Renaissance Medicine (1500-1700) Flashcards
Cause of disease (4)
An imbalance of humors
Miasma
Person to Person contact- Great plague
Thomas Sydenham believed that different diseases had different causes
Diagnosis of disease (2)
More direct examination and diagnosis of patient ( Thomas Sydenham)
Less use of urine/ astrology charts
Prevention (religious/superstitious methods) (2)
living a good christian life
prayer/go to church
Prevention (logical methods) (3)
Blood letting
More emphasis on removing miasma
Healthy living and keeping clean
What was the response to the Great Plague in terms of prevention?
Quarantine
Burying dead at night
Closing pubs/theatres
Treatments (religious/superstitious)
Prayer and fasting
Superstition- eg Magpie’s beak around neck to cure toothache
Treatment (logical methods)
Blood letting and purging
Traditional herbal remedies to re-balance humors
New herbal remedies from other countries eg. Peruvian tree
When did the dissolution of monasteries happen and what did it do?
1536- dramatically changed the availability of hospital care
What was Vesalius’ book called and when was it published?
Hint (1500)
On the fabric of the human body- 1543
What did the Royal Society get and what year did they get it?
Received a royal charter from Charles II, who had taken a keen interest in science- 1662
Details on the great plague
1665- Outbreak of the disease which peaked in September and recorded 7000 deaths in one week.
Thomas Sydenham
Sydenham refused to rely on medical books when diagnosing a patient’s illness. Instead, he made a point of closely observing the symptoms and treating the disease causing them.
Andreas Vesalius
Vesalius noted that Galen had made some errors in his original theory on the human body. He put this down to the fact that Galen dissected animals instead of people.
In all Vesalius found 300 mistakes in Galen’s original work on anatomy – e.g. the human lower jaw was in one part, not two. Vesalius also encouraged other doctors to base their work on dissection.
William Harvey
Harvey suggested that blood circulated around the body instead of being made in the liver, as taught by Galen. His theory was that blood must pass from arteries to veins through tiny passages that were invisible to the naked eye. Harvey proved that the heart acted as a pump.
Royal Society
Its aim was to promote and carry out experiments to further the understanding of science. They also heavily promoted the sharing of scientific knowledge and encouraged argument over new theories.
