Romans Flashcards
What did the Roman’s believe caused disease?
- Punishment from the gods
- Swamps / miasma
- Imbalance of 4 humours
What are the 4 humours?
- Blood
- Phlegm
- Black Bile
- Yellow Bile
What were roman treatments for disease?
- Herbal remedies
- Gods and priests
- Theory of Opposites - re-balance humours.
Who developed the Theory of the four Humours?
Hippocrates
What did the Romans consider to be a healthy body?
A balanced body
How did Hippocrates teach that doctors should treat their patients?
Clinical observation
How would the theory of opposites be used to cure a fever?
Blood letting
Who was Galen?
An anatomist and doctor who developed Hippocrates’ work.
What was Galen’s theory?
Theory of Opposites
What did Galen prove about the body?
That the brain controlled the body, not the heart.
How were Roman doctors trained?
By reading books by other doctors including Hippocrates and Galen
By acting as an apprentice for experienced doctors
BUT
MEDICAL TRAINING WAS NOT COMPULSORY AND ANYONE COULD CALL THEM SELF A DOCTOR
What was the Hippocratic Corpus?
A collection of books written by Hippocrates and other doctors which contained the first detailed list of symptoms and treatments.
Provided a base of understanding used for centuries.
What was the benefit of clinical observation?
Notes and observations that doctors made could help diagnose and treat future patients.
What did the Hippocratic Oath state?
Doctors will act in the best interest of their patients and do no harm.
Who did Galen develop his early medical skills on?
Gladiators
How did fresh water arrive in Roman cities?
Aqueducts
What happened to sewage in Roman times?
It was carried out and away from the city by sewers.
What did Roman sewers depend on to work?4
Why was this a issue?
Rainwater
If it did not rain then the sewage was not carried away
What were living conditions like in Roman times?
Clean conditions and clean people
What was the Roman opinion on exercise?
Regular exercise was recommended.
What was the Roman public health method of keeping the population clean?
Public baths
What did going to the Roman public baths entail?
- Hair plucked off body with tweezers
- Massaged with oil and scraped off with strigil - removing dirt and sweat
- Steam room + large warm pool
- Ice cold plunge pool
Name 5 ways that Romans had good public health.
- Reservoirs + aqueducts
- Public Toilets
- Public Baths
- Public water fountains
- Sewers
How many people could a Roman public toilet seat?
20
How many people could visit a Roman bath in a week?
5000
Why were baths good for public health?
Kept people clean and hygienic
Why were sewers good for public health?
Helped prevent the spread of disease.
What did public toilets prevent?
People from urinating in the streets.
Who was Ascelpius?
The Roman god of healing.
What were hospitals like in Roman times?
- Clean
- Piped water
- Sewage systems
- Food + water
Who were the only people allowed to use Roman hospitals?
Soldiers
Why was good public health important for Romans?
To keep their army strong and healthy.
Why did Galen have to do his dissection on animals?
Human dissection was banned as human bodies were seen as the creation of the Gods and needed to be whole for the afterlife.
Why did Galen make mistakes with his anatomy?
Because he dissected animals, not humans and assumed their anatomy was the same.
What mistakes did Galen make?
He said the jawbone was made up of two bones.
He said that blood was produced by the liver and the heart and used up at the end of veins and arteries
He said that there was a place in the body for the soul
