history

• During the Medieval period, there was a lack of understanding about why people became ill. This was because scientific explanations did not exist. People looked to natural or supernatural reasons to explain the unexplainable.
• Miasma


  Bad air, believed to be found near swamps, corpses and rotting objects. If you breathed in miasma, people believed that you would become ill.
• Urine

  Physicians believed in examining the urine of their patients to indicate which humour was unbalanced. They would check the colour, consistency and smell of the urine and compared it to a urine chart.
• Four Humours


  Blood, Phlegm, Black Bile, Yellow Bile. People believed that for a person to be healthy, the four humours should be in balance.
• Hippocrates' Theory of the Four Humours

  • If someone had more or less of one of these humours, the body would become unbalanced and the person would become ill
  • The humours were linked to seasons, elements and star signs
• Galen's Theory of Opposites


  The cure for an excess of one humour is treatment with the opposite humour
• Importance of Hippocrates and Galen

  • Hippocrates was one of the first people to state the importance of observing a patient's symptoms before diagnosis
  • Galen had a keen interest in anatomy and publicly dissected animals, providing evidence for his theories
• The theories of Hippocrates and Galen did not require human dissection which allowed the Church to support them
• Many people in Medieval England could not read, so physicians who had read Hippocrates and Galen were regarded as better-educated
• Due to a lack of scientific knowledge, there were no better explanations for illness than those suggested by Hippocrates and Galen
• Religion

  The belief in God played an incredibly important role in Medieval people's day-to-day lives. The Church dictated people's lives and if you sinned, it was believed that God had the power to make you ill.
• Astrology


  The study of the position of the planets and stars. Physicians would consult star charts and look at when the patient was born to help diagnose their illness.
• Natural treatments had mixed results. Eating a healthy diet and washing our body are actions that we still do today to remain healthy. The basis of many natural treatments was the Theory of the Four Humours.
• Herbal Remedies


  Herbs were mixed together to create remedies a patient could drink, breathe in or bathe in to make them feel better. Some were effective, others were poisonous.
• Diet

  There was a belief that some food had healing qualities, such as Blanc Mangier made from chicken and almonds.
• Bathing

  The use of hot baths was commonly prescribed to melt excessive humours. Medieval people added herbs to the bath for their health benefits.
• Humoural Treatments

  Blood-letting: Cutting a vein to release blood

  Leeches: Leeches were placed on a patient's body to feed on their blood
• Overall, care and treatment was very ineffective in the Medieval period. The Church blocked progress in finding successful treatments. The Theory of the Four Humours and the Theory of Opposites were incorrect so they could not consistently cure patients.
• Natural treatments

  • Mallow and violets to relieve bladder stones
• Superstition

  Led to the development of some bathing cures
• Superstitious bathing cure

  • Boiling a fox, known to be quick and nimble, and bathing with it was believed to cure paralysis
• Humoural Treatments for Disease

  Once a physician had identified what humour a patient had too much or too little of, they attempted to rebalance the humours
• Blood-letting

  Cutting a vein, usually near the elbow, with a sharp object to release blood
• Leeches


  Leeches were collected and placed on a patient's body to feed on their blood
• Cupping


  A patient's skin was cut with either a sharp object or fingernails. A cup was heated and placed on the cut. This vacuum drew the blood out of the patient
• Purging


  Bitter herbs (like aniseed) or poison forced a patient to vomit
• Laxative


  Mallow leaves stewed in ale or linseeds fried in hot fat made a patient defecate
• Enema (clyster)


  For stubborn digestive blockages, a mixture of water, honey, oil, wheat bran, soap and herbs was inserted into a patient's anus via a greased pipe attached to a pig's bladder. The patient then rubbed their stomach to force faeces out of their body
• Theory of Opposites


  Used to treat patients
• Using the Theory of Opposites


  • A patient with too much phlegm would eat chilli
  • A patient with too much blood would eat cucumber
• Astrology


  Physicians used star charts to formulate treatments and consulted them at every stage of treatment
• The King's Touch


  People believed that the King held the power to heal
• Divine Rights of Kings

  People believed that God chose the King to rule and passed some of His supernatural powers to the King
• Supernatural treatments promoted by the Church

  • Healing prayers and spells
  • Placing an offering at a shrine of a saint
  • Touching holy relics
  • Lighting a candle of the length of the body part that you wanted to heal
  • Fasting
  • Pilgrimage
• Christians believed that it was God's will whether you lived or died
• Many people did not take cures as they believed going against God's will was a sin
• Sins corrupt a Christian's soul, preventing it from going to heaven
• Physicians


  In medieval times, doctors were called 'physicians'
• Physicians' education


  Attended university for between seven to ten years
• Physicians' role


  The Church controlled English universities like Oxford and Cambridge. They approved every medical text a physician used for his education