Renaissance medicine Flashcards
why were the ideas about the causes of disease changing during this period?
the reformation- Henry VIII broke off from the catholic church meaning they were less able to promote their beliefs
what continuity was their in beliefs about causes of disease?
miasma
god
supernatural
what changes were there in the beliefs about causes of disease?
4 humours had been discredited
urine analysis was discredited- doctors now understood there was no relation between urine and ill health
animalcules- small animals were causing disease
why did patients continue to use the 4 humours to diagnose themselves despite it being discredited?
they understood it
what did Vesalius’ first publication in 1537 show?
different parts of the human body labelled in Latin, Greek, Hebrew and Arabic
what did Vesalius publish in 1543?
On The Fabric Of The Human Body
how had Vesalius been able to carry out dissections?
local magistrates let him use the bodies of executed criminals
what errors of Galen did Vesalius note?
the lower jaw of a human is only one part, not two
the main vein leading out of the heart did not lead to the liver
men did not have one fewer pair of ribs than women
the human liver did not have 5 separate lobes
what did Vesalius encourage doctors to do?
base their work on dissection rather than books
what did Vesalius offer in terms of progress?
nothing- the church refused to accept that Galen had made any errors
why did doctors oppose Vesalius?
they said that drawing had no place in science
what did doctors say Vesalius’ work proved?
that the body had changed since Galen’s time
what did Harvey want to prove?
that Vesalius had been correct to say that veins contained valves that allowed blood to flow to the heart
how did Harvey prove that blood only flowed towards the heart?
he pumped liquids through the veins of dissected bodies in the opposite direction and it didn’t work
what was Harvey influenced by?
the mechanical water pump
how did Harvey prove that the arteries and veins were linked together in one system?
tying a tight cord around someone’s arm and cutting off the blood flow in the artery to the arm
what did Harvey publish in 1628?
An Anatomical Account of the Motion of the Heart and Blood in Animals
what did Harvey prove?
that the heart acted as a pump
why was Harvey’s work NOT a turning point?
there was still much more to discover about blood and it didn’t change treatments