chapter 1

• What was a common cause of malnutrition in the medieval period?

  Poor diet due to bad harvests
• How many families could feed themselves during the medieval period?

  Only 25 percent of families
• What were the living conditions like in medieval towns?

  Crowded houses with contaminated water
• What was the harshest famine in England?

  The famine of 1315–17
• What caused wounds from war to become gangrenous?

  Infection from sword or axe wounds
• What did medieval people believe caused diseases?

  Punishment from God or bad smells
• What were the streets in medieval towns often filled with?

  Human and animal sewage
• What were the two types of plague mentioned?

  Bubonic plague and pneumonic plague
• How was bubonic plague spread?

  By fleas from black rats
• What symptoms did bubonic plague cause?

  Swellings, fever, headache, and boils
• How quickly could death occur from bubonic plague?

  Within a few days
• How was pneumonic plague spread?

  By breathing or coughing germs
• What did pneumonic plague attack in the body?

  The lungs, causing breathing problems
• When did the Black Death enter Britain?

  In July 1348
• What percentage of the UK population was killed by the Black Death?

  Up to 40 percent
• How many people died of the plague in London in 1665?

  Around 100,000 people
• What percentage of London's population died from the plague in 1665?

  Nearly 25 percent
• What effect did wealthy citizens leaving London have on the plague?

  It caused the disease to spread
• What were the general causes of illness and disease in the medieval period?

  • Poor diet due to bad harvests
  • Crowded living conditions
  • Famine, especially in 1315-17
  • War injuries leading to infections
• What were the symptoms and effects of the two types of plague?

  Bubonic plague:

  • Spread by fleas
  • Symptoms: buboes, fever, headache, boils
  • Death within a few days

  
  

  Pneumonic plague:

  • Spread by coughing
  • Symptoms: breathing problems, coughing blood
  • Death occurred quickly
• What were the consequences of the Black Death in Britain?

  • Entered Britain in July 1348
  • Spread across England, Wales, Scotland
  • Up to 40% of the population killed
  • 100,000 deaths in London in 1665
• What was a significant outcome of the Industrial Revolution?

  Spread of factories and industrial towns
• Name three industrial towns that grew during the Industrial Revolution.

  Glasgow, Manchester, Birmingham
• Why did factories require housing to be built?

  To accommodate workers moving to industrial towns
• What were the public health problems in industrial towns?

  • Squalid living conditions
  • Overcrowded tenements
  • Contaminated drinking water
  • Outbreaks of cholera and typhoid
• What caused outbreaks of disease in industrial towns?

  Squalid living conditions and overcrowding
• What were tenements?

  Large buildings divided into separate flats
• How did sewage affect public health in industrial towns?

  It contaminated drinking water, causing diseases
• What diseases were linked to contaminated water in industrial towns?

  Cholera and typhoid
• What misconception did people have about the cause of disease during this period?

  They believed miasma caused disease
• What event in 1858 worried people due to sewage issues?

  The Great Stink in London
• What did Dr. John Snow prove about cholera?

  It was a waterborne disease
• In what year did Dr. John Snow study the Broad Street Pump?

  1854
• What is cholera?

  • An acute intestinal infection
  • Causes severe diarrhoea and stomach cramps
  • Caused by contaminated water or food
• What is typhoid?

  • A serious infectious disease
  • Produces fever and diarrhoea
  • Caused by dirty water or food
• What contributed to the spread of diseases in the 20th century?

  Increased travel, migration, and world wars
• What was the impact of the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918-19?

  • Up to 40 million deaths worldwide
  • Infected 20% of the global population
  • Spread by returning troops after WWI
  • 7 million deaths reported in Spain
  • Killed 280,000 people in the UK
• Why was the disease called Spanish Flu?

  7 million deaths were reported in Spain
• How quickly could the Spanish Flu kill a person?

  It could kill a person in a day
• What was tuberculosis previously known as?

  Consumption