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.
