Renaissance: individuals

Question 1

Who created the world’s first printing press in 1440?

Answer 1

Johannes Gutenberg.

Question 2

What was the importance of the invention of the printing press?

Answer 2

This invention took book copying out of the hands of the Church, preventing it from blocking out ideas of which it disapproved. Therefore, when new ideas were printed and published on a large scale, the public could see Galen’s mistakes.

Question 3

What did Paracelsus claim in 1526?

Answer 3

That disease is caused by chemical imbalances within the body. He began experimenting with chemical cures, e.g. arsenic & mercury.

Question 4

Why was Paracelsus’ work on iatrochemistry important?

Answer 4

He popularised and catalysed future experimentation. His work led to the Pharmacopoeia Londinensis.

Question 5

What was understanding of anatomy like before the work of Vesalius?

Answer 5

Before Vesalius, there had been blind acceptance of Galen’s ideas and incorrect understanding of the human anatomy, due to the examination of pigs, with the assumption that humans were the same.

Question 6

Who was Vesalius?

Answer 6

Vesalius was a Flemish dwarf who brought ideas into Europe from well progressed Islamic medicine, e.g. proving wrong the notion that blood was supplied from the liver.

Question 7

What did Vesalius publish in 1537 and in 1543?

Answer 7

1537: published “Six Anatomical Tables” (6 diagrams of the human anatomy).
In 1543: published “The Fabric of the Human Body”, detailing the correct structure of the skeleton, muscles and ligaments.

Question 8

What was the significance of Vesalius’ work? What 3 future discoveries did it contribute to?

Answer 8

Vesalius made it standard practice to examine dead bodies, when it was previously condemned. He laid the foundations for new ideas, based on correct anatomical understanding:

• Fabricius’ discovery that veins have valves.
• William Harvey’s work on the circulation of blood.
• Ambroise Pare’s development of the ligature: a method of stitching battle wounds. Previously, wounds were shut with hot oil.

Question 9

What did Fabricius discover?

Answer 9

That veins have valves.

Question 10

Who was William Harvey and what did he prove?

Answer 10

A royal doctor to James I who taught the importance of not always referring to ancient texts, but instead using dissection and observation. He proved that arteries and veins are linked into a system by tiny passages (now capillaries), and that the heart acts as a blood pump.

Question 11

What was the significance of William Harvey’s work?

Answer 11

His further disproving of ancient ideas, following on from Vesalius, contributed to a decline in the power of Catholicism, as its all-knowingness seemed to be falling apart.

Question 12

What did Francestro suggest in 1546?

Answer 12

Suggested miasma was actually seeds in the air in “On Contagion”.

Question 13

What organisation published the Pharmacopoeia Londinensis in 1618?

Answer 13

The College of Physicians.

Question 14

What did the College of Physicians publish in 1618?

Answer 14

Published the Pharmacopoeia Londinensis, detailing 122 chemical treatments, including mercury and antimony. These, in small doses, caused sweat which cooled down the body.

Question 15

Give one example of a chemical cure, published in the Pharmacopoeia Londinensis, which became popular.

Answer 15

Antimony potassium tartrate became popular after 1657, when it was said to cure Louis XIV of France of typhoid fever.

Question 16

What public health project did Edmund Colthurst come up with?

Answer 16

He suggested the construction of an artificial river to bring fresh water from the River Lee, 38 miles away, to London. The project commenced in 1602, managing 2 miles, but was abandoned due to insufficient funds.

Question 17

Edmund Colthurst’s freshwater project in London was abandoned due to insufficient funds. How was it saved?

Answer 17

In 1609, Hugh Myddleton refunded the project, reviving it. It then received official royal backing, in 1613, from King James I.

Question 18

What did Van Helmont claim in 1648?

Answer 18

Claimed stomach acid, not the 4 humours, was responsible for digestion.

Question 19

What did Thomas Sydenham theorise in 1676?

Answer 19

He theorised that disease came in families in “Observations Medicae”.

Question 20

What did Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek develop in 1683?

Answer 20

Having received funding from the Royal Society, he developed microscopes powerful enough to see “animalcules” (microorganisms) on tooth plaque.

Question 21

Having received funding from the Royal Society, Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek developed microscopes powerful enough to see “animalcules” (microorganisms) on tooth plaque. When and how did he publish his findings?

Answer 21

He published his findings in “Philosophical Transactions” in 1702.

Question 22

What was the importance of Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek’s discovery of “animalcules”?

Answer 22

This was the first real scientific encounter with germs.

Question 23

Who claimed that disease is caused by chemical imbalances within the body?

Answer 23

Paracelsus.

Question 24

Name 3 individuals who improved the understanding of human anatomy.

Answer 24

1) Vesalius
2) William Harvey
3) Fabricius

Question 25

Who suggested that miasma was actually seeds in the air in “On Contagion”?

Answer 25

Francestro.

Question 26

Name the 2 individuals who improved the water systems in London.

Answer 26

1) Edmund Colthurst

2) Hugh Myddleton

Question 27

Who claimed that stomach acid, not the 4 humours, was responsible for digestion?

Answer 27

Van Helmont.

Question 28

Who theorised that disease came in families in “Observations Medicae”?

Answer 28

Thomas Sydenham.

Question 29

Who developed microscopes powerful enough to see “animalcules” on tooth plaque, publishing his findings in “Philosophical Transactions”?

Answer 29

Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek.