Medieval Medicine (1250-1500) Flashcards
CAUSE:
Medieval people believed illness was CAUSED by what 4 things?
God
Bad air (miasma)
Four humours
Planets and stars
TREATMENT:
Medieval people tried to cure illness by using what 4 TREATMENT?
Herbal remedies
Prayer
Bleeding and purging
rest, exercise and diet
PREVENTION:
Medieval people tried to PREVENT illness by what 4 things?
God - prayer, pilgrimage
Bad air - occasional orders to keep streets clear of waste, carry herbs
4 humours - regular bleeding and purging
Healthy lifestyle - encouraged rich to clean teeth, wash, exercise, fresh air
INDIVIDUALS:
Name the Greek doctor was nicknamed the father of medicine?
Hippocrates
INDIVIDUALS:
Name the Roman doctor who wrote over 350 books influenced thinking in the Medieval times?
Galen
CASE STUDY:
What is the case study we focus on in the Medieval period AND when did it arrive in Britain?
Black death - 1348
CAUSE:
Many still believed with ancient ideas of Hippocrates and Galen, that illness was caused by an imbalance in the 4 humours - name these 4 liquids
Black bile
Blood
Phlegm
Yellow Bile
PROGRESS:
Give 4 reasons why there was very little medical progress in the Medieval period (1250-1500).
Church control - you only get into heaven if you follow the rules and don’t ask questions
Communication - books were copied by hand by monks so were typically only religious
Education - most people were illiterate peasant farmers, not taught to challenge and question, those who were educated were taught to follow the ancient ideas of Galen and Hippocrates
Government - the government believed their role was “wars and laws” not welfare
CASE STUDY:
What percentage of the population died from the Black Death?
40%
CASE STUDY:
Black death - give 3 causes and there relative treatments
Punishment from God: treatment = prayer, gifts to the church, flagellation (whipping), pilgrimages
Bad air: treatment = carrying sweet herbs, birds in home to flap air away, ringing bells, fires
Four humours: treatment = bleeding, purging, Galen’s treatment by opposites
TREATMENT:
Name the four different roles who provided treatment in the medieval period and a fact for each
Physician - only for the rich - 7 years at university - cause and treatment based on the 4 humours - only 100 in Britain in 1300
Barber Surgeon - trained through observation - did basic surgery
Apothecaries - mixed medicines
Herbal woman - provided herbal remedies to the poor - 1/3 effective!
SURGERY:
Give 4 reasons why so many died in surgery during the medieval period
Anaesthetic - no pain relief = shock
Infection - no understanding of germs = no antiseptics
Blood loss - operations had to be quick to prevent death from blood loss
Understanding - very little understanding of human anatomy - based largely from Galen’s 350 books which themselves were based on the anatomy of a pig
TREATMENT:
What can you remember about hospitals in the Medieval period?
Run by monks
Rarely admitted the sick - fear of infection spreading
Primarily for old, homeless
500 small hospitals by 1400
