The Renaissance Flashcards
What was the renaissance period?
Began in the late 1400s. It bridged the time between the Middle Ages and the early modern time. Renaissance means rebirth in Italian, where this era started. People in Florence began to translate Ancient Greek and Roman texts, and the contents inspired a critical thinking in people. People began to question what they read, and experiment with new ideas. This included not only medicine, but art music, literature and even religion.
What new inventions were created in the renaissance?
The microscope
The printing press
What impacts did new inventions have on development of medicine?
New technology, such as gunpowder, meant that different wounds were inflicted, so different treatments and methods had to be developed.
What new learning was there in the renaissance period?
A scientific method of learning began, which involved observation, hypothesis and experimentation. Scientists began to question the old methods and teachings, including those of Galen.
How did new art styles help develop medicine?
There was a desire to show the human body in more realistic detail. This led artists to study the body more carefully, artists began to study corpses to help accurately draw humans. Consequently artists drew the images used in medical books.
How did new ideas spread quicker in the Middle Ages?
The printing press allowed new ideas to spread quickly around Europe and older and new books to be studied. Meant that everyday people could afford to have books in the house.
How did the discovery of new lands help develop medicine?
Explorers, sailors and merchants developed more accurate maps. This discovery of the Americas in the late 1400s showed the value of new discoveries. New foods and medicines were also brought back from the Americas ( “the new world”)
Who was William Harvey?
William Harvey was an English doctor who had studied medicine at Cambridge and Italy. In 1609 he was working at a hospital in London, and by 1632 he was doctor to King Charles the First. In a lecture in 1616 he said that “the blood must move in a constant circle and is driven by the heart” this was a completely new theory, and challenged Galen’s theories on the blood.
What did William Harvey discover?
Through experimentation of forcing blood to flow another way, he concluded blood can only flow in one direction. He also showed that the heart acted as a pump, not the liver as Galen had beloved. After 12 years of careful research Harvey published his book Do Motu Cordis (on the motion of the heart).
However he still didn’t have all the answers, for example he didn’t know why the blood circulated or why the blood in the arteries and veins was a different colour.
What was the reaction to William Harvey’s theories?
When Harvey published his book in 1628, his critics said he was mad to believe that blood circulated. Many ignored his theories, and some rejected them altogether, as he was contradicting Galen. Some reacted even hostile towards him, calling him a quack ( a useless doctor) and it took another 50 years before the university of Paris would teach his work to his students.
How useful was Harvey’s work?
Whilst Harvey’s work was not immediately useful, understanding of the blood was a vital stage in the development of surgery and the diagnosis of illness. Many modern medical treatments would not work unless blood circulation was understood, like blood tests, blood transfusions and heart transplants.
Who was Andreas Vesalius?
Andreas Vesalius was born in Belgium but studied medicine in Paris. He was a very gifted student and once he finished university, he became professor of surgery at a university in Italy.
What did Vesalius discover?
Vesalius carried out his own dissections, and would make sure to do this in lecture rooms. Through his dissections he learned that there were many mistakes in Galen’s work. However, when other doctors noticed the same flaws, they blamed the body or said that the human anatomy must have changed since then. These doctors did not want to face criticism, however Vesalius chose to pursue.
How were Vesalius’s ideas spread?
In his beautifully illustrated book, the fabric of the human body (1543). The images were very precise, and explained dhow parts of the body worked. His work was soon published by an Italian printer, and his work was sold to barber surgeons in London. Vesalius overturned centuries of belief that Galen was correct. And was quick to share his research with the whole world.
How useful was Vesalius’s contribution to medicine?
Although his work did not lead to any medical cures, it was the basis for better treatments in the future, and layer the groundwork for others, such as William Harvey, to develop his work. He also displayed how to perform proper dissections.
