Medicine in Britain (1250-1500-1750-1900)

• What time period does the Middle Ages cover in this study material?

  1250-1500
• What are the main beliefs about the causes of disease in the Middle Ages?

  • Religious explanation: Disease sent by God
  • Supernatural explanation: Astrology
  • Rational explanation: Theory of the Four Humours
  • Rational explanation: Miasma
• What was the Church's belief regarding the cause of disease?

  Diseases were sent by God as punishment
• What was the Theory of the Four Humours?

  Body made of blood, phlegm, black bile, choler
• How did Hippocrates and Galen contribute to the understanding of disease?

  They promoted the Theory of the Four Humours
• What was miasma believed to be?

  Bad air filled with harmful fumes
• How did the Church influence medical knowledge in the Middle Ages?

  The Church controlled which books were copied
• What were the reasons ideas about disease did not change in the Medieval period?

  • The Church controlled medical texts
  • Dissections were illegal
  • The Church punished dissenters
  • Traditional ideas were widely respected
• What was the role of physicians in the Medieval period?

  Diagnosed illness and recommended treatments
• What was the purpose of bloodletting in Medieval medicine?

  To restore balance of the four humours
• What were common treatments for diseases in Medieval times?

  • Bloodletting
  • Purging the digestive system
  • Galen's theory of opposites
  • Herbal remedies
• What was the purpose of the Regimen Sanitatis?

  To advise on maintaining good health
• Who primarily cared for the sick in Medieval hospitals?

  Nuns and monks provided care
• How many hospitals existed by 1500?

  1100 hospitals
• What was the main symptom of the Black Death?

  Buboes, fever, and coughing blood
• When did the Black Death arrive in England?

  1348
• What did people believe caused the Black Death?

  God's punishment, miasma, astrology
• What were the main treatments for the Black Death?

  • Confession and prayer
  • Bleeding and purging
  • Hanging herbs and lighting fires
  • Herbal remedies like theriaca
• What is leprosy?

  A painful skin disease leading to paralysis
• How were lepers treated in the Middle Ages?

  They were banished to leper colonies
• What were the new ideas about the causes of disease in the Renaissance?

  • Paracelsus' chemical approach
  • Jan Baptiste von Helmont's ideas
  • Thomas Sydenham's observations
  • Advances by Leeuwenhoek and Hooke
• What were the continuities and changes in beliefs about disease from the Medieval period to the Renaissance?

  Continuities:

  • Religious and supernatural explanations persisted
  • Theory of the Four Humours remained influential

  
  

  Changes:

  • Decreased belief in miasma
  • Emergence of new scientific ideas
• What was a common religious explanation for disease in medieval times?

  Disease was sent by God
• What was the Theory of the Four Humours?

  It was a rational explanation for disease
• What was miasma believed to be?

  Bad air causing disease
• How did beliefs about miasma change over time?

  It became less popular after the 1300s
• Why did the belief in miasma resurface during epidemics?

  People were desperate during epidemics
• By the end of the 17th century, how many physicians believed in the Theory of the Four Humours?

  Few physicians believed it
• What was the general public's belief about the Theory of the Four Humours by the end of the 17th century?

  It was still widely believed by the public
• What were the new ideas about the causes of disease during the Renaissance?

  • Rejected the Theory of the Four Humours
  • Disease caused by poisons in the body
  • Digestion due to stomach acid
  • External factors causing disease
  • Observations of microbes
• Who was Paracelsus?

  A physician who rejected the Four Humours
• What did Jan Baptiste von Helmont claim about digestion?

  It was due to stomach acid
• What did Thomas Sydenham theorize about disease in 1676?

  It was caused by external factors
• What was significant about Anthony van Leeuwenhoek's work?

  He observed tiny animals under a microscope
• How did the Royal Society contribute to new ideas about disease?

  It promoted experiments and shared knowledge
• What was the first scientific journal published by the Royal Society?

  Philosophical Transactions
• What did Thomas Sydenham believe about treating diseases?

  Diseases should be treated, not symptoms
• Why did new ideas about disease arise during the Renaissance?

  Scientific observation and experiments were encouraged
• How did the rise of Protestantism affect beliefs about disease?

  It challenged Catholic teachings on disease
• What was the impact of the printing press on medical knowledge?

  It improved access to medical textbooks