The Renaissance Flashcards
Who was Paracelsus?
The first to theorise that the body was made up of chemicals and that chemicals could be created to cure sickness. He experimented with chemicals such as arsenic and mercury.
Who was Vesalius?
In 1543, he published “The Fabric of the Human Body”. This corrected many of Galen’s mistakes to do with the anatomy (structure) of the body.
Who was Fracastoro?
Developed the theory of contagion, that diseases were contagious. He published “on contagion” in 1546.
Who were Edmund Colthurst and Hugh Myddleton?
Individuals who were responsible for putting money up for bringing fresh water to the city of London in the 17th century.
Who was William Harvey?
He developed the correct theory of circulation in the early 1600s, how blood pumped around the body.
Who was Van Helmont?
He claimed in 1648 that digestion happened because of stomach acid, not because of anything to do with the Four Humours.
Who was Thomas Sydenham?
Wrote the Observationes Medicae (1676). This was a direct challenge to the very basis of the Four Humours. Sydenham theorised that disease happened because of things attacking the body, not because of imbalances within it.
Who was Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek?
He developed the first microscope with funding from the Royal Society. In 1702, he published images of what he called “animalcules”. They were in fact germs.
