Renaissance Medicine Flashcards
1
Q
What time period is the renaissance period?
A
1500 - 1700 (16th century - 18th century)
2
Q
Renaissance
What are the theories of the causes of disease?
A
- Miasma
- Supernatural / astrology
- Religion
- The four humours
- Seeds in the air
- Animalcules “little animals”
- External factors
3
Q
Renaissance
Miasma
A
- Still believed by many people.
- Didn’t provide an explanation for the causes of disease when people took care to avoid them.
4
Q
Renaissance
The four humours
A
- Still believed y many.
- Could not explain epidemics such as small pox and and the plague. They affected the lady in the same way but couldn’t be treated by purging or blood letting.
- Physicians started to reject this theory, believing that illness was separate to the body.
5
Q
Renaissance
Religion
A
- Most people were still governed by their religious beliefs.
- The Church lost some of its power over people’s beliefs.
- A more speculate society developed, aided by an increase in scientific discoveries.
- Scientists challenged the authority of the church e.g. Galileo and Copernicus.
6
Q
Renaissance
Supernatural / astrology
A
- Less popular from 1500s.
- People still wore charms to ward off disease when there was epidemics.
7
Q
Renaissance
What are animalcules “little animals”?
A
- First , unclear, recorded observation of bacteria.
- In 1683 more powerful microscopes had been developed to allow for the observation of tiny ‘animalcules’ in plague scraped from between the teeth.
8
Q
Renaissance
What are seeds in the air?
A
- In 1546 Girolamo Fracastoro published a new text which theorised that disease was caused by seeds in the air.
9
Q
Renaissance
What are external factors?
A
- Physicians began to reject the theory of the four humours believing it was caused by external factors.
10
Q
Renaissance
Who were Vesalius and Harvey?
A
- Vesalius proved through dissection that the human jaw bone is in one part not two a Galen said, and that the breastbone is in three parts not seven as Galen said. He also proved that blood does not flow through invisible holes in the septum as Galen believed.
- Harvey also proved that Galens ideas were wrong and that veins carried only blood not air as well, he showed that the heart acts as a lump that the blood circulates around the body rather than being made in the liver and passing from one side of the heart to the other.
11
Q
Renaissance
What did people do to treat and prevent disease?
A
- People still believed that praying would help.
- They believed that moderation in things such as food and alcohol would help.
- Keeping good help.
- Avoided certain areas as they believed weather and atmosphere could spread disease.
- Lit fires and things like that to get rid of the bad air.
- People were fined for not cleaning their home. Minor criminals had to clean the streets and bogs and swamps were drained.
- People still purged bled and cupped.
- Herbal remedies.
- Alchemy (early form of chemistry)
- The kings touch could cure disease. King took his role seriously as it was seen as a God-given power.
12
Q
Renaissance
Ideas about the causes of the plauge
A
- God
- Movement of planets
- Imbalance of humours
- Rotting waste / food / stagnant waste
- Bad air (miasma)
13
Q
Renaissance
How would people avoid catching the plague?
A
- Trying to keep the air sweet using things such as strong smelling herbs.
- Soak coins in vinegar.
- Avoid contact with others.
- Staying at home.
- Strong smelling herbs hung in doorways and windows to stop bad smells entering the house.
14
Q
Renaissance
Methods of treatment for the plague
A
- Very similar to the Black Death
- Praying
- Bleeding
- Purging
- Cutting open buboes (let pus out)
15
Q
Renaissance
How would people prevent the plague?
A
- The king ordered days of fasting so people could attain for their sins.
- Orders were given in London by the Mayor such as the banning of pigs, dogs, cats from the streets. This wasn’t always easy to enforce.
