Renaissance

• What period did the Renaissance occur in Europe?

  14th to 16th century
• What was a significant change in attitudes during the Renaissance?

  People rediscovered learning and looked back to the antiquities of Rome and Greece
• What invention was created by 1500 that impacted education?

  The printing press
• How did the printing press contribute to education?

  It allowed for the widespread printing of books in higher detail
• Who is a key figure associated with the Renaissance in the context of anatomy?

  Vesalius
• What is the scientific method as described in the Renaissance?

  It involves observing, hypothesizing, and experimenting
• How many printed editions of books were produced by the Renaissance?

  600 printed editions
• What were the consequences of the Renaissance on art and medicine?

  • A new desire to share the human body in more realistic detail in art
  • More careful study of anatomy
  • New gunpowder led to stronger methods of warfare
  • Scientific methods developed for treating injuries
  • Explorers brought back new insights and ideas for medicines
• What common treatments continued during the Renaissance?

  Bleeding and purging
• How were herbal remedies viewed during the Renaissance?

  They were passed down through generations
• What new medicines were brought back by explorers during the Renaissance?

  Tobacco and Quatre for toothache
• What is quackery as it relates to the Renaissance?

  Quacks sold medicines they knew would not work
• What superstition surrounded King Charles II's death?

  People believed his skin could cure skin diseases known as King's evil
• What was a notable study related to mental illnesses during the Renaissance?

  Studies of mental illnesses were conducted
• How did Renaissance art change the approach to studying the human body?

  It led to more realistic representations in art and careful anatomical studies
• What role did explorers play in the development of medicine during the Renaissance?

  They brought back new insights and ideas for new medicines
• What is an example of how despite innovative individuals, superstition still remained even in the highest Docters

  1658- King Charles collapsed. to cure him he took 58 types of drugs, was purged, bled and cauterized. this didn't work. After his death 92000 people came to visit him as they believed touching him would cure them from a skin disease known as the 'Kings Evil'
• Similarities between medieval and Renaissance hospitals 


  • nursing sisters still used herbal remedies
  • Treatments still based primarily on the 4 humours
  • nursing helpers still did heavy manual work and they had no training
• how were hospitals in the renaissance different 


  • funded by charitable gifts
  • locals helped with staffing and construction
  • by 1800s poor could have medical care for free
  • Doctors gained official jobs in hospitals and were paid by the wealthy
  • by 1800 20000 patients handled a year compared to only 420 in 1400
  • between 1720-1750 new general hospitals added to London and 4 more throughout the country
  • attitudes towards disease are changing, no longer always seen as punishment for sin
• how were hospitals different in medieval times 


  believed in caring for not curing

  anybody with money preferred to get a doctor or nurse to come to their house

  religious motive behind the growth of hospitals as Christians began to stress the importance of showing faith through more than just church, they needed to help the community
• What was the great plague

  a new wave of bubonic plague broke out in 1665. killed over 100000 people in London. it spread very quickly do to overcrowding dirt and rats
• What did people think cause the great plague 


  • punishment by God
  • astrology
  • miasma
• What were treatments for the great plague 


  • gov ordered days of public prayers and fasting so people could confess, repent and beg for forgiveness
  • they cut open buboes and let the pus out
  • prayers, magical or religious charms to wear
  • herbal remedies- such as making people sweat to make buboes rise then apply cut open pigeons to the sore
• what were methods of prevention in the great plague 


  pigs, cats dogs not allowed in the city and stays were killed

  fires lit in the streets to clean the air

  herbs to fight off miasma

  events were banned to stop big crowds

  victims shut into homes and watchmen enforced this

  householders were ordered to clean streets outside
• Why did these methods of prevention not work during the great plague 


  • some watchmen stole from the sick
  • most doctors fled london
  • monarchy fled
  • nine men put in charge of the plague in London, 6 fled immediately
  • no laws were passed to enforce isolation as MPs didn't want to isolate themselves
• Consequences of the great plague 


  died out after the great fire of 1666

  • london was rebuilt with larger streets made from stone and brick
  • 1/4 of london pop dead
  • for a time london was healthier yet became onlly more crowed during the industrial revolution