Paper 1 - Medicine c1250-Present

• During the Medieval period, there was a lack of understanding about why people became ill. This was because scientific explanations did not exist. People looked to natural or supernatural reasons to explain the unexplainable.
• Miasma


  Bad air, believed to be found near swamps, corpses and rotting objects. If you breathed in miasma, people believed that you would become ill.
• Urine


  Physicians believed examining a patient's urine could indicate which humour was unbalanced. They would check the colour, consistency and smell of the urine and compared it to a urine chart.
• Four Humours


  Blood, Phlegm, Black Bile, Yellow Bile. People believed that for a person to be healthy, the four humours should be in balance.

  
• Theory of the Four Humours

  • If someone had more or less of one of these humours, the body would become unbalanced and the person would become ill.
• Theory of Opposites


  The cure for an excess of one humour is treatment with the opposite humour.
• Importance of Hippocrates


  • One of the first to state the importance of observing a patient's symptoms before diagnosis. Doctors today still take the Hippocratic Oath which promises that they will not harm patients in their care. Known as the 'Father of Modern Medicine'.
• Importance of Galen


  • Expanded on the Theory of the Four Humours. Publicly dissected animals, particularly pigs, to provide evidence for his theories on the functions of organs, nerves and the skeletal structure of the human body.
• The theories of Hippocrates and Galen did not require human dissection which allowed the Church to support them. The Church did not believe in cutting the body as, for a person's soul to go to heaven, the body needed to be intact.
• Many people in Medieval England could not read. Physicians who had read Hippocrates and Galen were regarded as better-educated, so Medieval people did not question the physicians.
• Due to a lack of scientific knowledge, there were no better explanations for illness than those suggested by Hippocrates and Galen.
• Religion


  The belief in God played an incredibly important role in Medieval people's day-to-day lives. The Church dictated people's lives from 'cradle to grave'. People believed that certain diseases were a result of God's punishment.
• Astrology


  The study of the position of the planets and stars. Physicians would consult star charts and look at when the patient was born to help diagnose their illness.
• Natural treatments had mixed results. Eating a healthy diet and washing our body are actions that we still do today to remain healthy. The basis of many natural treatments was the Theory of the Four Humours. Humoural treatments, especially blood-letting, tended to kill rather than cure a patient. Herbal remedies were also risky.
• Herbal Remedies


  Herbs were mixed together to create remedies a patient could drink, breathe in or bathe in to make them feel better. These natural elements possessed healing powers.
• Diet


  There was a belief that some food had healing qualities.
• Bathing


  The use of hot baths was commonly prescribed to melt excessive humours. Medieval people added herbs to the bath for their health benefits.
• Blood-letting


  Cutting a vein, usually near the elbow, with a sharp object to release blood.
• Leeches


  Leeches were collected and placed on a patient's body to feed on their blood.
• Supernatural treatments based on astrology and religion had no healing impact apart from the patient's belief that it was curing them.
• The factor that significantly impacted if a Medieval patient recovered was how rich they were. If a Medieval person was wealthy, they could afford the best medical treatment from physicians. They also had a better diet and housing. The most poor and vulnerable in society had very few options for treatment.
• Overall, care and treatment was very ineffective in the Medieval period. The Church blocked progress in finding successful treatments. The Theory of the Four Humours and the Theory of Opposites were incorrect so they could not consistently cure patients. Medieval medics ranged from inadequate to dangerous.
• Mallow and violets


  Used to relieve bladder stones
• Superstition


  Led to the development of some bathing cures
• Boiling a fox


  Believed to cure paralysis
• Humoural Treatments for Disease

  Physician identified what humour a patient had too much or too little of, then attempted to rebalance the humours
• Blood-letting


  Cutting a vein, usually near the elbow, with a sharp object to release blood
• Leeches


  Leeches were collected and placed on a patient's body to feed on their blood
• Cupping


  A patient's skin was cut with either a sharp object or fingernails. A cup was heated and placed on the cut, creating a vacuum to draw blood out of the patient
• Purging


  Bitter herbs (like aniseed) or poison forced a patient to vomit
• Laxative


  Mallow leaves stewed in ale or linseeds fried in hot fat made a patient defecate
• Enema (clyster)


  For stubborn digestive blockages, a mixture of water, honey, oil, wheat bran, soap and herbs was inserted into a patient's anus via a greased pipe attached to a pig's bladder. The patient then rubbed their stomach to force faeces out of their body
• Theory of Opposites


  Used to treat patients by using the opposite of the excess humour
• Theory of Opposites treatments


  • Patient with too much phlegm would eat chilli
  • Patient with too much blood would eat cucumber
• Astrology


  Physicians used star charts to formulate treatments and consulted them at every stage of treatment
• The King's Touch


  People believed the King held the power to heal by placing holy oil on his hands at his coronation
• Religious treatments


  • Healing prayers and spells
  • Placing an offering at a shrine of a saint
  • Touching holy relics
  • Lighting a candle of the length of the body part that you wanted to heal
  • Fasting
  • Pilgrimage
• Christians believed it was God's will whether you lived or died, and many did not take cures as going against God's will was a sin
• Physicians


  Doctors in medieval times, attended university for 7-10 years, were the most educated medical professionals but had little practical experience
• Apothecaries


  Mixed herbal remedies from recipes, were cheaper than physicians but controversial for prescribing poison and experimenting with alchemy