Medicine Through time 💉

• The Plague first broke out in China then spread to India, across Europe until it reached Dorset in England


  1348
• The Plague had spread around the rest of Britain, killing 40% of the population with a higher number in towns and ports


  1349
• At one point 200 people a day were being buried in London
• At the time it was called 'the pestilence' but historians have called it the bubonic plague
• Treatment of the plague


  1. Rubbing onions, herbs or a chopped up snake on the buboes

  2. Drinking vinegar, eating crushed minerals, arsenic, mercury or even ten-year-old treacle

  3. Praying to God

  4. Sitting close to a fire or in a sewer to drive out the fever

  5. Physicians would pop the buboes to release the pressure or try bleeding or leeching

  6. Fumigating the house with herbs to get out the bad air
• Miasma


  Poisonous fumes released by a volcano, believed to cause the plague
• Jews were blamed for spreading the disease by poisoning the wells
• Trade amongst ships


  Brought the rats and fleas to England
• Living conditions in 1340


  • Large cities were perfect for the spread of the Black Death as people lived so close to each other - 60% of Londoners died!
  • Horse waste was everywhere and the butchering of meat led to waste and blood on the streets
  • Towns had no drainage, rats lived in sewers and rubbish, germs grew
• Prevention and public health measures


  1. The government introduced quarantine to stop people moving around so much, whilst victims were stopped from leaving their houses

  2. Hospitals would not accept sufferers

  3. King Edward ordered the cleaning of the streets to stop the odour

  4. Carrying a posy of flowers or herbs around the neck or bathing to avoid the corrupted air

  5. Escaping the plague by avoiding people

  6. Flagellants whipped themselves for forgiveness

  7. Daily church services, prayers and pilgrimages to ask God to stop the plague
• There was no progress in medicine during the Medieval Period (1250-1500)
• Medieval surgery


  • Barber surgeons gained experience and could perform some external surgery or even removing cataracts
  • They used basic anaesthetic (opium) and antiseptic (honey) to treat the wounded
• The Four Humours


  The idea that the cause of disease was based on the four humours (blood, black bile, yellow bile and phlegm)
• Ideas on the cause of disease


  • God punishing sins
  • Movements of the planets (Mars, Saturn and Jupiter)
  • Miasma - poisonous fumes released by a volcano
  • Jews poisoning the wells
• Progress in hospitals


  • Britain's first hospital, St. Bartholomew's, opened in 1123 and by 1400 there were over 500 across the country
  • Rich merchants could visit these hospitals
• Progress in surgery


  • 50% of patients died due to infections and injuries
  • Surgeons did not clean equipment, could not clean wounds or stop heavy bleeding
  • Very basic understanding of anatomy using 'wound man'
• Progress in the Four Humours

  • The treatments suggested to treat the Four Humours did not work and often made patients worse (cupping, leeching, purging)
• Progress in religious and superstitious ideas


  • Praying and pilgrimages failed to cure
  • Miasma, supernatural and superstitious ideas were all common but offered no real cause of disease
• Progress in public health


  • Medieval towns were still filthy places, the government did little to help improve public health
  • Efforts were made in some cities to improve public health, e.g. 12 rakers in London clearing streets, aqueducts in Hull
  • Regimin Sanitis was a medieval common sense approach to the rich keeping healthy, through exercise and a balanced diet
  • Hanging sweet smelling herbs or wearing amulets/charms were believed to prevent diseases like the Black Death but did not work
• Life expectancy remained at 35 years old, this is clear proof that medicine had not progressed in the medieval period
• There was little progress in medicine during medieval Britain due to factors such as the power of the church, the influence of Hippocrates and Galen's ideas, and the lack of government interest and funding
• During the Renaissance, there was a rebirth of old ideas from Ancient Greece and Rome, whilst people began to question, challenge and test traditions. However, many things stayed the same and there was large amounts of continuity, especially in the form of ideas on the cause of disease
• Change and continuity in the Renaissance


  • Change: Scientists such as Sydenham and Paracelsus reject the theories of Galen and Hippocrates Four Humours
  • Continuity: Despite scientists challenging the theory of the Four Humours, most physicians and people still thought the Four Humours caused disease
• The Royal Society


  • Founded in 1660 to carry out experiments to further the understanding of science, encourage debate, challenge old ideas and search for new theories and ideas
  • Supported by a Royal Charter from Charles II, giving it respect and influence
• Renaissance


  An age of logic, reasoning and experimentation which had a significant impact on medical thinking
• Royal Society


  Founded in 1660 at Gresham College in London, it had its own labs and equipment and was set up as a place where scientists could share their ideas, experiments and discoveries
• Aims of the Royal Society


  • Nullius in Verba (Take nobody's word for it)
  • To carry out experiments to further the understanding of science
  • To encourage debate, challenge old ideas and search for new theories and ideas
• In 1662, Charles II gave the Royal Society a Royal Charter, showing it had support from high places and was respected from the start
• The Royal Society played an important part in publishing key developments from the Scientific Revolution
• Reasons why the Royal Society was important

  • They printed scientists' books and journals like 'Philosophical Transactions', even translating foreign medical and scientific books, helping to spread new ideas
  • Journals like 'Philosophical Transactions' contained clear 'evidence' of science and challenged existing ideas
  • The best scientists of the time worked together to share research and ideas, encouraging enquiry and experimentation
• Thomas Sydenham


  The English Hippocrates, and the father of English medicine
• In 1676 Sydenham released Observationes Medicae - a groundbreaking book which was used for over 200 years in training and treatment
• Sydenham's key ideas


  • Doctors must rely on their own observation and practical experience rather than just reading books
  • They should visit the sick, take their pulse and make detailed notes on the patients' health and symptoms to ensure the correct diagnosis is made
  • The Four Humours was completely wrong and that God did not cause disease
  • There were 'species' of disease that needed to be classified (e.g. measles and scarlet fever) to make the correct treatment easier
  • Disease was caused by 'atmospheres' and he did not know the real cause of disease
• Sydenham introduced quinine to treat malaria and iron to treat anemia
• The scientific revolution did not immediately improve medicine, but it had long-term effects which eventually helped improve medicine and understanding of the human body
• Sydenham's Observationes Medicae was used for medical training for 200 years, challenging traditional ideas
• The Royal Society and printing press allowed the growth of ideas that led to eventual medical change
• The scientific revolution simply opened the doors to challenge ideas with science
• Treatment and prevention of disease in the Renaissance showed significant continuity, with little improvement
• Continuity in treatment of disease


  • Bleeding and purging
  • Religious cures like the King's royal touch
  • Chemical cures like alchemy and iatrochemistry
  • Herbal remedies