Medieval Flashcards
Where was Hippocrates born and when (roughly)
Kos, Greece in about 460BC
Who is known as the ‘father of modern medicine’
Hippocrates
What is the Hippocratic oath
An oath based on studies of Hippocrates. Outlines ethical obligations when treating a patient
Who first introduced the theory of the four humours
Hippocrates
What was the theory of four humours
That the human body was made up of four substances and illness was caused by an imbalance of these humours.
What were the four humours
Blood
Phlegm
Black bile
Yellow bile
What did Hippocrates encourage doctors to do when treating patients
Seek natural causes and cures of illness. Clinical observation of the patient rather than just of the illness
When and where was Galen born
Italy (Roman) in AD129
What theory linking to the four humours did Galen develop
Theory of opposites
What was the theory of opposites
Idea that illness could be treated by balancing the humours
E.g if someone had a cold to eat something hot and spicy to balance
What animals did Galen dissect for his work on anatomy
Pigs and monkeys
What did Galen (wrongly) believe about how blood was made and transported around the body
That blood passed from one side of heart to the other through tiny holes in the septum
That blood was constantly being made
What other thing did Galen wrongly believe
That the human jaw was two separate bones
What supernatural methods of treatment were used (3)
Prayer
Astrology
Trepanning (cutting hole in the skull and removing part of the bone)
Natural treatments (3)
Bloodletting
Purging
Herbal remedies
Did Hippocrates and Galen encourage natural or supernatural treatments
Natural treatments
Whose teachings did the Catholic Church support and why?
Galen, because he believed a greater being has created human life and this was compatible with the Christian beliefs
Why did Galens ideas last for so long
The church controlled the teaching at the universities so Galens ideas continued to be followed and believed
What did the Qur’ran teach Muslims to do with the sick
They have a duty to care for people who are sick.
Why was Islamic medicine more advanced than medicine in England
Their faith encouraged Muslim doctors to develop new ideas and treatments
How did the church hinder development in medicine
Limited how much doctors could challenge the work of Galen so new ideas were not introduced
Who was Al-Razi (rhazes)
Doctor who helped plan building of a hospital in Baghdad - first general hospital in the world opened in AD805
How did Al-Razi (Rhazes) decide where to build a hospital
Hung meat in different parts of the city and the hospital was built in the area where the meat took the longest amount of time to rot.
Who was the first person to work out the diffference between smallpox and measles
Al-Razi (Rhazes)
