Renaissance Medicine

Question 1

What did people think caused disease? (Natural and Supernatural) - RENAISSANCE

Answer 1

Natural - Imbalance of the 4 humours

Supernatural - Punishment from God, misalignment of the planets

Question 2

Who treated the sick? (Rich and Poor) - RENAISSANCE

Answer 2

Poor - Quacks, apothecaries, wise women, barber surgeons

Rich - Physicians

Question 3

Which 3 inventions revolutionised medicine? - RENAISSANCE

Answer 3

Caxton’s printing press (1451) helped the spread of ideas and messages
The microscope helped the work of physicians and scientists
Gunpowder created new wounds which required new surgery to treat

Question 4

What method of thinking became prominent in the Renaissance?

Answer 4

Scientific Method

Due to the collapse of belief in the church, people questioned things more, rather than accepting the church’s ideas.

Question 5

What breakthroughs did Vesalius make and when did he publish his textbook? - RENAISSANCE

Answer 5

Vesalius dissected on humans and proved Galen wrong:
Proved the jawbone is 1 bone not 2
Proved the breastbone is in 3 pieces not 7
Proved blood doesn’t flow into the heart through invisible holes

His textbook was called ‘The Fabric Of The Human Body’ (1543)

Question 6

What impacts did Vesalius’ work have? - RENAISSANCE

Answer 6

His work influenced Thomas Geminus to write ‘Compendiosa’, published in 1545. This was popular among barber surgeons.

Question 7

How did Paré influence medicine with gunshot wounds? - RENAISSANCE

Answer 7

In a battle in 1537 he had to improvise, using a cream of egg and turpentine to cure gunshot wounds, rather than using boiling oil.

Question 8

How did Paré eradicate cauterisation? - RENAISSANCE

What limitation?

Answer 8

Paré invented ligatures, which were used to tie off blood vessels and prevent blood loss
However, it involved a slow process, and could carry infection into the body

Question 9

What did Harvey prove? - RENAISSANCE

Limitation

Answer 9

Harvey proved that blood only travels one way around the body, via the heart, contrary to Galen believing that blood was produced in the liver and moved from there
LIMITED by the fact many still believed Galen, so there was a limited impact. Many called him a quack.

Question 10

Name 1 new method of treating illness (IRRATIONAL) - RENAISSANCE

Answer 10

The Royal Touch

Question 11

What changes were there to the job of a physician? - RENAISSANCE

Answer 11

Started to read the ideas of people other than Galen, like Paré and Vesalius
Still treated the upper classes, very expensive services

Question 12

Had the jobs of apothecaries, wise women, barber surgeon changed? - RENAISSANCE

Answer 12

Apothecaries - still sold singles and compounds
Wise women - no
Barber surgeon - no

Question 13

What was a quack doctor? - RENAISSANCE

Answer 13

‘Quack’ was a term given to doctors who were believed to offer fake treatments, or to doctors from other doctors trying to discredit work

Question 14

How did quacks have so much success? - RENAISSANCE

Answer 14

They used people’s fear in times of cholera or plague to sell useless cures. Used charisma and drama to sell. Used pamphlets to sell products.

Question 15

How did Thomas Sydenham help/hinder medicine? - RENAISSANCE

Answer 15

Help - recognised symptoms of diseases like scarlet fever, endorsed careful observation of symptoms
Hindered - didn’t see the importance of dissection, ignored Harvey’s discoveries as they didn’t help treating patients

Question 16

How did Nicholas Culpepper help/hinder medicine?

Answer 16

Help - critical of bloodletting, produced a guide to herbal remedies
Hindered - used astrology in his treatments

Question 17

When did the Great Plague arrive in England? - RENAISSANCE

Answer 17

1665

Question 18

What were perceived causes of the Plague? - RENAISSANCE

Answer 18

Punishment from God, misalignment of the planets, miasmas

Question 19

What were 2 methods believed to help avoid the plague? - RENAISSANCE

Answer 19

Those who could afford it moved to the countryside, some smoked to keep poisoned air away

Question 20

Name 3 ways in which the approach to dealing with TGP was more organised than dealing with the Black Death?

Answer 20

People with plague symptoms were quarantined in their houses
Bodies were buried in mass plague pits, isolating the disease
Those who had died were collected at night to avoid the spread of disease (fewer people around)
Houses with plague victims had a red cross on the door, warning people

Question 21

How did the Great Plague end? - RENAISSANCE

Answer 21

Rats built up stronger resistance to the disease, meaning a human host wasn’t required

Question 22

How were Renaissance hospitals improved on Medieval hospitals? - RENAISSANCE

Answer 22

They trained up new doctors through medical schools
Treatments were free
Specific hospitals were created (Bedlam for mental illness)

Question 23

How were hospitals hindered in the Renaissance era? - RENAISSANCE

Answer 23

Most treatments were still based on the 4 humours

Question 24

Who was John Hunter? - RENAISSANCE

Answer 24

A doctor who emphasised training new doctors (EDWARD JENNER), and encouraged new scientific method

Question 25

How was John Hunter significant? - RENAISSANCE

Answer 25

Trained up lots of new doctors like Edward Jenner
Injected himself with diseases to observe symptoms
Promoted scientific method
Preserved plants and animals in an extensive specimen collected for observation

Question 26

What was smallpox? - RENAISSANCE

Answer 26

A highly infectious virus which spread by coughing and sneezing, killing 30% of those carrying it

Question 27

What was inoculation? - RENAISSANCE

Answer 27

Purposefully infecting someone in a controlled way, building resistance

Question 28

What disadvantages were there to inoculation? - RENAISSANCE

Answer 28

Didn’t stop those who weren’t inoculated from getting smallpox
Wasn’t a financial option for the poor
Dosages could be wrong for inoculation, leading to death

Question 29

How did Jenner test his vaccination? - RENAISSANCE

Answer 29

He injected James Phipps with cowpox, a weakened smallpox, and exposed him to smallpox upon recovery. He tested this 16 times

Question 30

Why was there opposition to vaccination? - RENAISSANCE

Answer 30

Doctors didn’t use this method as they profited from inoculation
There was snobbery as Jenner was from the country
2 physicians carried out the procedure with contaminated equipment, leading to the death of a patient

Question 31

Who were supporters of Jenner? - RENAISSANCE

Answer 31

The Royal Family, who were vaccinated, and the government, who gave him funding in 1802

Question 32

What was private subscription? - RENAISSANCE

Answer 32

Where hospitals and services were funded by benefactors, banks and businesses

Question 33

What was used to reduce blood loss? - RENAISSANCE

Answer 33

Paré used ligatures to tie blood vessels, but these could carry infection into the body
A tourniquet was used to limit blood circulation

Question 34

How many patients could London’s hospitals deal with by 1800? - RENAISSANCE

Answer 34

20,000 patients

Question 35

What new medicines were introduced by exploration? - RENAISSANCE

Answer 35

Opium as an anaesthetic, lemons + limes for scurvy

Question 36

What was the name of Vesalius’ textbook, published in 1543? - RENAISSANCE

Answer 36

The Fabric of the Human Body