Part 2: The Beginning of Change (1500-1750) Flashcards
How did Vesalius (1514-1564) improve understanding of human anatomy?
Limitations?
-Italian Professor of Surgery
-dissected humans (proved Galen wrong)
-worked with skilled artists so his work was accurately recorded and easy to learn from
-in 1543 he published ‘On the Fabric of the Human Body’ (emphasised importance of human dissection)
LIMITS:
-didn’t impact treatments
-doctors still didn’t know the cause of illness
-many criticised him for questioning Galen
How did Pare (1510-1590) use scientific method to improve surgery and treatments?
Limitations?
- French army surgeon (experimented on soldiers to find bette ways of preventing bleeding)
- he used his own mixture of egg yolk, turpentine and oil of roses to seal wounds instead of using hot oil
- used ligatures to tie wounds instead of cauterising
- designed false limbs for wounded soldiers
- published ‘Les Oeuvres’ in 1575
- The Queen’s own surgeon made Pare’s work very well known
LIMITS:
- only rich could afford to pay for medical treatment
- only trained doctors knew about his methods
- some doctors didn’t trust his new methods
How did Harvey (1578-1657) develop knowledge of medicine?
- doctor in England (was doctor of both James I and Charles I thus in a strong position to influence others)
- discovered and proved valves are in veins and the heart beats constantly pumping blood around the body
- challenged Galen’s belief that liver produced blood (challenged bloodletting)
- published ‘On the Motion of the Heart’ in 1628
LIMITS:
- his own patients refused to be treated by him after he published his book
- rejected by doctors who supported Galen and refused to accept the use of experiments in medicine
- capillaries were not visible without good microscope so many refused to believe
- not immediately useful (transfusions only able to happen after discovery go blood groups in 1901
What was the Reformation?
The challenging of the position of the Catholic Church which led to individuals to question more and not to merely accept Church teachings
How did treatments develop during the Renaissance?
- improved travel & communication
- more realistic art (medical illustrations)
- printing press created (spread ideas)
- microscope invented (see capillaries)
- new herbs and ideas introduced
How did medicine not progress?
- poorer people continued to buy treatments from quacks (had false treatments)
- wise women treated people (used herbal remedies & traditional treatment)
How many people died in the Great Plague of 1665 in London?
over 100,000
Which new treatments were used to combat the Great Plague?
- Plague doctors
- wore special clothing to prevent contamination but carried amulets in beak showing that people believed in supernatural causes
Which treatments of the Great Plague showed scientific understanding?
- watchmen prevented people from entering and leaving infected houses
- gathering of crowds was banned
- fires were lit to try & remove the poisons that were thought to be in the air
Did hospitals develop during this period?
- rich people funded hospitals through donations (Church’s role was reduced)
- medical schools were attached to hospitals
- fewer believed disease was punishment from God
- some pharmacies (Edinburgh) gave free medication to poor
HOWEVER:
- treatments were still based upon balancing the Four Humours
- nurses were untrained and unskilled
- provided care for vulnerable
What is the significance of John Hunter?
- trained many British surgeons (Edward Jenner & Vesalius)
- encouraged human dissection
- told surgeons to trust the body’s natural wound-healing process
- taught importance of observation and experiment
- he removed an aneurysm instead of amputation (successes were due number of dead bodies dissected)
- he acquired bodies from grave robbers
How did training and status of doctors & surgeons improve during this period?
- Royal College of Surgeons was established in 1800 (examined all surgeons practising within seven miles of London)
- In 1811 it was compulsory for all surgeons to attend a 1 year course in anatomy
- In 1813 surgeons had to work at least 1 year in a hospital to qualify
How was smallpox treated prior to Jenner’s vaccination?
- inoculation (giving a small dose of smallpox to make a person immune to the disease)
- large doses could develop full-blown smallpox
- poor people couldn’t afford his treatment
Explain the benefits with Jenner’s vaccine?
- Jenner injected James Phipps with pus from cowpox sores (gave him immunity against smallpox)
- far less dangerous than inoculation
- £10,000 grant from Parliament for Jenner to expand the number of vaccine clinics
- in 1853 vaccinations were compulsory
Why did vaccination face opposition?
- inoculation doctors opposed (threatened their business)
- people believed it was wrong to inject cowpox into humans
- some saw smallpox as punishment from God
- Anti-Compulsory Vaccination League (1866)
- Jenner couldn’t explain why vaccinations worked
