The Impact of the Renaissance on Britain

Question 1

When and where did the Renaissance begin?

Answer 1

• Florence, Italy
• Late 15th century

Question 2

What does Renaissance mean?

Answer 2

Rebirth

Question 3

State and explain 5 consequences of the Renaissance

Answer 3

• New lands- explorers and merchants discovered the Americas and brought back new food and medicines
• Printing- new and ancient ideas spread quickly
• Art- showed human body in realistic detail
• New inventions- technology such as gunpowder caused new wounds
• New learning- more scientific approach to learning involving questioning and experiment

Question 4

What was dissection like before Versalius?

Answer 4

• Done to prove Galen right, not to challenge him
• Galen’s words were read while an assistant did the dissection

Question 5

Who was Versalius? Time as professor of surgery?

Answer 5

• 1514-64
• was Belgium, studied in Paris where he learned Galen’s anatomy
• As professor of surgery at University of Padua, he began to question Galen’s opinions

Question 6

How did Versalius change dissection?

Answer 6

• Did the dissections himself
• Said medical students should learn from dissections

Question 7

Name Versalius’s book? What year?

Answer 7

Fabric of the Human Body ,1543

Question 8

Why was Fabric of the Human Body so revolutionary?

Answer 8

• Beautifully illustrated, accurate textbook
• Based on dissections and observations of the human body
• Sorted organs into different systems within the body showing how they worked together
• corrected Galen’s mistakes because he dissected animals only
• Provided proof of Galen’s mistakes- e.g. the breastbone in a human has 3 parts, not 7 as in an ape

Question 9

What was the reaction to Versalius like?

Answer 9

• Criticised for saying Galen was wrong
• Made to leave his job in Padua
• Later became a doctor for the Emperor Charles V

Question 10

What was Versalius’s contribution to medical progress in England?

Answer 10

• in 1545, Thomas Geminus copied Versalius’s illustrations and put them into a manual for barber surgeons, Compendiosa
• Compendiosa was extremely popular and 3 editions were published between 1545 and 1559

Question 11

What was Versalius’s significance- short and long term?

Answer 11

• Overturned centuries of belief in Galen’s incorrect study of anatomy
• Transformed anatomical knowledge
• Although it didnt lead to any cure, it was the basis for better future treatments
• Showed other how to properly perform dissections- e.g. Fabricus and Fallopius

Question 12

What was thought about gunshot wounds and how were they treated before Paré?

Answer 12

• Thought to be poisonous
• Were burnt out using hot oil, followed by a cream of rose oil, egg white, and turpentine

Question 13

What did Paré discover about gunshot treatments (by accident)?

Answer 13

• In 1537, he ran out of hot oil so improvised and used just the cream (egg white, turpentine, and rose oil)

Question 14

How were bleeding wounds dealt with before Pare?

Answer 14

*Cauterised to stop bleeding

Question 15

How did Pare deal with bleeding wounds?

Answer 15

• Used Galen’s method of tying blood vessels with ligatures
• Invented the ‘crow’s beak clamp’ to halt bleeding

Question 16

Whose work did Pare translate and use in his famous ‘works on surgery’ (1575)?

Answer 16

Versalius’

Question 17

How did Pare’s work become well known in the 16th century?

Answer 17

• Queen Elizabeth I’s surgeon, William Clowes, made Pare’s work well known * Described him as the ‘famous surgeon master’
• Copied his burn treatment using onions

Question 18

How did William Harvey challenge Galen?

Answer 18

By saying that blood circulated round the body rather than new blood being constantly made in the liver and burnt up as fuel

Question 19

How did William Harvey challenge Galen?

Answer 19

By saying that blood circulated round the body

Question 20

Summarise Galen’s view on blood

Answer 20

New blood was constantly made in the liver and burnt as fuel in the body

Question 21

How did Harvey make his discovery of the circulation of blood?

Answer 21

• Calculated how much blood would have to be produced if it was fuel for the body
• Dissected and studied human hearts
• Experimented with pumping liquid the wrong way through the veins, proving blood could only go one way
  SCIENTIFIC METHOD

Question 22

What sort of animals did Harvey observe? Why?

Answer 22

• Cold-blooded animals, like lizards
• To understand how muscles worked

Question 23

How long did Harvey wait before publishing his discovery?

Answer 23

12 years

Question 24

Why did Harvey wait so long before publishing his discovery? (5 reasons)

Answer 24

• Didn’t know WHY blood circulated
• Didn’t know why there was different coloured blood in veins and arteries
• Didn’t how how blood got from arteries to veins
• Knew there’d be critism of his going against Galen and challenging bloodletting to balance 4 humours

Question 25

What was the reaction to Harvey’s discovery like?

Answer 25

• Critics said he was mad or ignored his ideas
• Rejected his theory because he contradicted Galen or did not believe his calculations

Question 26

When was Harvey’s theory accepted? Why?

Answer 26

• In 1661, 4 years after his death
• A microscope was made that could see the capillaries, connecting veins and arteries

Question 27

How significant was Harvey’s discovery? Why? /Why not?

Answer 27

• Not immediately useful
• Transfusions did not happen until 1901 when blood groups were discovered
• Significant today because understanding blood and circulation allows us to quickly test and diagnose illness, and carry out advanced surgery, like organ transplants