Medieval Medicine

• supernatural and religious explanations of the causes of disease

  this was a believe as there was a lack of scientific understanding of the anatomy. The church dominated society as they were the second most important landowner after the monarch and used their land to build churches, monarchs and convents. people had to attend church service regularly and they had to pay a sum of their money from their income (tithe). The church had power and control over society so it was largely believed that diseases were a punishment from God for people's sins.
• treatment for the religious/supernatural cause of disease

  • Prayer and repentance
• Treatment for the religious/supernatural cause of disease

  The monarch (God's representative on earth) to lay healing hands on patients with a disease called scrofula. This was touching the king's evil. it was also believed that the disease was caused by the evil spirits living inside someone, so exorcism were used as this would encourage the evil spirit to escape.
• Reasons for lack of progress in medicine

  The church dominated the school system and controlled people's attitude towards disease. Galen had stated that the human body was designed so the parts fitted perfectly together. This fitted the churches belief that God had created humans so people could not challenge Galen and human dissection was banned. (Roger bacon who was a priest was imprisoned as he suggested new approaches to medicine.)
• Leprosy

  A disease that sufferers were treated with particular disdain.Leprosy was referenced in the bible and considered a punishment for sins
• Symptoms of leprosy

  • Painful skin disease
  • Paralysis
  • Death
  • Fingers and toes falling off
  • Body hair falling out
  • Ulcers growing inside and outside the body
• Treatment of leprosy sufferers (there were no cures at the time)

  1. Banned from communities

  2. Had to wear a cloak and ring a bell to announce their presence
• Lazar Houses

  Lazar houses were built to contain the disease and prevent the spread.Leprosy was only caught by very close contact with a sufferer.People at the time had a small understanding of how diseases were transmitted
• Name another supernatural cause of diseases.

  Astrology
• Why did Doctors use the position of the planets?

  Because it may influence the patient's health.
• why did doctors use star charts?

  Doctors would look at when they were born and when they fell ill, which would help identify what was wrong.
• Why did the church disapprove astrology ?

  The church was against this as this was telling or predicting the future, however it became more accepting after it was believed that it was a main cause of the Black Death as it was caused by the bad alignment of the planets.
• Name one rational/natural cause of disease

  Theory of the four humours
• What were natural causes of diseases based off ?

  They were based off what was remembered and translated from Ancient Greek and Roman. the main figures were Hippocrates and Galen.
• Who was Hippocrates?

  • He was a greek doctor who was known as the doctor of modern medicine. His name was given to the Hippocratic oath which stated that it was a doctor's duty to work for the patient and not personal gain. This is still used today.
• What did Hippocrates recommend to do ?

  1. clinical observation
• What did Hippocrates recommend to do ?

  • record the patient's symptoms in order to find the correct treatment for the specific case
• What was the theory of four humours?

  The body was made up of four liquids known as humours which needed to be kept in balance. An excess of the humours led to the onset of a disease
• What are the four humours ?

  Blood, phlegm, yellow and black bile. they are linked to the four seasons and elements to help suggest appropriate treatments.
• Who was Galen ?

  Galen was a doctor who developed the theory of opposites. He believed that the humours were symptoms and not causes and an opposite effect should be sought to cure disease. e.g. a cold was caused by too much phlegm and the treatment was to apply the opposite like a hot pepper. This was also used during the Black Death when they used sweet smells as they thought it was caused by bad smells.
• Why were Galen's ideas popular ?

  they were published into sixty books. He had been limited in his practise as he relied on dissecting animals. He dissected a nerve from a pig to prove that the brain controlled the body. He made big mistakes as he was not able to dissect the human body. His views were accepted by the church about the design of the body.
• Urine analysis 


  Doctors used urine samples to diagnose illnesses. Wealthy families sent urine samples to their doctors to look for signs of illnesses developing. The text in the middle tells them about the patients digestions. death is bottom right (black urine) and best digestion is bottom left. it was one of the best ways to check the balance of the humours.
• Miasma (natural belief)

  • the cause of diseases were from poisonous fumes in the atmosphere. this was linked to Hippocrates and Galen's ideas. Swamps, corpses and rotting matter could spread disease. During the Black Death, the king asked to clean up the streets from sewages as a prevention of the disease spreading.
• The churches prevention method

  • Live a sin less life
  • Pray regularly
  • Give confessions to priests
  • Tithes to the church
  • Church encouraged prays and incantations
  • Paying for a special mass
• Humoural treatments (bloodletting if there was too much blood)

  • Cutting a vein with a sharp instrument or lancet
  • Leeches which were placed on the skin directly to suck out blood
  • Cupping which was placing a heated cup on cuts to create a vacuum to draw blood out of the skin
• Purging (Treatment)

  • removing leftover food from the digestive system. This was done by using an emetic to make the patient vomit to a laxative or enema to clear out anything left over in the body.
• Remedies (treatment)

  provided to sick people and still is used today. Aloe vera was prescribed to improve digestion. others include saffron, tamarind and almonds
• What is Theriaca?

  A spice-based mixture that contained over 70 ingredients. Galen has used it for snake bites and poisons.
• Hygiene (regimen sanitatis)

  • Moderate exercise
  • Regular bathing
  • Balanced diet
• University Training for physicians

  • training was from medic theories in textbooks and based on Hippocrates and Galen's ideas. There was inaccuracies in this work because Galen dissected animals rather than humans. they received little practical experience because human dissection was banned. There was only one human dissection a year which was to prove Galen correct.
• What were physicians expected to do?

  • Go to top universities 
  • They were mainly men due to attitudes toward education at the time 
  • By 1300, there were 100 physicians in England
• treatments (apothecaries)


  most ordinary people went to apothecaries who were men who prepared and sold remedies. Apothecaries were trained through apprenticeships.
• How did surgeons gain experience?

  Many wars were fought and the armies went to war took teams of surgeons with them. These military surgeons got a lot of experience on the battlefield and made some progress in surgery.
• Who is John of Arderne?

  A specialist in surgery on the rectum and some of his methods are still in use today.
• Who is Theodoric of Lucca?

  A surgeon serving with the christian armies during the crusades. He made the discovery that wine could be used to clean wounds (acted as primitive kind of antiseptic)
• Public health


  Public health was not good during the medieval times compared to the romans. The government did not think it was their responsibility to enforce cleanliness. there wasn't enough money to found an efficient public health. However, the medieval monasteries had quite good public health.
• Why was surgery dangerous ?

  • Pain 
  • Infection 
  • Blood loss
• What types of surgeries were attempted ?

  minor procedures like treating hernias, pulling teeth or treating cataracts
• How were most surgeons trained ?

  • They were not university trained and the profession was therefore regarded as second rate compared to physicians
• Who carried out surgeries ?

  • barber- surgeon