Topic 6 (Renaissance) - Case studies

Question 1

Why did Harvey use live dissections in order to study the heart and how did he do this?

Answer 1

• He used live dissections to see how the heart muscle worked and where it directed blood flow
• to do this, he dissected animals whilst they were still alive

Question 2

What main problem did Harvey face during his experiements and how did he overcome them?

Answer 2

The hearts of the animals he was dissecting were beating too fast. He overcame this by dissecting cold-blooded animals like frogs

Question 3

List the three revelations that Harvet made about the workings of the heart

Answer 3

1. The heart pushed out large volumes of blood
2. New blood was not being created each time the heart pumped;bodies had a fixed amount of blood
3. Blood was constantly being circulated around the body

Question 4

What effect did Harveys discoveries have upon the theory of bleeding as a remedy?

Answer 4

It meant that bleeding was useless

Question 5

What recent scientific invention helped Harvey understand how the heart worked?

Answer 5

The suction pump, used to remove water from mines

Question 6

Describe the roles of artieries, veins and valves according to Harvey

Answer 6

• Arteries: blood flowed out from the heart through the arteries, and was carried around the body
• Veins: Blood flowed towards the heart through the veins
• Valves: ensured that blood flowed in one direction through the veins, back to the heart

Question 7

Before Harveys theories, wht was the commonly accepted theory about how the heart and blood worked and whose theory was it?

Answer 7

Galens theory stated that new blood was being made in the liver to replace blood that was constantly being used up by the body

Question 8

How did Londons sanitary conditions contribute to the outbreak of the plague?

Answer 8

There were no sewer systems, so human waste was dumped on the street

Question 9

During the plague (1665), What/who were:

• bills of mortality
• Plague nurses
• searchers of the dead

Answer 9

• Bills of mortality - lists that showed London death rates and the causes of the deaths
• Plague nurses - the only people that could enter the homes of infected patients in order to bring them food and check if theyre still alive
• searchers of the dead: searched the bodies of the deceased to discover plague victims

Question 10

Describe any similarities between how the plague was treated in 1348 and 1665

Answer 10

• both used pleasant smells to ward of miasma

- Both used superstitious remedies

Question 11

Describe any differences between how the plague was treated in 1348 and 1665

Answer 11

• attempts to prevent its spread had improved in 1665

- Quarantine was used for frequently and effectively and was enforced by the local government