Renaissance Medicine: key individuals Flashcards
At what university did Andreas Vesalius become Professor of Surgery?
Padua (Italy)
What was the name of Vesalius’s first book?
Six Anatomical Tables (1537)
What was the name of Vesalius’s most famous book, published in 1543?
On the Fabric of the Human Body
Why was Vesalius able to prove Galen wrong about the inside of the human body?
He carried out dissections on the bodies of executed criminals, not animals
How many mistakes did Vesalius find in Galen’s work?
Around 300
Give two examples of things Vesalius found about the human body that proved Galen wrong
Any two from:
The human jaw was made from one bone, not two
The breastbone has three parts, not seven
Men and women have an equal number of pairs of ribs
Blood did not flow into the heart through invisible holes
By what year was On the Fabric of the Human Body being used at the University of Cambridge?
1560
When was the first dissection carried out at the University of Cambridge?
1565
Who was Vesalius’s student at Padua who went on to discover valves in human veins?
Fabricius
Why was William Harvey seen as a credible voice on the human body?
He was King Charles I’s personal physician
What did William Harvey teach his students about medicine?
It was important to observe the body and believe what they saw, rather than believing in Galen
Who was William Harvey’s professor at Padua?
Fabricius
How did William Harvey prove that blood only flowed towards the heart?
When he tried to pump liquids the other way, it did not work
What did Galen claim about blood that Harvey proved wrong?
Blood was made in the liver, flowed through the body and was burned up
What did Harvey prove about arteries and veins?
They were linked together into one system, connected by tiny passages (capillaries)
How was William Harvey inspired to prove that the heart acted as a pump?
He saw fire engines that used mechanical pumps to provide water to put out fires
Were William Harvey’s ideas used in universities while he was still alive?
No - they appeared from 1673 but he died in 1657
What impact did Thomas Sydenham have on the diagnosis of disease?
He moved ideas away from those of Hippocrates and Galen
How did Sydenham diagnose disease?
He observed symptoms and treated the disease causing them, rather than treating the symptoms separately
What was the name of Sydenham’s book published in 1676?
Observationes Medicae
What did Sydenham suggest about diseases in his book Observationes Medicae?
They could be organised into different groups
How did Sydenham’s ideas clash with the Theory of the Four Humours?
The Theory of the Four Humours said that a patient’s disease was caused by factors unique to the patient, so treatments needed to be personal.
Sydenham said that the nature of the patient had little to do with their disease.
Which diseases did Sydenham identify were separate?
Measles and scarlet fever
What did Sydenham suggest as an alternative to “sweating out” a disease?
Airy bedrooms, light blankets and cold drinks
What new substance from the New World did Sydenham use to treat malaria?
Cinchona bark (containing quinine)
