The Renaissance period Flashcards
How long is the Renaissance period?
From 1500- 1700
The Great Plague [3]:
- 1665-1666
- 1/3 of the population of York died from the plague
- It is estimated that 75,000 people died
Preventions of The Great Plague [4]:
- Theatres and taverns were closed to prevent the plague from spreading
- Fires were lit to cleanse the poisoned air
- House owners were ordered to sweep the streets outside their houses
- The mayor of London ordered watchmen guarded houses to make sure the infected and their families would stay shut inside their homes
Treatments for the Great Plague [3]:
- Herbal remedies
- Bleeding purging
- Prayers
- Cut open the buboes and let out the puss
What were the believed causes of the Great Plague?
[6]:
- Miasma
- God
- Imbalance in 4 humours
- movement of planets
- Rotting waste/food
- stagnant water
Medical changes in the Renaissance [3]:
- The new experimental approach to science changed the way doctors thought
- This paved the way for people to start questioning Galen and Hippocrates’ ideas
- Harvey provided evidence for the importance of dissection
William Harvey [2]:
- Discovered blood circulation which disproved Galen’s idea that blood was manufactured in the liver
- He published his book;” An anatomical account of the motion of the heart and blood” in 1628
How did Harvey prove his blood circulation theory?
[3]:
- Dissecting live cold-blooded animals whose hearts beat slowly
- Dissecting human bodies
- Proving that veins carried blood and not air as Galen thought
Public reaction to Harvey’s circulation theory:
They believed that Harvey was completely lost his mind and mostly dismissed his theory completely
The microscope [2]:
- Invented in 1590
- Allowed scientists to take a closer look at the specimens they collect
The printing press [4]:
- Invented in the 1490 (end of the medieval period)
- Became popular in the renaissance
- More books were published in medicine
- New discoveries circulated faster
Andreas Vesalius [3]:
- Published his work: “The fabric of the Human body” in 1543
- He proved that the human jaw bone 1 bone not 2 like Galen side
- Discovered that the breast bone has 3 parts not 7 as Galen said
Healers and Hospitals
-
Medieval ideas that stayed in the renaissance era [4]:
- Doctors still believed that the supernatural and God caused disease
- Pilgrimages and prayers were still prescribed to cure illness
- People still sought wise women and apothecaries to cure diseases
- The renaissance doctors still did not have much training
Define quackery:
Dishonest practices and claims to have special knowledge and skill in some field, typically medicine
When did quackery become prominent?
The 17th and 18th centuries
Facts about quacks [3]:
- Many people viewed this as fraudulent medicine
- Quackery was a form of medicine based on spectacles and displays
- Quacks claimed their medicines could cure-all but they were often ineffective
Thomas Sydenham info [3]:
- Thomas Sydenham was born in 1624
- He was a British physician who advanced the use of the scientific process in medicine
- His records were a first stage to the statistics kept by William Farr over 100 years later
Sydenham and scientific observation [3]:
- He prioritised treating patients and observing the outcomes rather than learning from books
- He recorded his observations of patients’ illnesses and treatments and this allowed him to see patterns between illnesses and treatments.
- This was an atypical approach to medicine as Sydenham did not rely on the teachings of Galen but instead on observation which created leeway for other scientists to carry out experiments based o observation
What were Thomas Sydenham’s beliefs on diseases? [2]:
- Each disease is different
- It is important to identify the exact disease so that the correct remedy can be administered
Thomas Sydenham’s impact in London [3]:
- He became one of the most respected Physicians in London
- He told young doctors to ‘You must go to the bedside. It is there alone you can learn about disease’ = this inspired an observation-based approach to medicine
- This meant people were closer to disproving Galen’s theories
Which diseases did Thomas Sydenham identify as different?
He found that MEASLES and SCARLET FEVER were different “types” of disease.
