medieval 1000-1500

• Hippocrates

  Four Humours - blood, phlegm, yellow bile and black bile
• Galen

  Theory of Opposites - fever, apply a cold cloth. shivering, drink some tea etc.

  Wrote over 300 books
• Causes of illness

  miasma - bad air

  God - as a form of punishment

  - society is really religious

  movement of the sun and planets: influenced people's bodies and health, use of zodiac chart
• Prevention of illness

  Herbal remedies with spices

  Candles for miasma to cleanse the air

  Re-balancing the 4 humours: bleeding, exercise

  God: prayer, pilgrimage
• Treatment

  Four Humours - bleeding, purging, induce vomiting, leeches

  Miasma - to throw out bad food, herbal remedies, clean streets

  Zodiac chart to check what could be wrong
• Black Death 1348


  causes: punishment from God

  alignment of the planets

  miasma

  4 humours are unbalanced

  treatment: leeches and frogs on buboes

  bleeding, purging to balance 4 humours

  cold baths to balance body temperature

  prevention: flagellants and praying

  herbs and candles in houses

  rich people left London for the countryside

  impact: 40% of population died

  people learnt about bad food having an impact of health