Renaissance Medicine Flashcards
Why the Renaissance happened- The Reformation
The Reformation- In the 1530s, the Church split in two.
-The ‘new’ Protestant Church meant that people were now free to challenge the ideas that the ‘old’ Catholic Church had protected for so long.
-This severely weakened the Catholic Church’s power as it no longer had the same money, influence or respect it used to have.
Why the Renaissance happened- The Rise in Secular Education
Rise in secular education- During the Medieval period, education had been controlled by the Church.
-They chose which books were to be distributed and taught in Latin which made formal education expensive and exclusive.
-By the end of the Medieval period, more people began studying for themselves as books became more available and there was more access to university education.
-The Church began to lose its full control over education.
The Impact of The Printing Press During the Renaissance
-Invented by Johannes Gutenberg in 1440, it allowed for writings to be mass produced quickly and more cheaply than ever.
-It helped to spread the learning of the Renaissance to a wider audience and speed up communication between important thinkers.
-This meant that ideas could be shared, debated and changed faster.
Invention of the Microscope
-In 1683, a new microscope was invented which improved upon Robert Hooke’s.
-This showed images of tiny creatures called ‘animalcules’.
-However this was found close to the end of the 17th century so had little impact during the Renaissance period.
New ideas/ discoveries in the Renaissance.
-An Italian physician wrote ‘On Contagion’ in 1546. His theory was that disease was caused by bad seeds spread in the air.
-A physician called van Helmont helped to develop a better understanding of the digestive system. In turn, people gradually moved away from the idea disease was caused by a bad diet.
Changes in ideas about causes during the Renaissance period.
-As more people began challenging the Church, there was less trust in the ideas of Hippocrates and Galen.
-The Theory of the Four Humours could no longer be used to easily explain away certain diseases, such as epidemics of smallpox and syphilis.
-Supernatural ideas such as astrology were much less popular however during times of epidemics, they grew in popularity again.
-Physicians now understood that urine was not directly related to a person’s health.
The Rise in the Study of Anatomy
-Many scientists wanted to better understand the world around them.
-In turn, more observations of patients were being made and there was a better understanding of anatomy made through dissections.
-However, there was little point studying correct diagrams of the body as it was impossible to treat or diagnose internal problems on a living patient.
Continuity in ideas about causes during the Renaissance period.
-Still relied on remedies and cures from earlier times.
-A lack of quality medical instruments prevented a rapid change in people’s beliefs about causes of disease. Without proof, the new ideas were just theories. This also meant new ideas were not applied to practises.
-Miasma continued to be a very popular theory. Miasma could be a product of rotten vegetables, decaying bodies, excrement or any swampy, smelly, dirty places.
Why did The Theory of the Four Humours Continue to be Used During the Renaissance?
-Few physicians still believed The Theory of the Four Humours.
-However, it was easy to understand so the general population of Britain continued to use it.
-In turn, physicians still used the theory to diagnose illnesses and stay employed.
-Practices around balancing the humours such as phlebotomy and sweating also remained popular.
Ideas promoted by Thomas Sydenham.
-Promoted closely observing symptoms and treating the disease causing them.
-This was a change from the Medieval method of treating each of the symptoms separately and instead looked at them all as side effects of one cause.
-He theorised that diseases were like plants and animals, in that they could be organised into different groups.
-He encouraged his students to observe their patients, note down their symptoms and then look for remedies to tackle the disease.
-Built on the process from Hippocrates (observation, diagnosis, prognosis, treatment).
Ideas rejected by Thomas Sydenham.
-Sydenham refused to rely on studying medical books when diagnosing a patient’s illness.
-He argued that the nature of the patient had little to do with the disease.
He disagreed with The Theory of the Four Humours which taught that a patient’s disease was personal to them, meaning treatments varied from person to person.
Important written work from Thomas Sydenham.
-Wrote ‘Observations Medicae’ in 1676. This book contained Sydenham’s theories and descriptions about different diseases and epidemics and their symptoms.
-In it, he wrote that different diseases had different symptoms and belonged to different groups just like animals and plants.
-Once the right disease had been diagnosed, a physician could look for remedies to treat the diseases.
-Had theories about diseases and their symptoms being able to be grouped and categorised. Each patient should be diagnosed and then treated in the same way.
Important practical work from Thomas Sydenham.
-Identified that measles and scarlet fever were separate diseases.
-Identified new treatments for diseases such as Cinchona for Malaria which is still used today
-For smallpox, he prescribed airy rooms, light blankets and cold drinks instead of the popular ‘sweating’ method (make a patient sweat out the disease).
Thomas Sydenham’s impact on medicine.
-Important in the long term because he started the process of changing how other physicians understand and treat diseases.
-His work laid the foundation for a more scientific approach towards medicine.
Limitations to Thomas Sydenham’s work.
-He was not able to identify or see the different microorganisms that caused the diseases he studied.
-His theories were not popular during his lifetime- his colleagues at university rejected his work.
-He never taught medicine to other students.
How was Thomas Sydenham Influenced by the Church?
-He was a puritan so believed it was wrong to dissect humans to study anatomy.
-This meant the accuracy of his work couldn’t be verified.
-He didn’t completely reject Church teachings.
-He thought there were mysteries about the way the world works that God had not given us permission to know.
Ideas promoted by The Royal Society.
-Believed in the importance of sharing scientific ideas and theories so that everyone could build upon the work of others.
-Believed debate, discussion and argument were key to finding out the truth about scientific ideas and theories.
-Believed in making scientific learning open to more people by encouraging scientists to publish their work in English (not Latin).
-Also encouraged scientists to by keep their copies in their library where other scientists could study.
Ideas rejected by The Royal Society.
-They rejected the belief that ancient ideas should be respected and followed just because it was traditional to treat them that way.
-For something to be believed it had to be proved correct.
-They rejected the idea that the Church should be in charge of scientific knowledge.
-They rejected the idea that religious belief was the only way to understand the world- instead they believed humans could discover truth on their own.
Important work from The Royal Society.
-Translations of European scientist’s work was important because it meant that there would be no barriers to sharing knowledge and understanding.
-The more scientific knowledge shared, the quicker it could be proved or disproved and improved.
Philosophical Transactions
-The Royal Society had a scientific journal called ‘Philosophical Transactions’ which was first published in 1665.
-It was the world’s first scientific journal and there has been a regular publication ever since.
-It contained essays, letters and descriptions of experiments and observations from all over Europe and translates into English.
-This allowed scientists to share their work with a large community, and allowed others to study and build on their work.
The Royal Society’s impact on medicine.
-The Royal Society has had a great impact on generations of scientists and has promoted scientific experimentation and understanding for the last 350 years.
-The Society has had a large indirect effect on medical understanding, which has been used to improve the way doctors are trained and the way patients are treated.
-The ideas they promoted laid the foundations of the discoveries of the 18th and 19th centuries.
Limitations to The Royal Society’s work.
-The Society was only open to members, and only to those who could read and were able to access the scientific work that they collected and promoted.
-The Society didn’t have much contact with patients- so they weren’t able to use the ideas they discussed to directly improve the health of many people.
-The Society’s work was about all branches of science- not just focussed on medicine. Medicine was only one part of their interests.
