Middle Ages

• Middle Ages


  1000-1500 can be divideed into dark ages, earlymiddle ages and later middle ages
• Beliefs of what caused illnesses ( U-bags )


  1)A punishment from God

  2)Bad air

  3)Astrology

  4)Superstition

  5)Unbalanced humours
• Methods of prevention and treatment for U-bags


  1) payers and herbal remedies

  2)cleaning the streets

  3) They believed the movements of the moon sun and planets impacted a persons body so it decided when doctors could or couldn't treat people's illnesses

  4)lashing ,remedies

  5) Doctors would commonly test the patients urine to inspect whether the 4 humours were balanced . Another way to balance the humours was bleeding and vomiting
• Who were the medical doctors in Medieval times

  Physicians and Women
• What were Physicians


  Highest ranking doctors

  Well paid(expensive )

  Very few physicians in the 1300s less than 100

  They used treatments based on the 4 humours
• How did physicians train


  University for 7 years

  They sold watch dissections of the body while a physician would read the books of Galen to show they were correct. Physicians believed Galens books contained everything about the human body
• How did women differ to physicians


  They were cheaper

  Knowledge inherited

  They used remedies that were not always superstition as some ingredients such as honey actually fought infection
• What were surgeons?

  If you had a little money you could see a local barber surgeon

  They could carry out minor operations. They were trained as apprentices
• Who were the apothecary


  They would sell medicine and herbs and spices
• How did they care for the sick in medical houses


  These were religious places where they would house the sick, here

  Priests administered holy communing/ blessing

  Nuns would pray with them

  In a religious setting

  Bring water

  Care for them

  Hold relics for people to pilgrimage to in hope of a p miracle.
• Patients of hospitals


  They looked after the poor and elderly yet would not allow people in who had a contagious disease.
• How did the church hinder medieval medicine?


  Focus was on religion. Disapproved of dissection. People could not question their methods. Said god caused disease therefore no need to look for other causes or treatments.
• How did the church help medieval medicine?


  Maintenance/development of herbal remedies. Set up hospitals. Developed centres of learning. Saved and made copies of ancient books including work of Galen and Hippocrates
• What treatments did barber surgeons use


  Amputations

  Blood letting

  Set broken bones

  Pulling teeth

  Purging trepanning ( drilling small holes in the head to let out spirits )

  Cauterisation ( hot iron to burn / scare over a wound )
• Problems with barber surgeons


  Infections, dislike from the church, give patients drugs - overdose
• Define epidemic


  a widespread occurrence of an infectious disease in a community at a particular time.
• Define dissection


  the careful cutting apart of body structures to study their relationships
• Trepanning


  Drilling a hole into skull to release devils
• Define astrology


  Study of stars and planets and their effect on human
• Define cauterisation


  Using a hot iron to scar/ burn over wounds
• Define miasma


  Bad air that spread disease
• What religion was the medieval church

  Roman Catholic
• Define pilgrimage


  a journey to a holy place to cure illness
• Define leaching


  Use of leaches for blood letting
• Define apothecary


  a person who prepared and sold medicines and drugs
• Why did doctors base their understanding of the human anatomy on animals


  Human dissection was banned
• Did medieval surgeons carry our eye cataract operations


  Yes
• Why was Galen favoured by Christianity


  He believed in one god
• superstition


  an irrational belief based on the supernatural
• Define urine chart


  Used to examine urine to define an illness
• Define Vademecum


  A medieval book carried by doctors
• What type of medieval treatment is now proved successful


  Herbal
• What was the pain killer at the time

  Opium
• Who was responsible for making laws about public health

  Local councils
• In what year was there a £20 fine for throwing waste onto the streets


  1388
• Define anatomy


  the study of the structure of the body
• 8 negatives of public health in a medieval town


  1)most town had privies with cess pits beneath were sewage collected

  2)there were lots of animals coz of transport= lots of dung

  3)open drains that would overflow

  4) tannin industries ( making leather ) near towns and cities = smells water + chemical waste

  5) no sewers= waste chucked onto street

  6) water was rare= people didn't wash as much

  7) lack of sanitation due to lack of knowledge

  8) butchers dumped blood and guts into rivers
• 7 positive public health in medieval towns


  1) some aqueduct built by rooms transferred water in some towns

  2) cesspits lined with brick so they didn't contaminate water supplies

  3) in Newcastle streets were paved to make them easier to clean

  4) wealthier houses were cleaned by servants

  5) night carts collected human waste and rakers cleaned the streets

  6) laws were pasted to punish throwing waste onto the street in

  7) bath houses were built in towns
• 3. Positive and negative aspects of public health in medieval towns


  Due to rapid growth of towns new technology such as pipes made from wood and lead were built

  Cesspits were emptied yearly however not regularly so sewage easily seeped into water supplies

  Shopkeepers would try to sell food that was going off instead of throwing it away
• What facilities did monasteries have and how did they keep themselves clean


  - built near rivers which provided a fresh water source

  - elaborate systems of pipes to deliver water to wash basins

  - installed filtering systems

  - excellency way facility's

  - toilets were clean by diverting water from the river

  - cleanliness was important sign of piety and celibacy so monks bathed once a month

  - washed cloths regularly