Unit 2: The Medical Renaissance Flashcards
What is the renaissance?
It was a period in Europe history when Ancient Greek and Roman ideas became fashionable. There was new attitudes and more search for knowledge, religion had a decline in authority
What were the traditional ideas vs new ideas?
It was not just Greek and Roman ideas that was reborn but their love for enquiry and willingness to challenge existing ideas. But not everyone agreed, many people stuck to tradition and didn’t dare to think for themselves. There started to be a battle of attitudes between people defending the old ideas and people fighting for new ones.
How did Thomas Sydenham have an impact on diagnosis of disease?
He stressed the importance of bedside practice, he believed each disease was different and it was important to identify the exact disease so that the correct remedy could be use to treat it, he identified Scarlett fever and he was the first to use iron to treat anaemia
What was established in 1645?
The Royal Society was set up, they had meetings where they discussed new ideas in physics, botany, astronomy, medicine and other sciences. They also demonstrate experiments
Who was Vesalius?
He was born into a family of physicians, he believed that surgery had to be grounded in anatomy. He always performed dissections himself and he was given plenty of corpses. He produced anatomical charts of the blood and nervous system
What were the main things Vesalius did?
He wrote a pamphlet on blood letting, a popular treatment for a variety of illnesses. This pamphlet was supported by his knowledge of the blood system. In 1537 he published ‘six anatomical tables’ three of the six drawings showed a human skeleton, these were used in his lectures. He dissected criminals corpses this showed humans have different anatomy to apes. He then published ‘the fabric of the human body’ this showed the human body in much more detail and was used to teach doctors
Why was Vesalius important?
-He improved understanding of the human body.
-He made the study of anatomy fashionable
-He proved some of galens work incorrect
-his work was widely published
Who was William harvey and what did he do?
Harvey took the foundation of his mentors, Hieronymus Fabricius, teachings, in 1628 he published his theories in a book, he explained how the heart propelled the blood in a circular course through the body. He showed that blood is carried by the arteries and returns to the heart in veins
What were the roles of physicians during the renaissance?
They were licensed healers, fully qualified doctors who had studied for 14 years. They were always men, they charged large fees
What were the roles of apothecary during the renaissance?
They are licensed healers, they mixed remedies. They would carry out an apprenticeship and then spend years practicing under supervision. They were not supposed to treat the sick or prescribe medicines but many did
What were the roles of surgeons during the renaissance?
They were licensed healers, they trained by watching and copying other surgeons, they were given licences by the local bishop allowing them to treat patients and charge fees
What was the role of a midwife during the renaissance?
They were licensed healers, they were licensed by the local bishop to supervise the last week of a pregnancy and deliver baby’s. However if there were complications the midwife handed her patient over to the physician
What were the roles of wise women during the renaissance?
They were unlicensed healers, in every village and town there were wise women who local people trusted due to their deep knowledge of herbs and other treatments. However if a treatment went wrong then a wise woman could find herself accused of being a witch
What were the roles of housewife during the renaissance?
They were unlicensed healers, girls were expected to learn how to treat illnesses and common injuries, wealthy ladies treated people from their fillings ans local farms as well as their own families and servants.
What were the roles of a travelling quack during the renaissance?
They were unlicensed healers, at every fair they were tooth-pullers and herb-sellers and others who made their living as they travelled around the country.
What affected the training of doctors?
-improved technology e.g. thermometers and microscopes
-growing acceptance that physicians should do dissections of the human body for themselves
-growing importance of a scientific approach- observation of symptoms and experiment with treatments
-improved knowledge of anatomy and physiology through books such as those by Vesalius and harvey
Who was John hunter?
He studied many aspects of anatomy, using specimens to show the human bodies structure. His lectures on anatomy helped to develop a more professional approach to medical training.
How did the medical renaissance change hospitals?
Before the renaissance hospitals were usually run by monks and nuns, they didn’t provide much help. By the 1700s hospitals were being opened and paid for by local people and charities, they began to admit patients with infectious diseases. They were kept people clean warm and fed.
When and where was the great plague?
In London in 1665
What was life in London seventeeth century like?
London was not a nice place to live, it was cramped and full of slum housing. London was a very dirty place and people threw their rubbish into the streets.
How did the 1665 outbreak happen?
It probably arrived from Holland where it had been few years earlier, it was extremely hot so the disease spread quickly. The wealthy fled the city which increased the spread in other parts of the country
What did people think caused the plague in 1665?
-miasma
-rotting waste/stagnant water
-movement of the planets
-imbalance of the four humours
-punishment from god
What were the ways to contain the plague used?
-anyone who falls sick should be locked in their houses
-all houses with sick people are to be marked
-watchmen to keep guard on houses
