medieval medicine

• hippocrates= theory of 4 humours
• galen= theory of opposites
• name the 4 humours?

  • black bile
  • yellow bile
  • blood
  • phlegm
• who was named the Galen of islam?

  'ibn sina'
• what did islamic hospitals first treat?

  mental illness
• how many books did Hippocrates write?

  over 300
• what did Ibn Sina do?

  listed medical properties of 760 drugs
• name a herbal remedy?

  honey and plantain used as an antiseptic
• name 2 medieval treatments?

  bleeding and purging
• how long did a physician train for?

  7 years
• what was the surgeon called who saved Henry V? and how did he do it?

  John Bradmore

  by designing metal forceps to pull the arrowhead out of his cheek
• factors- church:

  • centre of European society
  • all ideas influenced by it
  • god is omnipotent/ controls everything
  • 'fear factor' led to lack of challenge (accused of heresy eg Roger bacon)
  • galens ideas aligned to christianity
  • people not encouraged to think outside of box
  • people didn't challenge authority of god
• factors- education:

  • church controlled education
  • 7 years to train to be physician and very expensive
  • galens theory always taught
  • doctors not encouraged to experiment/ think for themselves
• factors- individuals:

  • no individual made a breakthrough
  • evidence that Hippocrates and Galen were correct
  • no progress made due to individuals
• factors- government:

  • didn't spend money on research
  • spent money on war/ defence instead
  • can't find out new things without funding so no progress made
• who weren't allowed to become physicians?

  women
• what approach did medieval hospitals take?

  'care over cure' approach
• who did hospitals mainly care for?

  elderly
• who were hospitals run by?

  monks and nuns (monasteries)
• name a medieval hospital?

  st. Bartholomew's
• by 1400 how many hospitals were there?

  500
• what did apothecaries sell?


  made own medicines and ointments to sell to the sick by mixing ingredients
• where did the Black Death originate?

  china
• how was the Black Death spread?

  fleas on rats/ cats/ dogs
• where did the Black Death especially affect?

  port cities
• name the 2 types of the black death?


  Bubonic and pneumonic
• where does the word 'quarantine' from?


  the latin quaranta

  ships had to isolate for 40 days to allow infected individuals to die
• what % of the population died from the black death?

  at least 40%
• what was the chance of death if you had the bubonic black death?

  80%
• what was the chance of death if you had pneumonic black death?

  100%