unit 1 - medieval medicine

• Who was Hippocrates

  • Greek physician/ doctor who was one of the first to use rational medicine
  • Developed the theory of the four humours
  • Observed the body as a whole instead of individual parts
• How did Hippocrates help the development of medicine

  • Created the Hippocrates oath which is still used today
  • believed that all illnesses had a natural cause instead of the church’s idea that is was to do with supernatural / God
• Who was Galen

  • greek physician who built on Hippocrates‘ ideas and added his own ideas
  • Worked in a gladiator school which allowed him to further develop study of human anatomy
  • Used pigs and monkeys to develop understanding of anatomy
• How did Galen help develop medicine

  • Discovered ideas of the brain
  • Mentioned a ‘creator‘ in his work so the church supported him
• What were the four humours

  • Yellow bile
  • Black bile
  • Phlegm
  • Blood
• What were Christian views on medicine

  • Jesus healed the sick so they followed this example and built hospitals
  • Diseases were sent by God so they cared for patients instead of treated them
  • Encouraged prayer and pilgrimage as best treatments
• How did the christian church help develop medicine

  • They controlled universities so promoted old ideas to medieval doctors rather than new ideas
  • used Galen’s ideas
• What were Islamic views on medicine

  • Believed every illness had a cure
  • Illness was seen as a misfortune that had to be fixed so focused on curing the patient
• How did Islam help develop medicine

  • Translated many Greek medical work into Arabic which developed their understanding of medicine
  • Avicenna wrote the Canon of Medicine containing discoveries that were spread throughout Western Europe
  • Set up hospitals that treated all patients and trained doctors
• Why were towns and cities so unhealthy

  • People lived very close together
  • Clean water was in short supply and was usually from rivers and streams that were contaminated
  • Butchers slaughtered animals and didn’t know where to put the waste
  • cesspits were built next to wells which contaminated them
  • Horses on the streets
  • No sewers
• How did monasteries help

  • Got water from upstream meaning it wasnt contaminated
  • Had gardens which grew plants and herbs for medicines
  • Usually were far from towns
  • Had filtering systems and pipes to deliver water
  • Had a hospital attached to them
• What were main beliefs on what caused diseases

  • Punishment from God
  • Supernatural
  • Bad smells
  • The four humours
• Who were common people who treated diseases

  • Barber surgeons who did minor surgeries such as tooth extraction and bloodletting
  • Trained doctors - mainly for the rich
  • Local wise woman who used herbs to produce medicines
  • Apothecary - who sold medicines, herbs and spices
• What common treatment involved the removal of blood to balance the four humours

  Bloodletting
• Why would people whip themselves if they were ill

  Thought illnesses were punishments from God meaning they whipped themselves to punish themselves for their sins
• What treatments involved burning the wound to stop blood flow with a heated iron

  Cauterisation
• What treatments did the church recommend

  Praying and pilgrimages
• What was trepanning

  Drilling a hole into the patients skull to remove the demon that they thought caused epilepsy
• what was the Black Death

  A pandemic that swept across europe which killed a third of the population and damaged the reputation of the church
• What were the two diseases that the Black Death was made up of

  bubonic and pneumonic plague
• What were symptoms of the plague

  • Lumps around the body
  • black spots on arms and thighs
  • Vomiting and aches
• What were beliefs on the causes of the Black Death

  • Miasma (theory of bad smells)
  • Imbalance of the four humours
  • Punishment from God
• What were common treatments of the Black Death

  • Bloodletting, to balance the four humours
  • Whipping - flagellants would do this
  • Pop open buboes
  • Attach chicken onto buboes
• What were ways the Black Death was prevented

  • People carried around sweet smelling herbs to avoid bad smells
  • Praying to God
  • avoiding victims
• What was the impact of the Black Death

  • Killed a third of the population
  • Fields went unploughed leading to food shortages and increased prices
  • reputation of church was damaged as it ‘failed to protect’ its people
• What were hospitals set up by the islamic religion called

  Bismaristans