Renaissance- 1500c-1700c

• Continuity in ideas of the cause of disease

  Miasma - People believed disease was spread by bad smells. These could come from rotting bodies, dead animals, and excrement.

  
  

  4 humours - Many people still believed that disease was caused because the four humours were out of balance.

  
  

  Punishment from God
• New ideas of the causes of disease in renaissance

  In 1526 Paracelsus came to believe that disease was caused by chemicals inside the body.

  
  

  Thomas Sydenham and a small number of other doctors believed disease was caused by something outside the body and not the four humours.

  
  

  In 1683 Leeuwenhoek developed a microscope which allowed him to observe 'animalcules' (bacteria).

  
  

  Colour remedies - remedies would be chosen based on colour or shape (e.g. yellow flowers to treat yellow skin - jaundice)
• Continuity in the treatment of disease

  Those who believed in the theory of the four humours still used bloodletting, purging and sweating as treatments.

  
  

  People still prayed to God, went to Church and fasted for a cure.
• New ideas of treatment in the renaissance

  A new treatment was called transference which meant you could transfer your illness to an object. E.g. people tried to get rid of warts by rubbing them with an onion in the hope the warts would transfer onto the onion.

  
  

  New plants from America were used such as cinnamon to treat illness
• Why did physicians use Galens incorrect ideas till 1500s?

  • His ideas were in use for 1500 years, no-one thought he was wrong.

  • Dissection was not allowed by the Church, it was against religious law: Galen's mistakes could not be discovered.

  • The Church said Galen was correct because Galen believed in 'one creator.

  To go against the Church was dangerous, you could be thrown out of the Church.
• What did Vesalius do?

  Vesalius challenged Galen's ideas because the Church had less power: therefore he dissected corpses.

  
  

  He employed artists to draw his discoveries and then had his work printed: 'Fabrica' is his most famous book. As a consequence, other doctors could learn about anatomy.

  
  

  Vesalius dissected corpses which meant he could prove Galen wrong and make new discoveries.

  
  

  Vesalius faced opposition. Some people thought Vesalius was wrong because he was going against Galen.
• What did Galen say and how did Vesalius fix this

  The septum of the heart had holes in it...

  The septum had no holes.

  The jaw is 2 bones.

  it was 1 bone.

  The liver had 5 parts (lobes).

  it had no lobes.
• What did the work of Galen not lead to?

  THE WORK OF GALEN DID NOT LEAD TO BETTER CURES - STILL NO KNOWLEDGE OF GERMS.
• What did William Harvey do in the 1600s?

  Did experiments on the hearts of live animals like frogs and watched them beating.

  
  

  Calculated the amount of blood in the body.

  
  

  Realised that blood could not be made in the liver and 'used up' in the body as Galen believed.

  
  

  Harvey showed blood circulated around the body in one direction and was pumped by the heart.

  
  

  Wrote "On the Motion of the Heart", 1628.

  
  

  Inspired by the mechanical fire fighting pump.
• Impact of Vesalius and Harvey; Did treatment immediately improve?

  No.

  
  

  Hundreds of years later Harvey's work was useful when blood transfusions were being practiced/experimented.

  
  

  Despite the work of Vesalius and Harvey, treatments did not improve at this time.

  
  

  Neither Vesalius nor Harvey made an impact on the understanding of disease: the four humours theory and bleeding; belief in God and the supernatural; praying for a cure; belief in bad smells as the cause of illness continued.

  
  

  The four humours theory was still used. People thought the humours needed balancing to cure a patient.
• Caring for the sick in the renaissance

  Patients in hospitals still received a good diet and some herbal / plant medicines.

  
  

  Some hospitals were still run by the Church so prayers were still used.

  
  

  Pest - houses were new hospitals which dealt with diseases such as the Plague.

  
  

  Most people were still treated at home. Women were still important as family or village healers with a knowledge of plants and herbs that might cure the ill. Local communities were close-knit which meant lots of people gave advice or remedies.
• Training doctors in the MEDIEVAL period

  There were few medical schools.

  The ideas of Hippocrates and Galen were taught.

  
  

  The Church was in control of the training of doctors.

  
  

  There were few medical books because they were made by hand.

  
  

  Dissection was banned.

  Doctors followed the ideas of Galen and did not disagree with him because the Church approved of Galen's ideas
• How did training doctors improve from the medieval era to the RENAISSANCE?

  More medical schools and universities opened.

  The ideas of Vesalius and Harvey were taught.

  
  

  The Church had much less control over training.

  
  

  There were more medical books because of the invention of the printing press.

  New books contained the ideas of Vesalius and Harvey.

  
  

  Dissection was more common because the Church had less power.

  Doctors were encouraged to make discoveries and challenge the ideas of Galen.
• Why did things change in the renaissance? ; Technology

  BETTER TECHNOLOGY: The printing press was invented in the 1450s by Gutenberg. More, better quality books could be produced. As a result, students and doctors had better access to books from which they could learn from.

  
  

  In 1683 Leeuwenhoek developed a microscope which allowed him to observe 'animalcules' (bacteria). The microscope allowed scientists to view bacteria even though they did not know they caused illness. This was a step towards ending the idea of the four humours. However, scientists did not make the connection between these 'animalcules' and germ theory - more powerful microscopes were needed.
• Why did things change in the renaissance? ; Religious reasons

  RELIGIOUS REASONS: The Church had less power

  over people's ideas. Consequently, people were more willing to experiment. More dissections were carried out and people were prepared to criticise Galen when his mistakes were discovered.
• Why did things change in the renaissance? The Royal Society

  The Royal Society (1660) was formed so scientists could discuss new discoveries and conduct experiments. As a result, they read, discussed and re-tested discoveries made by scientists.
• Why did things change in the renaissance?; Education

  EDUCATION: The number of universities grew.

  Knowledge grew as men attended university. Dissections took place and experiments were carried out. Libraries grew because of more books.
• Why did things change in the renaissance?; Individuals

  INDIVIDUALS: Artists like Da Vinci dissected corpses and drew accurate pictures of the body. This meant others could learn from their pictures. They wanted to show a more realistic image of the body. Also, the work of individuals like Vesalius and Harvey.