Caused by fungus growing in rye stored in damp conditions. Causes rashes, hallucinations and death
typhoid
an infectious bacterial fever caused by germs in urine and poo and carried by flies landing on food. Causes an eruption of red spots on the chest and abdomen and severe intestinal irritation
Scrofula (the king's evil)
A type of tuberculosis thought to be cured by touching the king
life expectancy of male British medieval child
31.3
What percentage of children died before 7 (medieval)
God (punishment for sins), four humours (imbalance of y bile, black bile, phlegm, blood would lead to illness), miasma, everyday life (childbirth was dangerous)
Hippocrates
"Founder of Medicine" During the Golden Age in Greece he was a scientist that believed all diseases came from natural causes. He also had high ideals for physicians & an oath was made that is still used today. Created the theory of 4 humours
The theory of the four humours
Four liquids within the body (blood, yellow bile, black bile, phlegm) if they became unbalanced you became ill. To get better the humours have to be rebalanced
Galen
Greek surgeon of the Roman Empire, he described heart valves and studied arteries and veins. Created the theory of opposites
When was the Black Death?
1348-1350
What percentage of the population died from the Black Death
40%
How did medieval people try to fend off the Black Death
Praying & chanting, rubbing raw chicken on sores, lighting candles, fasted
When was the Great Plague?
1665-1666
How many people died in the great plague
1 in 5 Londoners
the main difference between great plague and Black Death
The great plague was an epidemic in London, Black Death was a pandemic
Theory of Opposites
Treat the humour with the opposite e.g a cold with hot pepper
Impact of theory of 4 humours
Made people think about natural causes of illness, not just supernatural
impact of Hippocratic corpus
Doctors keep records of their patients, symptoms, sicknesses, and treatments
Doctrine of Signatures
claimed that God created cures as well as illness, and has intentionally created plants to look like the parts of the body they could be used to cure
Medieval training for a doctor
Uni 6-7 years, lectures, reading
Typical medieval hospital
12 patients, no doctors, ran by monks and nuns, priests, financed by the church or wealthy person, relied on charity
The church and medical progress
The church hindered medical progress as it trained doctors to understand old knowledge instead of discovering new ideas. It also disapproved of people going against Hippocrates and Galen, or god in general
Medieval church views on a doctor
Somebody who could predict symptoms and duration of a disease. Also provided reasons why god made the patient ill. NOT HEALERS
Caliphs
Islamic leaders regarded as successors of Muhammad for Sunni Muslims
Why did caliphs encourage the development of medicine
To find the cures that Allah gave
Bimaristan
Islamichospital that also included libraries and medical schools. They provided medical care for all, men and women, rich and poor. Doctors were permanently present and students were trained by observing more experienced doctors. Some of these places were set up to provide care to people with mental illnesses, where patients were treated with care and compassion.
Al-Razi
An Islamic Philosopher who made fundamental and lasting contributions to the fields of medicine, chemistry (alchemy) and philosophy
Ibn Sina
One of the greatest polymaths of the Islamic world (980-1037), a Persian who wrote prolifically on scientific (especially medical) and philosophical issues; he is often known as "Avicenna," the Latinized form of his name
What did Ibn al-Nafis do?
Discover blood circulates around the body via the lungs
Cauterisation
Using a heated iron to stop bleeding and seal a wound
Trepanning
Drilling a hole into skull to release devils (headaches)
John Arderne
English surgeon; born 1307; survival rate of over 50% (good for the time); used ointment of hemlock, opium and henbane; sympathetic bedside manner; wrote The Practice of Surgery in 1350. But no significant change to pain, bloodloss or infection.
Arderne's painkiller
Ointment made up of opium and henbane
Economic effects of the great plague
Workers earned more money after they demanded higher pay. Less people were working since many died. Also bc of great fire of London
What ended the great plague
Great Fire of London
Economic effects of the Black Death
1- workers and employees died so production declined 2- survivors demanded higher wages 3- as the cost of labor soared so did inflation 4- western europe would not fully recover from its effects for more than 100 years
Vesalius
This was the scientist who began to study anatomy in depth. He is referred as the father of anatomy. Discovered that Galen was incorrect about the jaw and blood travelling through the septum
Harvey
An Englishman who used dissection to examine the circulation of blood throughout the body and how the heart worked as a pump. He insisted the heart and its valves were a piece of machinery that obeyed mechanical laws.