The Medical Renaissance In England C.1500 - C.1700 Flashcards
Define Reformation
Change in religion from Catholic to Protestant
Define Humanism
A love of learning and a belief that humans could make up their own minds about the world
Define Royal Charter
A document from the king granting as right or power to a person or group
Define New World
North and South America
Define Dysentery
A stomach bug that causes severe diarrhoea
Define Anatomy
Study of how the human body works
Define Quack Doctor
No medical training, but sold remedies to patients promising to ‘cure-all’
Why was there a decline in the Church’s authority?
Because of the Reformation. And dissolution of the monastery’s
What is the Royal society?
It was set up in 1600 by educated people wishing to discuss new ideas
Give 4 new ideas in the Renaissance
1) Some Physicians were starting to reject the theory of the 4 humours
2) William Harvey suggested blood circulated around the body
3) Thomas Sydenham suggested that illness was caused by external factors and not the 4 humours
4) More powerful microscopes allowed the observation of tiny ‘animalcules’ - this was the first recorded observation of bacteria
Give 4 reasons why there was a such a limited impact on medicine
1) Although ideas were changing, the practise of medicine did not
2) It was still impossible to diagnose or treat internal problems in a living patient
3) The idea of miasma was still widespread during this period
4) Although the power of the church was weakening, people still looked for supernatural explanations in the times of the plague
Give one way in that ideas about the cause of diastase and illness were similar in the 14th and 17th centuries.
Miasma - they believed it throughout this time
Who was Thomas Sydenham?
1) He was a physician recognised as a founder of clinical medicine.
2) He took part in detailed observations and maintained accurate records
3) He was called the “English Hippocrates”
4) Prescribed patients alcohol and opium
Give 3 ideas why the Royal Society was Important
1) It lead to the sharing of ideas
2) It encouraged its members to write in English, not Latin, therefore, it was more accessible for everybody, and Scientists could access each other’s work
3) It published the world’s first scientific journal, paving the way for new ideas
Describe the invention of the printing press and why its invention was so substantial
1) It was created in 1440 and allowed information to be spread much quicker and more accurately
2) Scientists could publish and share their work
3) Before the printing press, the Church had controlled all printed books, this meant that most books were about religion, however now, a much wider variety of subjects could be printed
State the continuity in prevention and treatments in the Middle Ages and Renaissance eras
Continuity:
1) Bleeding, purging and sweating used to rebalance humours
2) Herbal remedies were still used
3) Cleanliness was still important - but bathing was less fashionable - people were afraid of catching syphilis!
State the changes in prevention and treatments in the Middle Ages and Renaissance eras
Changes:
1) The idea of ‘Transference’
2) New plants were brought back from the New World which could treat diseases
3) Alchemy meant people began to look for chemical cures for diseases
4) Ideas about the atmosphere were becoming more popular
4) Fines were now given for not keeping the street tidy
Explain the idea of ‘Transference’.
That an illness or disease could be transferred to something else - some people used to sleep with a sheep in the bedroom hoping that their fever would transfer to the animal!
What did Vesalius do in terms of surgery?
1) He produced many detailed diagrams labelling the different parts of the human body.
2) He dissected the corpses of executed criminals and made detailed drawings of his findings
What was Vesalius’ book called?
“On the Fabric of the Human Body”
State some examples of Galen’s mistakes that Vesalius correctly corrected.
1) The human jawbone is in one part, not two
2) The main vein leading out of the heart did not lead to the liver
3) The human liver did not have five separate lobes
State 4 reasons why Vesalius is important
1) He made the study of anatomy fashionable
2) Doctors, rather than barber surgeons carried out dissections
3) His work was copied and now appeared in many other medical texts
4) BUT, some traditional doctors were angry that he criticised Galen - they said that the body must have changed since the time of Galen!!!
What did William Harvey prove?
1) That blood flowed in only one direction
2) Arteries and veins were linked together in one system. This was done by tying a cord around an arm and cutting off the blood flow
3) That there are no holes in the heart, and the heart just acts as a pump
What did William Harvey do in terms of surgery?
He dissected human corpses and cut open cold-blooded animals to observe the movement and direction of blood-flow
