2.1 change+continuity

• The Theory of the Four Humours can't be used to explain certain diseases anymore
• people are more curious about the world, so there are lots of new ideas about the causes of disease and illness
• Now, many scientists and great thinkers want to better understand the world around them
• people would still rely on remedies and cures from earlier times
• they still believed that miasma causes disease
• The practice of medicine is the same, even though ideas about medicine are changing
• People who fell ill during the period 1500 to 1700 were likely to believe the same things about the cause of their illness as their medieval ancestors
• Very little changed in the practice of medicine during this period
• Secular


  Not religious or in any way connected with spiritual beliefs
• Epidemics of the plague and other killer diseases, such as smallpox, the Great Pox (syphilis) and sweating sickness, could not be easily explained by the Theory of the Four Humours
• They affected everybody in the same way and were not cured by traditional humoural treatments, like blood-letting and purging
• There was still a widespread belief in miasmata as a cause of humoural imbalance and disease
• A miasma could be the product of rotten vegetables, decaying bodies of humans or animals, excrement or any swampy smelly, dirty place
• Alchemy


  An early form of chemistry. Alchemists tried to turn one material into another: mostly, they were trying to discover a way of making gold.
• In the 16th century, the Theory of the Four Humours was rejected by some radical physicians
• Disease was seen as something separate from the body, which needed to be attacked
• New chemical treatments started to appear, influenced by the increasing popularity of alchemy
• In 1546, a new text called On Contagion theorised that disease was caused by seeds spread in the air
• In 1628, a new theory was published in Britain, which suggested that blood circulated around the body instead of being made in the liver, as taught by Galen
• A better understanding of the digestive system developed
• This meant that people gradually stopped believing disease was caused by eating the wrong things
• Urine was no longer seen as an accurate way of diagnosing illness
• New microscopes were being developed, which allowed for much clearer magnification
• A new book, Micrographia, published in 1665, showed many detailed images, including a close-up drawing of a flea, copied from a magnified image
• In 1676, the medical textbook Observationes Medicae was published. This to theorised that illness was caused by external factors rather than the four humours.
• By c1700 the Theory of the Four Humours had been discredited, however, it was still being followed by the general population of Britain
• Other ideas about causes of disease had been discovered (for example, 'animalcules')
• Even though some of these ideas were very close to what we now know as the truth, they had very little impact at the time
• A better understanding of human anatomy (the makeup of the body) was developing all the time
• However, there was no point studying correct drawings of the internal organs when it was impossible to diagnose or treat internal problems on a living patient
• Also, the lack of quality medical instruments, such as microscopes, prevented any rapid change in people's beliefs about the causes of disease
• The new theories might have been very convincing, but without scientific proof they were just that-theories
• Because the general public believed in the Theory of the Four Humours, most physicians stuck to the old methods
• They were in the business of healing the sick, not coming up with better methods of doing it
• Even those who did look for new ideas still needed to work, and patients did not want to pay physicians to experiment on them
• While the practice of medicine did not change much at this time, ideas were starting to change
• Scientists like Galileo and Copernicus were challenging the authority of the Church in other areas of scientific understanding
• This encouraged medical scientists to start looking beyond the works of Galen and Hippocrates
• By the end of the 17th century doctors and scientists had lots of new ideas about the causes of illness and disease-it just wasn't applied to everyday medical practice
• Ideas about the causes of disease and illness

  • Stayed the same: Miasmata
  • Changed a lot: The Theory of the Four Humours, The human body, Diagnosis using urine
  • Changed a little: The use of medical books, The influence of the Church, Supernatural