Renaissance Flashcards
How was God seen as a continued cause of disease during the Renaissance period
Many people thought by touching the King they would be cured of scrofula because of the divine right
How was astrology seen as a continued cause of disease during the Renaissance period
There had been an unusual alignment between Saturn and Jupiter in October 1664. Worse, a comet had been spotted and this unlucky combination was blamed for the Great Plague
How were the four humours seen as a continued cause of disease during the Renaissance period
The general public still believed in Galen’s teachings and most physicians stuck to the old methods and recommended purging up to the 1700s
How was miasma a continued belief for the cause of disease in the Renaissance period
Still widely believed in as could be the product of rotten vegetables, decaying bodies or any swampy/dirty place. During Great Plague in 1665 barrels of tar were burnt in the street to protect from miasma
How was the belief of God causing disease changed in the Renaissance period
-Most people recognised God didn’t send disease
-However in time of epedemic people still turned to fasting in prayer and used as a last resort during the Great Plague
How was the belief of astrology causing disease changed in the Renaissance period
-Less popular from 1500
-During epidemics people still wore charms to ward off the disease
How was the belief of the 4 humours causing disease changed in the Renaissance period
-Some people beginning to challenge Galen’s teachings
How did King Charles II view the causes of disease
-He helped science by setting up the Royal Society
-However he believed his touch cured scrofula
(Example) What did King Charles II fall i’ll with
Unusual disturbances in his brain, followed by a loss of speech and convulsions
(Example) What did physicians give King Charles on day 1 of his illness (2nd Feb)
-Opened his right arm and drew out 16 ounces of blood
-Eight more ounces and administered an emetic to free his stomach of impurities
-To accelerate purgatives he was given an enema
-Finally blistering agents applied on his head after his hair had been shaven
(Example) What did physicians give King Charles on day 2 of his illness (3rd Feb)
-Took the Sacred Tincture every six hours
-Considered it necessary to open both jugular veins and draw 10 ounces of blood
(Example) What did physicians give King Charles on day 3 of his illness (4th Feb)
-Mild laxative
-When condition became more serious the physicians considered it advisable to administer spirit of human skull - 40 drops
(Example) What did physicians give King Charles on day 4 of his illness (5th Feb)
-Prescribed Peruvian bark after they notified the illness becoming worse
(Example) What did physicians give King Charles on day 5 of his illness (6th Feb)
-Peruvian Bark 1.5 drachms
-Rhine wine 3 ounces
-At 8pm ordered to take 20 drops of Spirit of Sal Ammoniac and every other hour Bezoar stone
Why did the Church lose power and why did it allow new medical ideas to develop
-Protestant church challenged teachings of the Catholics. Religion was still important but the church no longer had as much control over medical teaching.
-This meant new ideas could be explored and more questions could be attempted to be answered using scientific method inspired by the Greeks love of enquiry
-For example Copernicus proved that the Earth revolves around the sun (not the sun circling the earth)
Why did humanism lead to more medical ideas being developed
It characterised a love of learning and a belief that humans could make up their own minds when discovering the truth about the world around them
How did the printing press lead to medical process
-More information could be created and spread by scientists to all over Europe
-For example Vesalius’ book The Fabric of the Human Body 1543
-Meant the church was no longer able to prevent ideas they disapproved of being spread (e.g. Galen could be criticised)
Background to printing press
-More people could read and write in the Renaissance period
-In 1440 Johannesburg Gutenberg created the worlds first printing press.
-By 1500 there were hundreds of printing presses in Europe, so text could be spread quicker as no longer had to be copied by hand
How did the royal society lead to medical progress (Renaissance)
-Encouraged argument over new theories and ideas so ancient beliefs could be overruled
-Proper scientists could publish ideas and they had proper equipment to experiment properly
Royal society background
-Formed as scientists wanted to talk about discoveries
-Founded in 1660
-In 1662 received royal charter from Charles II giving the society credibility
Treatments that are similar based on 4 humours (Renaissance)
-Physicians still believed became ill when the humours were out of balance so blood letting and purging were still used to balance the humours
Treatments that are different based on 4 humours (Renaissance)
None
Treatments that are similar herbal remedies (Renaissance)
-Still many used and passed down through generations of mothers and daughters
Treatments that are different herbal remedies (Renaissance)
-New plants discovered in the New World
-such as Quinine which came from cinchona bark used to successfully treat malaria
-Sydenham popularised it’s use
-Printing press meant they could be spread to more people
Treatments that are similar based on miasma (Renaissance)
-Still believed in this theory so used treatments like sweet smelling herbs and tied to keep houses clean
Treatments that are different based on miasma (Renaissance)
-Smoking tobacco from America was believed to prevent illness from bad air
Treatments that are similar based on superstition and God (Renaissance)
-Still believed the King could cure scrofula
-Continued to pray and use cures based on magic
Treatments that are different based on superstition and God (Renaissance)
-Not as popular as they were in the Middle Ages
Preventions that are different based on superstition(Renaissance)
People started to believe other things could help avoid disease
-Avoiding rich and fatty foods
-Condition at birth was also important (being born small or weak may be used to explain death from an illness in adulthood)
Preventions that are different based on cleanliness (Renaissance)
-Bathing become less fashionable since the arrival of Syphilis
-Instead they change clothes more regularly
-Henry VIII closed bathhouses after syphilis spread quickly among people who used them
-Linen used to keep people clean
Background of preventions based on Regimen sanitatis (Renaissance)
-Loose set of instructions provided by physicians to help a patient maintain good health
-First appeared in work of Hippocrates
-E.g. take moderate exercise
Preventions that are different based on regimen sanitatis(Renaissance)
-People began to think disease was related to more factors (for example the weather)
-People started to change their surroundings
-Thermometers used to measure weather conditions to see if there was a link between weather and outbreaks of disease
Prevention that are different based on miasma (Renaissance)
-More steps taken to remove miasma from the air (removing sewage and picking up up rubbish from the streets)
-Homeowners were fined for not cleaning streets outside their house
-Removing sewage and picking up rubbish from streets was a punishment given to minor criminals
How were physicians similar in the Renaissance period
-Still learnt about medicine from the books of Galen and other ancient writers
-Still used animals to dissect and learn about the body
How were physicians differences in the Renaissance period
-Towards the end of this period the training of doctors began to change.
-For example doctors had more chance to dissect bodies and learn for themselves and new equipment developed like microscopes and thermometers, which still needed lots of improvement
How were apothecaries similar in the Renaissance period
-They still provided cheap and familiar remedies, which were preferred by most people.
-Thomas Hobbes was a philosophical who he said would rather have the advice or take medicine from an experienced old women
How were apothecaries different in the Renaissance period
They weren’t
How were women similar in the Renaissance period (medicine)
-Still playing a major part in everyday medicine.
-A persons wife or mother was usually the first to care for them
How were women different in the Renaissance period (medicine)
-Wealthy women had a larger role in taking care of local families
-For example Lady Grace Mildmay who grew up reading medical books such as William Turner’s ‘A New Herbal’, then she kept records of her patients and treatments she used
What did Vesalius believe
-Surgery would only be successful if doctors had a proper understanding of anatomy
-It was vital to ask questions and challenge traditional ideas
How was Vesalius closely able to study human anatomy
-By able to perform dissections on criminals
What did Vesalius do with his findings
-In 1543 published ‘On the Fabric of the Human Body’ containing the first illustration describing human anatomy
-Used diagrams to illustrates his work
How did Renaissance artists help share Vesalius’ work
-Wanted to paint the human body more accurately
-Illustrations of dissections showed different parts of the body letting more accurate information be spread
How did Vesalius prove Galen wrong (3 things) and how many mistakes did he find
-300 mistakes
1. The human jaw is made from 1 bone unlike Galen saying 2
2. The breastbone has 3 parts instead of the 7 Galen suggested
3. Men did not have one fewer pair of ribs like Galen said
How did Vesalius improve knowledge in the Renaissance period
-His findings encouraged others to question Galen and base their work on dissection and physicians realised there was more to discover about the body
-Dissection was used more in medical training, the first dissection by an anatomist in Cambridge was carried out in 1565
How did Vesalius improve the training of physicians in the Renaissance period
-The Fabric of the Human body was used to train doctors in England
-Physicians gained more detailed and accurate knowledge of anatomy
-His book was being used in Cambridge by 1560
-Anaomy became a central part in the study of medicine and physicians carried out dissections
How was Vesalius’ progress limited in the Renaissance period
-He didn’t have an immediate affect on diagnosis and treatment of disease
-Didn’t discover any new way to treat disease
-Traditional physicists were angry that he had criticised Galen and the differences he found were because the human body had changed since Galen’s time
-People were slow to accept his
How did the dissolution of the monasteries affect hospital care
Made them less available as most were connected to the church so they couldn’t stay open
After the dissolution of monasteries how did St Bartholomew’s stay open
The city council and chairs helped keep it open
Describe St Bartholomew’s hospital in the 1660s
-It had 12 wards and up to 300 patients
-Looked after by 3 physicians, 3 surgeons, 15 nursing sisters and a larger number of nursing helper
-Nursing sisters treated patients with herbal remedies whereas the helpers did the heavy manual work like washing, cleaning and preparing food
-One of the hospitals beginning to take in the sick and treating illness
How were hospitals similar medieval and Renaissance period?
They provided food, warmth and prayer for the poor
Didn’t let people with infectious and incurable diseases in
What was the main change in hospital care between renaissance and medieval
In Renaissance period hospitals appeared for specific illness and they were known as pest houses, plague houses or pox houses which provided a needed service
Who was William Harvey
Lecturer at the Royal college of physician
By 1618 he was one of James I royal physicians
What did Harvey teach his students
It was important to observe the body and believe what they saw
What was previously believed about blood that came from Galen
-New blood was constantly manufactured in the liver to replace blood burned up on the body
-The veins carried air and blood around the body
-Blood passed from one side of the heart to the other through invisible holes in the septum
What was Harvey’s book called and what did it prove
-“An anatomical account of the motion of the heart and blood”
-Which proved the heart acts as a pump, pumping blood around the body
How did Harvey make his discoveries
-Dissecting cold blooded animals to see the movement of each muscle in the heart
-Dissecting human bodies
-Proving the body has a one way system
-Proving veins carry blood, not blood and air like Galen said
If Galen was correct how much blood would the liver have to produce each day for a person to survive
1800 litres
Who Vesalius or Harvey
Vesalius
How did the decline of the Church allow Harvey to make his discoveries
He was able to be critical of Galen’s trachings
What did Harvey’s tutor at Padua prove and how did it help him
-Proved there are valves in the veins
-Used work of earlier doctors to build up his theory
How did Harvey not being satisfied with Galen’s ideas being correct help him make his discoveries
-He tested Galen’s ideas through his experiments
-He said ‘I prefer to learn and teach anatomy not from books but from dissections’
How did Vesalius and other key individuals make it easier for Harvey to make his discovery
As they had already proved part of Galen’s work wrong it made it easier for other scientists and physicians to do the same
How did Harvey’s credibility help his discoveries
As he was employed by Charles I he had credibility so more people heard about his theory
How did mechanical water pumps help Harvey’s discovery
Mechanical water pumps in London may have given Harvey the idea that the heart pumps blood and he went on to use the modern scientific methods, reading about other scientists work, carrying out experiments and carefully observing the results.
How did humanists help Harvey’s discovery
More interest in solving some of the puzzles of the human body and people began to search for rational explanations for things.
How did Harvey’s discovery have a significant impact on surgery
-Many aspects of medicine depend on understanding the blood system. Surgery, for example, could not develop until after Harvey’s discovery.
How did Harvey’s discovery have a significant impact on anatomical knowledge
-Harvey’s ideas changed how people understood anatomy
-his discoveries gave doctors a new map showing how the body worked
How did Harvey’s discovery have a significant impact on future investigations
Harvey’s discoveries laid the groundwork for future investigation of the blood and physiology
How did Harvey’s discovery have a significant impact on encouraging enquiries
He provided more evidence for the importance of dissection and experiments
How did Harvey’s discovery have a limited impact as it was not useful till 1901
-There was still much more to discover about the blood and transfusions couldn’t happen until doctors discovered blood groups in 1901
How did Harvey’s discovery have a limited impact because of people being reluctant to believe him
Harvey’s discovery did not make anyone better and Harvey said that fewer patients came to see him because they thought his ideas were mad
How did Harvey’s discovery have a limited impact due to four humours continued
Harvery’s discovery did not lead to any new treatments. Bloodletting continued to be performed, even though Harvey had shown the reasoning behind it to be wrong
How did Harvey’s discovery have a limited impact due slow acceptance
-Harvey’s discovery was only gradually accepted. Some ignored his theory others said he was wrong from contradicting Galen.
-It was 50 years before his ideas were taught at the University of Paris, rather than Galen’s
How did Harvey’s discovery have a limited impact due to limited knowledge
He could not explain everything about how blood circulated and did not know how blood moves from the arteries to the veins
Outline the methods of prevention of the Great plague based on the belief God sent it
-Praying
-Fasting
-Wearing
-People publicly confessing their sins
-Begging God to be merciful
Outline the methods of prevention of the Great plague based on the belief miasma caused it
-Bunches of strong smelling herbs were hung in doorways and windows to stop bad air
-People held bundles of herbs under their noses
-The wealthy carried a pomander
-People drank plague water (Herbs mixed with wine)
-Many people chewed tobacco
Outline the methods of prevention of the Great plague based on quarantining victims
-Public meetings, fairs and large funerals were banned
-Theatres closed
-Anyone who had it was quarantined and them and their family were shut up in the homes and door was marked with a red cross
-40,000 dogs and 200,000 cats were slaughtered as it was belonged they spread the plagues
Why don’t we know a lot about treatments for the great plague
People were shut up with family members in quarantine so there aren’t many records of method attempted to keep people alive, also the cause wasn’t understood
give some Examples of treatments used during the Great Plague
-Person wrapped in thick woollen clothes and laid by a fire to sweat the disease out
-They would strap a live chicken to a bubo as people believed the plague could be transferred to it
-Prayer and lucky charms (e.g. abracadabra charm)
