unit 2- renaissance

• What was the renaissance

  A time of new ideas. People began to challenge old medical beliefs and put forward new theories such as Versalius’ ideas about practical observation
• What were similarities in renaissance medicine to medieval medicine

  • Barber surgeons and apothecaries were still main sources of medical advice
  • writings of Hippocrates, galen and Avicenna were rediscovered and used
• What were differences in renaissance medicine to medieval medicine

  • Quacks were introduces who were travelling salesman who sold medicines
  • people began to question Galen’s ideas but was still studied
  • The church no longer had so much control over medical teaching
  • Versalius’ discoveries
  • Printing press allowed more books to be printed and published
  • the discovery of the microscope
• What was Versalius’ significance in the renaissance

  • Believed successful surgery could only be achieved once people had a proper understanding of anatomy
  • Studied anatomy of executed criminals allowing him to publish books based in accurate observations and drawings of human anatomy
  • Could point out mistakes in Galen’s work which made others question galen as well
• What were veralius’ most important books called

  • Six Anatomical Pictures (1538)
  • The Fabric of the Human Body (1543)
• Who were key individuals in the renaissance

  william harvey, ambroise pare and John hunter
• What were William Harvey’s contributions to medical advancement in the renaissance

  • Proved Galen’s theory wrong - that there were two kinds of blood in the body and instead thought blood must circulate around the body
  • Drew maps of how the body worked
  • Showed reasoning of why bloodletting was wrong
  • proved that blood could only flow one way around the body
• What were the failures of Harvey’s discoveries

  • Didn’t fully understand aspect of how blood worked, why the blood circulated or why arteries and veins were different colours meaning it was hard for him to prove his theories to critics
  • Many ignored his ideas
  • His discovery wasn’t useful at first
• What were successes of Harvey

  • His discovery a vital stage in the development of surgery as many treatments wouldn’t work if blood circulation wasn’t understood e.g. blood tests and blood transfusions
• How did technology help Harvey’s discovery?

  • After Harvey had died, a professor used a microscope to discover capillaries. This helped prove theories that capillaries connected veins and arteries.
• Who was ambroise pare

  a French army surgeon who treated gunshot wounds during war and became a famous surgeon in Europe
• How were gunshot wounds treated before Pare’s discovery

  The wound was burned out using boiling oil. bleeding was also stopped by cauterisation - which was placing a red hot iron onto the wound
• What did Pare do instead to treat bleeding and gunshot wounds

  • During a French battle, he ran out of not oil so used a cream of rose oil, egg white and turpentine to soothe the patients. This worked very well and patients slept well and their wounds healed quickly
  • Also used ligatures to tie off blood vessels to stop bleeding however, would cause infections and was a slower process
  • Instead pare designed fake limbs for wounded soldiers
• What were the successes of ambroise pare

  • His books were published and circulated around Europe
  • His discoveries Were widely read and taught
  • Many surgeons followed his approach in surgery