Middle Ages medicine 1250-1500

• Who was Hippocrates ?


  -Greek doctor and teacher who created the theory of the 4 humours

  -Believed the body contained 4 humours black bile, yellow bile, blood and phlegm

  If you are healthy=humours are balanced

  If you are unhealthy=imbalanced humours

  -Use leeches or cups to remove excess blood
• Who was Galen?


  -A roman doctor who developed the 4 humours by creating the theory of opposites

  -If u had too much of a humour, you need to cure it with the opposite
• Who liked the 4 humours

  -The church supported the idea

  -Physicians were taught about it

  -However its these false ideas backed by the church that made the progress of medicine slow
• What is miasma?


  -believed cause disease

  -dirty street waste poisoning the air
• What was the role of religion and the church in the medieval times in terms of medicine?

  -Bible taught that diseases were a punishment from God for their sins

  • The black death 1348/49 was believed to be a punishment of peoples sins
  • Had lots of power over every aspect of life
• What is astrology?


  the study of stars

  was key in medical training

  but its these incorrect theories which were rarely challenged that made progress in medieval medicine really slow
• What was included in religious healing ?( treatment of disease)

  -healing prayers

  -fasting

  -pilgrimages to tombs
• What kind of treatment was used for the 4 humours

  -bloodletting

  includes purging and leeching
• What were herbal remedies used for and what were they like ?

  -to drink/sniff/bathe in

  -given by wise women and apothecaries

  -mostly used herbs, minerals and animal parts
• What was surgery like in the middle ages?

  -Medieval surgeons could do some complex external surgery e.g trepanning

  -in a time of war surgeons skills were in high demand so their skills increased

  -very little knowledge about dirt and disease

  -poorly sanitised

  -used wine as an antiseptic, natural substances( opium or hemlock) as anaesthetics and honey to clean wounds

  -they would use Wound Man illustrations which gave advice on how to deal with different wounds
• What were the main ways of prevention of disease in the middle ages

  -flagellants whipped themselves begging god for forgiveness

  • people fasted
  • physicians promoted regimin santitas
  • following a christian lifestyle
  • some wore amulets
• What was public health like in the middle ages?

  -poor lived in dirty conditions as cost of public health improvement was high
• What were some problems with public health+ how did they try and solve them ?

  -streets were filled with waste and litter--- introduce laws banning littering

  -too many animals leaving dung in streets ---people were employed to clean the streets (12 rakers by 1370

  -dirty water-----in Gloucester they used lead pipes to bring in fresh water (only for the rich)

  -leaking latrines (toilets)----laws on locations of private latrines
• did the government help the public health?

  not really

  only spent to improve public health during the black death
• Who treated the sick in medieval times

  -wise women-using herbal remedies

  -apothecaries-like a chemist or pharmacist

  -physicians- trained at university for 7 years using Hippocrates and Galen, only rich could afford

  -barber surgeon- untrained but experienced surgeon, performs basic surgery like amputating limbs, cheap
• When was the first hospital made ?

  1123 called st bartholemews in london
• What were medieval hospitals like?

  -ran by the church

  -focus on care not cure

  -kept clean by monks

  -emphasis on gods healing power
• When was the black death

  1348-49
• What were the symptoms of the black death?

  -painful swellings under armpit (buboes)

  -blisters

  -high fever

  -severe headaches
• What did people believe cause the black death

  it was a punishment cause by god as punishment of their sins

  -miasma
• What was treatment of the black death like

  -Rubbing a chicken on the buboes ( swelling under armpit)

  -drinking vinegar

  -sitting close to a fire

  -praying to god
• What did the government do the stop the spread of disease

  -introduced quarantine
• What percent of Londoners died in the black death

  60%-due to people living so close together , disease easily spread
• What were the main factors limiting progress of medicine in medieval Britain

  -Galen and Hippocrates as there theories were never challenged so they continued

  -The church-no one could challenge the church, or you would be challenging god, also they supported Galen and Hippocrates theories

  -the king and government- not interested in public health

  -a respect for tradition-physicians were not encouraged to challenge Galen and Hippocrates theories
• How much change was there in the middle ages?

  -There was no progress on what caused disease in the middle ages, as everyone believed in the theory of 4 humours and didn't want to go against Christianity

  -some progress in treatment-surgery made progress as surgeons became more experienced due to lots of wars

  -still not much progress in surgery and hospitals-50% of patients dies due to infections or diseases

  -not much progress in public health and the prevention of disease as medieval towns were still filthy allowing disease to spread rapidly
• What was the life expectancy in the medieval times

  35 years old which shows how medicine had not progressed