebirth and it began in Northern Europe in the mid 15th century. It was a time when old ideas were challenged, mostly challenging the Catholic church. It was the beginning of what became known as the Scientific Method.
Whose theories did people start to challenge?
Galen and other classical scholars.
What two inventions were there during this period?
The microscope and Caxton’s printing press in 1451 which spread ideas rapidly.
What were the biggest killer diseases?
Fever, consumption, teeth, gripping in the guts and convulsions.
Who was Vesalius? (Early Modern)
Professor of Surgery and Anatomy in Padua.
What did Vesalius challenge?
Galen’s work on human anatomy and developed far more accurate views of the inside of a human body by dissecting humans, rather than animals, and using scientific observation.
What did Vesalius research?
The best places for blood-letting.
Which book did Vesalius publish?
He published De Humani Corporis Fabrica which changed attitudes to medicine. It explained how different systems in the body worked, such as the skeleton, muscles, nerves and veins.
How did Vesalius’s ideas reach England?
Through new books and by English surgeons and physicians training in European medical schools. Barber surgeons in London used his ideas as a manual.
What opposition was there to Vesalius?
Some physicians in England were resistant to changes and many people couldn’t afford to be treated. The Catholic church still supported and encouraged the use of Galen’s work. Some people said that the differences in the anatomy to Galen’s ideas were because of that particular body.
Who was Ambrose Paré?
A French barber surgeon considered the father of modern surgery.
Where did Paré train?
At the famous Hotel du Dieu in Paris before becoming an army surgeon.
What did Paré run out of at the Siege of Milan in 1536?
He ran out of oil so couldn’t cauterise wounds. Instead he mixed egg yolk, turpentine and oil of roses to dress wounds. It was less painful and more successful.
What did Paré use to tie off wounds after amputations?
He used ligatures rather than cauterising which healed better.
What did Paré invent?
The “crow’s beak clamp” to stop bleeding of blood vessels.
What did Paré develop?
Artificial limbs.
Where did Paré write down his findings?
In his book Les Oeuvres, in 1575 and became famous. It was used by Barber surgeons in England and even by the Queen’s surgeon William Clowes.
What opposition was there to Paré?
Some physicians in England were resistant to changes and many people couldn’t afford to be treated. The Catholic church still supported and encouraged the use of Galen’s work.
What did artists like Da Vinci do?
Went to great lengths to study the human body so they could better represent it in their drawings and paintings. They began to study accurately drawn humans. Artists began to illustrate medical books which helped spread understanding.
When was the book on all of Galen’s findings published?
1525 in Greek and Latin.
Why was the medical world split in two?
The physicians who read books still believed in Galen’s ideas whilst the surgeons who explored the human body were learning by experiments and experience.
Where did William Harvey study medicine?
At the university of Padua in Italy.
When did Harvey return to England and who did he work for?
- He worked at St Bartholomew’s Hospital and was a physician to Kings James I and Charles I.
What was Harvey’s most famous book called?
On the motion of the heart which challenged the work of Galen and the ancients and challenged medicine forever.
What did Harvey discover?
He discovered that blood pumped around the body in a circular motion. His discovery was as a result of experimentation and observation on cold blooded amphibians whose slow blood flow allowed him to see the blood pumping.
What did Harvey prove?
He proved that it was impossible for the body to produce too much blood and that the heart worked as a pump and blood flowed in a one way system.
What opposition did Harvey face?
Supporters of Galen rejected the findings. They said as Harvey couldn’t see the capillaries they didn’t exist. It was 60 years later that capillaries were seen.
What did many people think about Harvey?
That he had “crack pot” ideas and he was a quack.
Why was Harvey’s discovery useful in the long term?
It was useful for understanding things like heart and kidney disease.
