Renaissance (1500-1700) Flashcards
What was the approach for the four humours in the Renaissance?
The majority of people still believed in them but more educated society ceased to
What was still thought of as a common cause of disease in the Renaissance?
Miasma
What was Thomas Sydenham known as (nickname) ?
The English Hippocrates
What was Thomas Sydenham’s approach to medicine?
Sydenham advised for physicians to observe their patients’ symptoms and use remedies to deal with them. This differs from the approach to the four humours as the focus is on the nature/cause of the illness.
He wrote the medical textbook Observationes Medicae. This Theorised that illness was caused by external factors rather than the four humours
What was invented that spread the new ideas of the renaissance quickly?
Printing Press
What was the royal society set up for?
The Royal Society was an organisation set up in london in 1660, to allow the discussion and development of science, including medicine
What happened to the Church’s control over medicine during the Renaissance?
It declined
What CHANGES were there to the approach to the CAUSES of disease from the medieval period to the renaissance?
Physicians now knew that the four humours did not exist, Alchemy (an early form of chemistry) in 1500s allowed physicians to study the causes of disease scientifically, by 1863 more powerful microscopes had been developed, and also Thomas Sydenham’s Work.
What CONTINUITIES were there to the approach to the CAUSES of disease from the medieval period to the renaissance?
Belief in the four humours by uneducated people, there was still a widespread of belief in miasma, although astrology slightly less popular in 1500, in times of epidemic (widespread disease) people still looked to the stars and wore charms to ward off the disease.
What were the CHANGES to TREATMENT during the renaissance?
TRANSFERENCE - This was the idea that a disease could be transferred to something else. e.g a fever could be transferred to a sheep by sleeping next to it.
Remedies experienced some changes. for example they had to match to colour of the disease. e.g smallpox, which creates a red rash, would be treated by red wine. New remedies from the new world arrived. for example, sarsaparilla (refreshing drink) was used to treat smallpox. Pharmacopoeia Londinensis in 1618. this was a list of salts and metals used to cure disease.
What were the CONTINUITIES to TREATMENT during the renaissance?
Four Humours - treatment to balance the humours like bleeding and purging were still common. herbal remedies continued to be popular.
What were the CHANGES to PREVENTION during the renaissance?
Cleanliness was still important, but bathing became a lot less common due to dear of syphilis. People kept clean by changing their clothes more often. People began to believe disease was caused by the weather. Therefore removing one-self from certain areas at times of the year became common. More attempts were now taken to avoid miasma. for example people would remove sewage and clear rubbish from the street
What were the CONTINUITIES to TREATMENT during the renaissance?
People continued to practise regimen sanitatis. This was the set of rules that advised people’s hygiene and diet. Miasma (bad smells) was still believed to be a cause of disease. Therefore removing one-self from the miasma was still important.
Outline Medical Training in the Renaissance? (LEARN ALL)
Apothecaries and barber surgeons continued to be an important part of renaissance medicine. However, they became better organised and received better training. Guild systems were created. These were schools where trainees would train as a journeyman for several years before they could become a master surgeon or an apothecary. Physicians continued to be trained at universities and training was mainly from reading material rather than practical learning. However, dissection, which was previously banned by the church, became more common (Vesalius)
What was the approach to dissection during Renaissance? (e.g was it accepted?)
Dissection became more acceptable due to the decline of the church.
What did Andreas Vesalius Discover?
300 mistakes in Galen’s work, in his book ‘On the Fabric of the Human Body’. He discovered that the human lower jaw was made out of one bone rather than 2. The main vein led to the heart not the liver. Men did not have a fewer number is ribs than women.
What impact did Andreas Vesalius have on other individuals?
What He was a trail blazer. After he died, Hieronymus Fabricius discovered valves in humans veins. Fabricius shared this with his students at Padua – one of whom was William Harvey , who went on to discover the circulation of the blood.
What happened to hospitals during the renaissance (1500s) ?
They declined due to Henry VIII dissolving monastries
What were Pest houses?
These were places where people where people who had the plague or smallpox were sent
Despite hospitals, where did most of the medical care take place in the Renaissance?
At home, where women in the community made remedies to treat and care for the sick
What was the role of women in the renaissance?
They would act primarily as the point of medical care
What did William Harvey discover?
That the blood circulated around the body rather than being absorbed by the body in the muscles. He also realised that the heart acted as a pump around the body.
What helped William Harvey make his discoveries?
Individuals such as Vesalius, attitudes in society being more open to studying the anatomy of the human body and inventions such as the water pump which allowed Harvey to realise the heart was also pump.
When was the plague of London?
1665
How many people were killed? (in the plague of London)
100,000
What animals were killed to stop the disease (plague of London) spreading?
Cats and Dogs
What did people still believe was the primary cause of the plague of London?
Miasma
Did this specific view of the cause (miasma) increase or decrease from the 14th century Black Death, to the plague?
The View of Miasma Causing the plague increased
How did Astrology impact people’s view of the cause of Plague of London?
There was an unusual alignment of Jupiter and Saturn
Did people still believe God contributed to the Plague of London?
Yes, but not to the same extent as the black death. e.g no flagellants (people whipping themselves)
