renaissance

• when was the great plague?

  1665
• when was 'observations medicae' published?

  1676
• who wrote 'observations medicae'?

  Thomas sydenham
• what did 'observations medicae' suggest?

  disease was caused by external factors instead of the four humours theory
• what was a new idea about cause of disease?

  alchemy
• why was their still continuity from medieval to renaissance?

  • four humours widely used (although had been discredited)
  • lack of quality medical instruments
  • knowledge gaps
  • the church still controlled medical knowledge
• why did the church lose control of what was published?

  the printing press came to Britain meaning monks were not writing the books anymore meaning their beliefs were not as widespread
• what did people think was the most widespread cause of disease?

  miasma
• what was one of the key changes during the renaissance?

  the rise of humanism and this contained:

  • a love of learning
  • new interest in classical scholars
  • humans should make up their own mind when discovering the truth about the world around them
• what was Thomas Sydenham named?


  The English Hippocrates
• what did Sydenham do to treat disease?

  refused to rely on medical textbooks and closely observed the symptoms and treated the disease causing the symptoms
• why was Sydenhams method different to medieval medicine?

  he saw the symptoms as side effects of one cause whereas in medieval they treated each symptom individually
• what did Sydenham encourage students to do?

  write down symptoms in detail and find remedies to tackle the disease and he also believed that the nature of the patient had little to do with their disease
• what did Sydenham discover?

  measles and Scarlett fever were different diseases
• how long was 'observations medicae' used for by doctors?

  200 years
• what did 'observations medicae' help doctors to do?

  diagnose more patients easier and helped make diagnosis a more important part of doctors work
• what was the short and long term impact of sydenhams work?

  • short=encourages students to observe patients
  • long=make more accurate diagnosis of patients in the future for many years
• what 4 factors influenced renaissance medicine?

  • science and technology
  • church
  • institutions
  • individuals
• how did science and technology influence medicine?

  • printing press in 1440
  • this meant more information could be published quicker so more knowledge was spread
  • took medicine out of the hands of the church
• did science and technology help to hinder the development of medicine?

  help=more knowledge was published so it would improve treatments
• how did the church influence medicine?

  • protestantism challenged the Catholic church at times
  • less able to promote beliefs due to science
• did the church help or hinder development in medicine?

  help=didnt have as much influence as they had lost control
• how did institutions influence medicine?

  • allowed important people to share discoveries which spread more knowledge faster
  • Royal Society=1665
  • more people were willing to donate money to support
• did institutions help or hinder developments in medicine?

  help=knowledgeable people got together and discussed ideas helping development of medical knowledge
• how did individuals influence medicine?

  • Vesalius=dissections on criminals to understand human anatomy
  • sydenham=observations from patients
  • Harvey=circulation and the heart
• did individuals help or hinder developments in medicine?

  help=moved people away from old theories and brought new ideas
• what did Andreas Vesalius do?

  performed dissections on criminals bodies and disproved Galens theories
• what did Vesalius discover?

  • the jawbone is one not two bones
  • the breastbone is three parts not seven
  • blood doesn't flow into the heart through invisible holes
• what book did Vesalius publish?

  the fabric of the human body
• when was the fabric of the human body published?

  1543
• when was the first dissection in Cambridge?

  1565
• where was the first dissection in a school?

  cambridge
• what did fabric of the human body make doctors realise?

  • they could learn more by dissecting themselves
  • more detailed and accurate knowledge of anatomy
• what did Vesalius base his discoveries off?

  anatomy
• what factors contributed to Vesalius' success?

  • attitudes in society=more people able to participate in learning about medical knowledge
  • key individuals=disproving Galens theories with anatomy
  • science and technology=printing press and his book
  • monarch/government=royal institution supported by royal charter
• what theory did William Harvey have?

  blood pumps around the body like a circuit
• where did Harvey work to understand anatomy?

  battlefield
• what book did Harvey publish?

  an anatomical account of the motion of the heart and blood
• when did Harvey publish his book?

  1628
• how did Harvey show his theory?

  • dissecting human bodies
  • proving the body has a one way system for blood
  • same blood is being pumped around the body by the heart