Renaissance developments (e.g., Vesalius, Harvey, Pare) (medicine through time) Flashcards
What was the impact of the Renaissance on medicine?
• Focus on scientific observation rather than religious explanations.
• More use of dissections to understand human anatomy.
• Printing press helped spread new medical ideas.
• Key individuals: Andreas Vesalius, Ambroise Paré, William Harvey.
What was Vesalius’ major contribution to medicine?
• Published De humani corporis fabrica (1543), a groundbreaking anatomy book.
• Disproved Galen’s mistakes, such as the human jaw having one bone, not two.
• Encouraged doctors to perform dissections rather than rely on old texts.
How did Vesalius’ work change medicine?
• Provided accurate anatomical drawings based on real dissections.
• Proved that Galen was wrong in many areas, leading to new research.
• Inspired other medical scientists like Harvey to investigate the body further.
What were Paré’s key contributions to surgery?
• Developed an ointment of egg yolk, oil of roses, and turpentine instead of cauterization to treat wounds.
• Introduced ligatures (silk threads) to tie blood vessels instead of using hot irons to stop bleeding.
• Designed prosthetic limbs and improved surgical tools.
How did Paré improve surgery?
• Made surgery less painful and more effective.
• Reduced infections by stopping the use of boiling oil and cauterization.
• His ligature method was safer but increased the risk of infection, as germs were not yet understood.
What was Harvey’s discovery about blood circulation?
• Proved that the heart pumps blood around the body in a circulatory system.
• Showed that blood moves in one direction, disproving Galen’s idea that it was constantly made and burned up.
• Used experiments on animals and humans to demonstrate how veins and arteries work.
How did Harvey’s discoveries change medicine?
• Laid the foundation for modern cardiology and physiology.
• Proved that medicine should be based on experiments and observations.
• His work was not immediately useful for treatments but influenced future research.
