Medicine

• Miasma


  Some people noticed the link between disease and bad smells
• Travellers often said you could smell a town before you could see it
• Miasma


  Many people thought bad smells infected neighbours (it was what spread disease)
• Mortality was higher in towns + cities rather than the countryside, as people lived closer together, alongside their animals and filth
• God


  If someone was living a sinful life, then illness was god's way of punishing them
• God


  If a society as a whole was being sinful (like moving away from the path of faith) then an epidemic/plague was sent by god to remind people of their religious duties
• Most people believed illness and early death was inevitable
• So many children died before the age of 7 (so it was 'natural')
• Childbirth was a dangerous time for women
• Warfare and famine were frequent
• Supernatural


  Witchcraft was feared
• Supernatural


  Many believed the world was filled with demons trying to cause trouble and death
• Supernatural


  Any sudden diseases or misfortunes could easily be blamed on the supernatural - especially because the church painted a picture of a life where 'good' fought 'evil'
• Four humours


  Widest-held belief that illness was caused by the loss of equilibrium
• Every doctor agreed with Galen and Hippocrates that illness was caused by the loss of equilibrium
• Every doctor had a chart which showed what illness was caused by what humour
• They would also use a zodiac chart showing the best time to treat illnesses, plan operations or pick the best herbs needed for medicine
• Urine chart


  The physicians would look at the colour and compare it to the chart, and might smell it and taste it to help decide the faults of the patient
• Zodiac charts


  It tells the physician which parts of the body are connected to which astrological sign, and what to do with a patient – eg. some things may work for an Aries but not a Scorpio because the timings weren't aligned
• The church encouraged people to pray and/or buy indulgences
• Sites of pilgrimages visited to pray for a cure (eg John of Bridlington – a saint)
• Christian duty to look after the poor and sick – set up hospitals (attached to monasteries)
• religious objections it hard to dissect human bodies
• Illnesses came from god and curing them is against him - care, not cure
• The church agreed with Hippocrates and Galen - weren't interested in finding new ideas
• Monasteries were at least clean and had access to clean water and herbs. (plus educated monks with knowledge of herbs)
• 47% of medieval hospitals housed the poor and elderly but provided no medical care
• 31% of medieval hospitals were leper hospitals that provided no medical care
• 12% of medieval hospitals provided shelter for pilgrims and travellers
• 10% of medieval hospitals cared for the sick
• Islam


  They want to cure, not care
• Muslim writings played an important role in translating and saving ancient works
• Ibn Sina


  Wrote 'the Canon of Medicine' which covered the whole of ancient Greek and Islamic medical knowledge at the time, listed medical properties of 760 different drugs, and contained chapters on medical problems like anorexia and obesity. It became the standard European medical textbook
• Al Razi


  Wrote 'Doubts about Galen' - although a follower of Galen, he thought that all students should improve on the work of their teachers
• Muslim students received practical training in hospitals
• It was believed that for every illness there was a cure
• John of Ardene


  Most famous surgeon in medieval England, his surgical 'Practica' (1376) contained illustrations of his operations and tools, and was based on Greek and Arab knowledge and his experience in the 'Hundred Years War'
• John of Ardene used opium and henbane to dull pain
• Hugh of Lucca and his son Theodoric


  Famous surgeons who wrote a book in 1267 criticising the common view that pus was needed for a wound to heal, and used wine on wounds to reduce the chance of infections
• Frugardi


  Wrote a textbook on surgery called 'The Practice of Surgery' in 1180, which was widely used in Europe. He warned against trepanning, tried ambitious operations on the chest and attempted to remove bladder stones