Roman 50BC-410AD

Question 1

Causes of disease (3)

Answer 1

Imbalance of 4 humours eg. black bile, yellow bile, phlegm or blood. Often linked with seasons eg mre phlegm in winter
Miasma Theory- bad air from swamps
Punishment from Gods- Asclepius (God of healing) and Apollo (God of health)

Question 2

Treatments of disease (4)

Answer 2

Theory of opposites eg blood letting, purging (4 humours)
Improvements to diet, more exercise and exposure to fresh air
Prayers to Asclepius and Apollo, if people were cured they would leave behind stone inscriptions thanking God
Herbal remedies (often contained honey and herbs eg hazel)

Question 3

Public health (8)

Answer 3

Forts- had their own supply of water, bath houses, latrines and hospitals
Fountains- provided water for washing and drinking
Pipes- often made from lead/timber, making lead poisoning common
Housing- private homes had their own supply of water, in the instance of a drought their supply was cut off to save water
Aqueducts- carried fresh water many miles to homes
Public latrines- similar to a toilet, often flushed away using water from the bath houses
Bath houses- for talking and socialising. Cost 1 quadran, in Lincoln 5000 people visited per week, water not changed.
Sewers- carried the waste away, dependent upon whether there was enough water to wash away the waste, carried to streams and rivers where people would wash their clothes or drink from

Question 4

Training of doctors (3)

Answer 4

Not compulsory
Doctors would often have their own copies of Galen’s books, which they would study
Rich could afford trained and experienced doctors

Question 5

Hospitals (6)

Answer 5

Light
Spacey
Airy
Built to prioritise the soldiers
Often 4 beds per ward, up to 60 wards per hospital
Focused on making the soldiers better rather than just care

Question 6

Others who cared for the sick (2)

Answer 6

Paterfamilias (the father)

Herbal specialists

Question 7

Why were Romans so advanced? (6)

Answer 7

Empire- could take ideas, people with knowledge and use them as their own
Strong government- emperor, infrastructure
Scholars- taught knowledge, academic teaching praised rather than feared
No overwhelming religious system to limit discoveries
Rich society
Inquiring minds- wanted to understand the world better

Question 8

Galen (3)

Answer 8

If cause of disease is natural, treatment of disease must be natural
Work based upon animal dissections as religious teachings forbidding dissections on humans made it impossible to carry out
Theory of opposites

Question 9

Hippocrates (3)

Answer 9

Hippocratic collection- medical journals containing knowledge and information regarding disease
Hippocratic oath- doctors have a duty of care to patients, confidentiality etc
Clinical observations- doctors should observe a patient’s symptoms carefully and record them, whilst forecasting how their illness will develop