The Medical Renaissance In England C.1500 - C.1700

Question 1

Define Reformation

Answer 1

Change in religion from Catholic to Protestant

Question 2

Define Humanism

Answer 2

A love of learning and a belief that humans could make up their own minds about the world

Question 3

Define Royal Charter

Answer 3

A document from the king granting as right or power to a person or group

Question 4

Define New World

Answer 4

North and South America

Question 5

Define Dysentery

Answer 5

A stomach bug that causes severe diarrhoea

Question 6

Define Anatomy

Answer 6

Study of how the human body works

Question 7

Define Quack Doctor

Answer 7

No medical training, but sold remedies to patients promising to ‘cure-all’

Question 8

Why was there a decline in the Church’s authority?

Answer 8

Because of the Reformation. And dissolution of the monastery’s

Question 9

What is the Royal society?

Answer 9

It was set up in 1600 by educated people wishing to discuss new ideas

Question 10

Give 4 new ideas in the Renaissance

Answer 10

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

Question 11

Give 4 reasons why there was a such a limited impact on medicine

Answer 11

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

Question 12

Give one way in that ideas about the cause of diastase and illness were similar in the 14th and 17th centuries.

Answer 12

Miasma - they believed it throughout this time

Question 13

Who was Thomas Sydenham?

Answer 13

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

Question 14

Give 3 ideas why the Royal Society was Important

Answer 14

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

Question 15

Describe the invention of the printing press and why its invention was so substantial

Answer 15

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

Question 16

State the continuity in prevention and treatments in the Middle Ages and Renaissance eras

Answer 16

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!

Question 17

State the changes in prevention and treatments in the Middle Ages and Renaissance eras

Answer 17

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

Question 18

Explain the idea of ‘Transference’.

Answer 18

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!

Question 19

What did Vesalius do in terms of surgery?

Answer 19

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

Question 20

What was Vesalius’ book called?

Answer 20

“On the Fabric of the Human Body”

Question 21

State some examples of Galen’s mistakes that Vesalius correctly corrected.

Answer 21

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

Question 22

State 4 reasons why Vesalius is important

Answer 22

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!!!

Question 23

What did William Harvey prove?

Answer 23

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

Question 24

What did William Harvey do in terms of surgery?

Answer 24

He dissected human corpses and cut open cold-blooded animals to observe the movement and direction of blood-flow

Question 25

State 3 factors that helped Harvey

Answer 25

1) Individual genius = he was a talented man who built on the findings of other doctors such as Vesalius
2) Science and technology = The development of ‘mechanical-fire-pumps’ helped develop his ideas
3) Government = Harvey was employed by Charles I - lots of people heard about his theories as he had royal support

Question 26

Give 3 reasons why Harvey was important

Include 2 reasons why some would say he isn’t.

Answer 26

1) His book, “An Anatomical Account of the Motion of the Heart and Blood in Animals” was widely read
2) He paved the way for the modern understanding of anatomy we have today
3) He encouraged other scientists to experiment on bodies
BUT
1) His discoveries had little practical use in medical treatment
2) A lot of doctors ignored and criticised him

Question 27

Describe the improvements in hospitals since the Middle Ages till the renaissance period
Describe the BUT points…

Answer 27

1) People got well fed
2) Doctors would visit the patients to observe and prescribe treatments
3) Many had pharmacies and apothecaries to mix medicine
BUT
1) Because of the dissolution of the monasteries, people had less places to go because the churches used to be a place of refuge and healthcare by nuns and monks, these were now all but gone :(

Question 28

Describe Women in terms of Hospitals and Community Care

Answer 28

1) Most people continued to be treated at home and women played an important role on treating the sick
2) Some were prosecuted for practising medicine without a license. They usually mixed and sold simple herbal remedies to purge the body and cure a particular ailment.
3) They were still cheaper than a physician or apothecary

Question 29

Describe Pest houses in terms of hospitals and community care.

Answer 29

1) Pest houses = Hospitals that specialised in a particular disease
2) As the contagion of disease began to be understood, specific hospitals opened to treat the plague or smallpox
3) Traditional hospitals still did not admit contagious patients, but these patients had to go somewhere