The Begininngs Of Change Flashcards
What were directions like before Vesalius?
Dissections we’re done to prove Galen right not to challenge him
Galens words were read while an assistant did the dissection
When was Andreas Vesalius born and where did he grow up?
Vesalius was born in 1514 and was Belgian, he studied in Paris where he learned galens anatomy.
As professor of surgery in the university of Padua in Italy he began to question galens ideas
What was the famous book Galen wrote and when was it written?
The fabric of the human body written in 1543 was a beautifully illustrated book based on dissections of the human body and proved Galens ideas wrong
What work did Vesalius do?
He done dissections by himself and said medical students should learn from his disections
What was the reaction to Vesalius?
People criticised him for saying Galen was wrong
He later had to leave his job in Padua and later became a doctor for the emperor Charles V
What was Vesalius contribution to medical progress in England?
He overturned galens beliefs after centuries and was the basis for better treatments in the future. He also showed others how to do proper dissections.
What was the renaissance?
A cultural movement that began in Florence italy
How did the renaissance start?
Wealthy businessmen paid scholars and artists to investigate the the writings of the ancient Greeks and Romans.
How did the renaissance spread?
The invention of the printing press in 1451 made books much cheaper and quicker to produce. Before books were very expensive and rare now the were able to spread information much quicker,
What were some consequences of the renaissance?
New lands were discovered and this brought back new foods and medicine, the printing of books were easier, art was able to show the human body in more detail, new inventions such as gunpowder caused new types of wounds.
How did paré treat gunshot wounds
Before people thought gunshot wounds were poisonous so they would burn them with hot oil then apply a rose oil and egg white with turpentine cream however one day in 1537 paré ran out of oil so just used the cream and this healed the patients better than those with oil
How did paré stop bleeding?
Paré used galens method of tying the blood vessels with ligatures or silk thread, before this wounds were cauterised.
What were some downsides of ligatures?
They were time consuming so weren’t ideal for the battlefield and they could introduce infection
What was William Harvey’s contribution?
Harvey said that blood was circulating around the body and it was the same blood as he disagreed with galen who said blood was used as fuel
How did Harvey discover the circulation of blood?
He calculated how much blood would be required if it was used as fuel
He observed the slow-beating hearts of cold-blooded animals to see how muscles worked
He read what the Italian anatomists at Padua discovered and built upon their work
He disected and studied human hearts
He experimented by pumping blood the wrong way through the valves in the veins, proving blood could on,y go one way round
When was Harvey’s ideas accepted?
1661 4 years after he died
When did Harvey’s ideas become useful?
1901 as this was when the different blood types were dound out allowing blood transfusions
What were barber-surgeons?
Poorly trained people who would perform small surgeries such as pulling out a tooth or bloodletting
Who were apothecaries?
Poorly trained people who sold medicines and potions
Who were wise women?
People who often had extensive knowledge on plants and herbs but also their treatments relied on superstition
Who were quacks?
Showy, travelling salesmen who sold all sorts of medicines
When did the plague return?
1655
When was John Hunter born?
1728
Who and when was John Hunter appointed surgeon to?
King George 3 in 1776
When was Hunter surgeon-general in the army?
1790
What was John hunters contribution to medical knowledge?
Hunter founded a scientific method to surgery and trained many young surgeons such as Edward jenner
What did Edward Jenner find out?
Vaccination
What was inoculation
Giving a healthy person a mild dose of a disease by scratching dry scabs into the skin or by blowing it up their nose.
What were some problems with inoculation?
Some people believed preventing disease was against gods will
Lack of understanding and belief it would work
Risk small pox dose was not mild and could kill
Inoculated people were infectious
Poor people could not afford to be inoculated
How did Jenner find out about vaccination?
By infecting a child with a milder version called cowpox in 1796 and then six weeks later giving him a dose of small pox. The boy did not react. He then gave it to 16 other patients who also did not react
What were some reasons for opposition against Jenner?
He could not explain how vaccination worked
Many doctors were profiting from smallpox inoculation
Jenner was not a fashionable city doctor
Woodville and gorge Pearson repeated the experiment but a patient died due to contamination
Why was vaccination accepted
Jenner had proved it by scientific experiment
Vaccination was less dangerous than inoculation
Members of royal family were vaccinated which influenced opinion.
In 1853 the government made it compulsory for smallpox vaccination
