Renaissance 1500-1750AD Flashcards
Causes (4)
4 humours, Galen still followed
Anatomy knowledge improved via Vesalius
Blood circulation knowledge improved via Harvey
Experiments and investigations began to occur but significance not understood (eg Leeuwenhoek discovered germs under a microscope but fails to realise what they are)
Treatments (5)
Wise women (apothecaries) used as only the rich can afford doctors
Herbal remedies
Theory of opposites eg bleeding, purging
Prayer
Superstition eg touching of king’s evil (laying hands on the king will cure disease) 92000 people visited Charles II to cure their scrofula
Charles II case study (8)
Mild stroke Ammonia Caused blisters to occur on skin Pills given to drain away humours Scalp shaved 40 extracts of human scalp Purgative Sneezing powder
Public health (4)
No change from Middle Ages
Government had a Laissez Faire attitude and did not feel it was their duty to get involved with the public
Did not have the expertise to maintain aqueducts and sewers
Not practical sewers, waste travelled down to streams and rivers where it was consumed and used to wash clothes
Training of doctors (4)
Same as Middle Ages
More universities developed- Galen still promoted
Doctors only for the rich- had to visit their homes rather than visiting hospitals
Women banned from being doctors
Hospitals (5)
Monasteries lost control as Henry VIII closed them all down
More purpose built hospitals constructed
Hospitals funded by charity as the king was not interested
Slow to be built
Small
Other people who treated the sick (2)
Wise women (apothecaries) Quacks- selling remedies that were tricks and only benefitted the seller as the purpose was to make money
Changes in attitudes (5)
Science became more important than tradition or superstition (Royal Society of Science opened in 1660)
Religion began to lose its influence as Henry VIII converted England to Protestant meaning Catholic churches lost their power, meant dissections could be carried out
Development of new technology eg printing press by Gutenburg in 1454 and the microscope
Development in art meant more accurate and realistic dissections could be printed in books
Government stronger and more organised than Middle Ages
Causes of 1665 Plague (6)
Contagious Imbalance of 4 humours Astrology Spread by infection of breath, sweat or stench of sores from sick person Miasma Theory God's punishment
Treatments of 1665 Plague
Quarantine
Houses marked with a red cross, watchers appointed to ensure no one left the affected house
Bedding well aired with fire
Butchers would not touch the money, people would not touch the meat
Bodies covered in quicklime to make them decompose quicker
Bodies could only be buried at might and had to be buried 6ft under
Work of Vesalius
Studied Galen’s work, noticed errors eg jawbone was said to be made up of two bones but Vesalius found it only to be one
In 1543, Fabric of Human Body produced, due to printing press was studied by every medical student in Europe
Initially idea was rejected; how could Galen be incorrect?
Work showed that Galen could not be accepted without question
Work showed that if people wanted to find out about dissections, they had to do it themselves rather than relying on books
Work of Harvey
Galen stated that blood was made in the liver and was used up
Harvey showed that blood was pumped round the body from the heart, through the arteries and through veins until it reached the heart again
Dissections carried out on cold blooded animals, heart beat was slower, meaning muscle movement could be observed
Work had a limited impact as blood transfusions were performed but were unsuccessful as people did not know about blood groups
