The middle ages

• God and the causes of disease

  • the church taught that God made people ill if he was angry with them or testing their faith
  • the church had influence over books, which often contain traditional views on diseases like Galen
  • dissections were taught to teach Galen theory and anything that contradicted it was ignored
  • so knowledge did not advance very much
  • also no formal education and little scientific prof for alternatives
• Astrology

  • the alignment of stars and planets was though to cause some diseases
  • physicians would look at their star charts to see when a patient was born and when they fell ill
  • alot of people believed this for the cause of the black death
• Galen- the four humours

  • it was the belief that everyone had a mix of four humours in their body, if the mix was unbalanced then people would get ill
  • the four mix: yellow bile, blood, phlegm and black bile
  • they believed that bleeding and purging help get rid of excess humours
  • also the theory of opposites would have helped balance and it was linked to personality type and also season.
• How did Galen contribute to medicine

  • blood letting and purging for illnesses
  • theory of opposites
  • wrote many books on medical training
  • carried out dissections on dead bodies
  • drew detailed diagram of human anatomy
• Miasma

  • disease was passes on by bad air
  • which was related to God as bad air was linked to sin
• Bloodletting

  • cutting a vein or using leeches
  • different parts of the body were used for different illnesses
  • it was occasionally performed by physicians
  • but usually done by barber surgeons
• Purging

  • making a patient vomit or go to the toilet
  • laxatives were given to them
  • enema which was a liquid injected into the rectum to help clear out the stool
  • performed by wisewomen
• Methods to prevent illness (religious and supernatural)

  • living a Christian life and praying, fasting and going on pilgrimage
  • carrying lucky charms
  • chanting incarnation
  • self punishment so God won't punish you
• Methods to prevent illness (rational)

  • bathing and washing
  • trying to keep the street clean
  • purifying the air
  • exercise
  • purging
• Traditional remedies

  • were made with herbs and were drunk or bathed in
  • made at home or sold by apothecary
• Who treated the sick

  • Barber surgeons
  • no training and carried out bloodletting and lancing boils
  • did basic surgery like amputation but low success rate
  • Apothecaries
  • mixed remedies and ointments based on their own knowledge
  • received training
  • cost money
• Who are physicians

  • are medically trained
  • they diagnose illnesses and gave treatments
  • were expensive
• care in the home

  • was treated by female family member
• What did physicians do

  • they observed a patient symptoms, their skin colour and pulse
  • they used zodiac charts to work out the best time to treat them
  • sent the patients to barber surgeons or apothecaries
• What were hospitals like

  • patients who had infectious diseases were not admitted
  • many were ran by the church to emphasises on God and healing
  • they had to be kept clean
  • they were places for recuperation rather than treating them
• What was the black death

  • it killed about one third of the population
  • it involved swelling of the lymph glands into large bumps filled with pus
  • fever chills
  • headache
  • vomitting
• What did people think caused the black death

  • religion- punishment from God
  • Miasma- bad smell from rubbish
  • four humours
  • astrology- the position of mars and Jupiter was strange
• How did people try and avoid the black death

  • praying and fast to show God that they were sorry
  • clearing up rubbish
  • carrying herbs and spice to avoid bad air
• What were the treatments of black death

  • cutting open buboes to drain the pus
  • praying
  • eat cool things and taking cold baths