Renaissance Medicine

Question 1

What does the word renaissance mean?

Answer 1

Rebirth/enlightenment

Question 2

What was the scientific method?

Answer 2

The challenge of traditional ideas, and observation of symptoms in a patient.

Question 3

What was the purpose of the royal society?

Answer 3

To promote scientific research and to encourage people to debate others theories on why/how to treat people.

Question 4

What did Thomas Sydenham theorise?

Answer 4

That observation was key, and keeping records of patients symptoms was important to discovering the illness.

Question 5

What was Sydenham’s impact?

Answer 5

People began questioning God and Galen’s theory of opposites, paving the way for more scientific advances.

Question 6

Name 3 treatment ideas that continued into the renaissance

Answer 6

Herbal remedies
Apothecaries, surgeons and wise women were still used
People were still mostly cared for at home

Question 7

Name 4 new approaches to treatment in the renaissance

Answer 7

Transference theories
More people recording homemade remedies
Treatments were chosen due to colour
There were new herbal remedies

Question 8

Name 3 prevention ideas that continued into the renaissance

Answer 8

Prayer
The 4 humours
Miasma

Question 9

Name 3 new prevention ideas from the renaissance

Answer 9

Bathing was reduced due to a syphilis outbreak
Clothes were changed more regularly
More miasma approaches

Question 10

What did Versalius do?

Answer 10

He identified 300 mistakes in Galen’s work (e.g. the human lower jaw was one part not two, the liver didn’t have five separate lobes)

Encouraged others to base work off of dissection

In 1543, he published his book “On the fabric of the human body”

Question 11

When did Versalius publish his book- “On the fabric of the human body”?

Answer 11

1543

Question 12

What did Harvey do?

Answer 12

Challenged Galen’s theory that blood generated in the liver and was circulated by the circularitory system

Proved arteries and veins were linked together in one system

Theorised the blood passed from arteries to veins through tiny passages we can’t see with our naked eye (we now know them as Capillaries)

Question 13

Name two treatments of the great plague (1665)

Answer 13

Herbal remedies

Transference (strapping chickens to buboes)

Question 14

Name 3 prevention methods of the great plague (1665)

Answer 14

Cats and dogs were killed in the streets

Carrying a pomander to drive away ‘bad air’

Fasting and prayer regularly

Question 15

Name 2 treatments or preventative methods that were new in the great plague of 1665

Answer 15

Cats and dogs were killed

Transference

Question 16

Name 2 treatments or preventative methods that were continued from medieval times in the great plague of 1665

Answer 16

Herbal remedies

Carrying a pomander

Fasting and prayer

Question 17

Why did the printing press help medical knowledge?

Answer 17

It meant there was wider access to books, so people could learn and share theories quicker

Also, previous books were only written by monks, so were usually only ideas that fit with the Church and God

Question 18

Why did the catholic church lose power during the Renaissance period?

Answer 18

People began questioning God as many mistakes were found in Galen’s work (who based his theories on God).

Question 19

When was the royal society established?

Answer 19

1660