The Renaissance Flashcards
Describe the medical climate of the Renaissance.
1) It was a time of new ideas and fresh thinking. People began to challenge old beliefs. There were many new developments in doctors’ knowledge and skills.
Who was Vesalius?
1) He was a medical professor that taught in Padua, Italy.
2) He wrote books on anatomy based on direct observation, using accurate diagrams to illustrate his works. His most important work was “The Fabric of the Human Body”.
3) His findings encouraged others to question Galen and he emphasised the importance of dissection.
Who was Thomas Sydenham?
1) Renaissance physician who worked in London. He believed it was important to gain practical experience in treating patients.
2) He thought that diseases could be classified into different groups like plants and animals. He linked scarlet fever to measles with this.
Who was William Harvey?
1) From his experiments, he realised that blood was produced in the heart and circulated around the body.
2) His work allowed blood transfusions and complex surgery to be attempted.
What is the Printing Press?
1) It was set up in England in the 1470s and allowed medical information to be copied more quickly than hand writing.
2) This meant that new ideas could be spread more quickly.
What is The Royal Society?
1) It was a scientific body founded in 1660, supported by King Charles II - which made it popular.
2) It’s purpose was to spread new scientific theories and encourage people to be skeptical and question scientific ideas.
Describe 3 features of continuity in The Renaissance.
1) Some doctors still believed in and practised Medieval medical treatments such as bloodletting and purging.
2) Apothecaries, barber surgeons and religion were all still healers that people used.
3) Many people still sought care at home from wise women. People would keep their own medical and recipe books.
Describe a Renaissance hospital.
1) Hospitals were still fairly basic.
2) They focused on care for the sick and deserving poor. People with infectious or incurable diseases were turned away.
3) Treatment included food, water, shelter, and prayer.
What was The Great Plague?
1) In 1665, The Great Plague struck England. It was a recurrence of the Medieval Black Death.
2) London death toll was roughly 100,000 - 20% of the city’s population.
3) Some people fled the city, but only the rich could afford this option.
How did people treat The Great Plague?
1) Many treatments were based on religion and included amulets, prayer and fasting.
2) Some people believed that miasma caused the plague. They carried around posies of herbs and flowers to improve the air.
3) Local councils attempted to prevent the Plague from spreading. Plague victims were quarantined and a red cross was drawn on their door.
Who was Edward Jenner and what did he discover?
1) Edward Jenner was a doctor from Gloucestershire. He heard that milkmaids did not get smallpox but they did get cowpox.
2) In 1796 he tested the theory by injecting a boy (James Phipps) with pus from the sores of a milkmaid (Sarah Nelmes). James did not get the disease.
What was public reaction to Jenner’s vaccination like?
1) Some doctors resisted vaccination as they saw it as a threat to their jobs and other people were afraid of catching a disease from cows.
2) Jenner’s vaccination was approved by Parliament. In 1840 vaccination against smallpox was made free for infants. In 1853 it was made compulsory.
3) Jenner did not understand how the vaccination worked so couldn’t develop any others.
