Thomas Sydenham

• Renaissance Doctor Thomas Sydenham: 'Improving understanding of disease during the Renaissance'
• Thomas Sydenham was born


  1624
• Thomas Sydenham died


  1689
• Thomas Sydenham was known as the English Hippocrates
• Thomas Sydenham trained at Oxford University
• Thomas Sydenham believed that each disease was different and required individual identification and cure
• Thomas Sydenham's approach

  • Observation and diagnosis, letting nature take its course with illness, encouraging pulse-taking for diagnosis
• Thomas Sydenham published his findings in Observations Medici in 1676
• Thomas Sydenham discovered Sydenham's Cholera and differentiated between scarlet fever and measles
• Scarlet fever and measles

  Had outwardly similar symptoms but required different specific cures
• Thomas Sydenham believed diseases came from the natural world and that God gave people the ability to recognize and fight them
• Thomas Sydenham compared diseases to plants and animals
• Thomas Sydenham took advantage of new ingredients from around the world to find cures
• In zones with malaria, Thomas Sydenham found that the bark of the chinkona tree contained quinine, which combats malaria
• Thomas Sydenham's work can be seen as part of the early Enlightenment period
• In 1660, the Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge (Royal Society) was established
• Sydenham's work involved combating the real illness sydenham's
• In 1660, the Royal Society of London for improving natural knowledge, better known as the Royal Society, was set up
• The Royal Society was a sign that the King was supporting the development of new scientific ideas
• Scientists in the Royal Society discussed new ideas in science and medicine, challenged old ideas, carried out experiments, and used new technology like microscopes
• The Royal Society's findings were widely published in printed books and journals
• The age of the Enlightenment began where people felt free to question religious explanations about scientific ideas
• Sydenham questioned the idea that God caused disease and many old traditional ideas, while using observation and diagnosis similar to Hippocrates
• Despite Sydenham's work and the Royal Society's efforts, many people still believed in superstitious and ancient ideas about medicine and disease
• The Great Plague of 1665 in London was treated similarly to the Black Death over 300 years earlier
• Thomas Sydenham is debated as to whether he deserves the title "the English Hippocrates" due to his improvements in identifying and treating illnesses but lack of understanding the actual causes of disease
• It is up to individuals to decide if Sydenham's work represents progress or if more has stayed the same
• This rapid revision video provides the main points of Thomas Sydenham's life and work as a doctor
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