History - Medicine Through time

• What is astrology and how was it used? (c1250-c1500)

  • The alignment of planets and stars
  • it was used to help diagnose illnesses
• What were the 4 humours and who theorised this?

  • Blood , Phlegm , Yellow Bile , Black Bile
  • Hippocrates
• Who was Hippocrates?


  Ancient Greek doctor, his books and ideas were very influencial :

  • He believed there was a physical reason for illness
  • He wrote the hippocratic oath
• Religious and supernatural methods (medieval)

  • Praying
  • Chanting incantations
  • Carrying lucky charms
  • Flagellation
• Rational Methods (medieval)

  • Purifying the air
  • Bathing and washing
  • Keeping streets clean
  • Blood-letting and purging
  • Not overeating
  • Exercising
• What was Miasma?

  The theory that disease spread through foul smells or odour.
• When was the Black Death?

  1348-9
• When was the Printing Press developed, by who and when did it become influencial?

  • 1440
  • Gutenberg
  • The Renaissance period
• When did Thomas Sydenham work as a doctor in London?

  1660s and 70s
• What was the name of Thomas Sydenham's book he published in 1676?

  Observationes Medicae
• What were Thomas Sydenham's Biggest Ideas?

  • Clinical Observation
  • Treating the disease not just symptoms
• What was Galen's Theory and what did it entail?

  Theory of opposite - the idea that if someone was ill one of the 4 humours was imbalanced and to balance it they had to do the opposite to the humour that was affected.
• What did King Charles II do?

  Granted a royal charter to the Royal Society.
• What did the Royal Society Do?

  Recorded results of experiments, shared scientific knowledge, sponsored scientists
• What journal did the Royal Society publish?

  1665 - Philosophical Transactions : in which scientists could share their work and ideas.
• When did Vesalius study medicine?

  1533 - in Paris
• What was the name of the book Vesalius published and when?

  1543 - On the Fabric of the Human Body
• When was the great plague?

  1665
• Ways historians divide up time

  • Decades (10 years)
  • Centuries (100 years)
  • Periods (e.g. Industrial Revolution)
• Historians agree the Industrial Revolution lasted from about 1750 to 1900</b>
• The 20th century was from 1900 to 1999
• The First World War was in the 20th century, from 1914 to 1918
• Determining which century a year is in

  Cover up the last two digits, add 1 to the first two digits
• Determining century


  • 1584 is in the 16th century
  • 1275 is in the 13th century
  • 2010 is in the 21st century
  • 1899 is in the 19th century
  • 654 is in the 7th century
• Dates are read as the full four digits, not just the first two
• Creating a timeline


  1. Draw a line 27cm long, mark off 3cm sections for each century

  2. Label the centuries 12th, 13th, etc.

  3. Add dates for each century (1100-1199, 1200-1299, etc.)
• Types of information to add to timeline

  • Periods
  • Key events
  • Life expectancies
  • Medical events
• The Middle Ages were c.1250-1500, the Renaissance 1500-1700, the Industrial Revolution 1700-1900, the Modern period 1900-present
• The first hospitals in Britain were around in the 13th century, but were more about hospitality than medical care
• Hospitals in Britain


  First appeared around 13th century, originally places of hospitality for the sick and travellers
• Dissection banned by Catholic Church in 14th century, made studying human body difficult</b>
• Dissections


  First proper dissections occurred during Renaissance, 16th-17th centuries
• Blood circulation


  Discovered by William Harvey in 17th century
• Smallpox inoculations


  First tried in 18th century, precursor to vaccinations
• Vaccinations


  Increasingly introduced in late 18th and 19th centuries to fight smallpox and other diseases
• Germs


  Discovered around middle of 19th century, work of Louis Pasteur
• NHS


  Set up in 1948
• DNA


  Discovered in 1953
• Life expectancy increased from around 32 in 14th century to 40 in 17th century, 65 by mid-19th century, 78 by end of 20th century
• High infant/child mortality skewed early life expectancy figures