Medieval Medicine Flashcards
(121 cards)
1
Q
What led to the Dark Ages?
A
The collapse of the Roman Empire
2
Q
What did the Roman Empire split into?
A
An Eastern Empire and a Western Empire
3
Q
What year did the Roman Empire split?
A
AD395
4
Q
Why did Rome withdraw Roman troops from provinces?
A
Italy was invaded by Goths
5
Q
When did the Goths invade Italy?
A
AD410
6
Q
When was the last Roman Emperor in the west deposed?
A
AD476
7
Q
Who deposed the last Roman Emperor in the west?
A
A German chieftain
8
Q
What was the effect of deposing the Roman Emperor?
A
There was a collapse of society, leading to a loss of technical skills and academic knowledge.
9
Q
Who was Nestorius?
A
The Christian Patriarch of Jerusalem
10
Q
Why was Nestorius banished?
A
For heresy
11
Q
When was Nestorius banished?
A
AD431
12
Q
Where did Nestorius go?
A
To Persia
13
Q
What did Nestorius do in Persia?
A
He set up a centre of medical knowledge that translated the works of Galen into Arabic.
14
Q
What happened to the knowledge of the Roman empire?
A
It was lost from the west, but preserved in the east.
15
Q
What happened in England when the Roman Empire collapsed?
A
The partly Romanised, partly Christian Celts were overwhelmed by waves of pagan Saxons coming across the sea.
16
Q
What was the Saxon view of illness?
A
It was a return to medical cures based on superstition and magic.
17
Q
What did the Saxons think that the Roman ruins were?
A
The work of giants and other mythical beings.
18
Q
What happened to the Roman public health systems?
A
They fell into disrepair.
19
Q
Why were the Roman public health systems permitted to fall into disrepair?
A
The people of the Dark Ages did not understand the value of hygiene and clean water.
20
Q
Why were cities and towns abandoned in favour of small farmsteads?
A
People needed to go back to the land to support themselves, there was no longer the demand for technical skills or teachers.
21
Q
How did the Christian church return to England.
A
Celtic monks came from Ireland, St Augustine landed in Kent in AD567
22
Q
How was the Roman version of Christianity made dominant in England?
A
The Synod of Whitby (AD663)
23
Q
What was the implication of joining the Roman version of Christianity?
A
Some of the communication and unity with the rest of Europe was restored, there was again some communication with the parts of Europe that had been part of the Roman Empire.
24
Q
How were the Greek medical texts preserved?
A
Many were preserved by the Islamic Empire.
25
What was the name given to people following the Arabic school of medicine?
Arabists.
26
What beliefs did the Arabists follow?
Aristotle's four humours; Galen's treatment by opposites; Hippocrates' clinical observation.
27
Where was Byzantium?
In Turkey. Later renamed Constantinople, today Istanbul.
28
What was important in Byzantium?
There were medical texts there.
29
Who translated the texts of Byzantium into Arabic?
Hunain ibn Ishaq (Latin Johannitus)
30
When were the texts of Byzantium translated into Arabic?
The ninth century. That means the 800s - the first century went up to 100.
31
Who distinguished measles and smallpox as separate diseases?
al-Razi (Rhazes)
32
When were smallpox and measles recognised as separate diseases?
AD910
33
Who wrote the "Canon of Medicine"
Avicenna
34
What ideas were in the "Canon of medicine"
The ideas of Aristotle, Galen and Hippocrates
35
How did classical ideas on medicine get back into Western Europe?
Mainly via Avicenna's book "Canon of Medicine"
36
When was Avicenna alive?
AD980-1037
37
When was the parasite that causes scabies identified?
12th century, by Avenzoar
38
Who worked out that blood went from one side of the heart to the other via the lungs, and that therefore Galen was wrong?
Ibn al-Nafis in the 13th century
39
When did Ibn al-Nafis' work reach the west?
Not until the 20th century. (1900s)
40
What was the Islamic view on human dissection?
It was not allowed.
41
What progress was made in surgery in the Arab world?
Amputations, removal of bladder stones, dental surgery, all described in a book by Albucasis.
42
What other things were described in Albucasis book?
Methods for handling fractures, dislocations and sewing wounds.
43
How were doctors trained in the Islamic empire?
Medical schools
44
When do we know of exams for doctors in the Islamic empire?
From AD931 in Baghdad
45
What public health works were there in the cities of the Islamic empire?
Piped water, public baths, hospitals before AD1000
46
What was the attempt to turn base metals into gold?
Alchemy
47
What else were alchemists trying to do?
Find the elixir of eternal life.
48
Where does alchemy trace its roots back to?
The Egyptians
49
Why was the Islamic empire so important for chemistry?
The ancient learning was kept.
50
What is the difference between alchemy and chemistry?
Alchemy includes superstition, a failed experiment could be caused by the position of the stars or spiritual impurity of the alchemist.
51
What techniques were discovered by Arabic alchemists?
Distillation, sublimation.
52
What drugs were prepared by Arabic alchemists?
laudanum (morphine), benzoin, czphor
53
Why were Avicenna's ideas not accepted?
He did not believe in personal immortality, or a God who was interested in individuals. He did not believe the world creation theory.
54
What was the effect of Avicenna's enemies?
There was a decline in rationalist philosophy in the Islamic world.
55
What were the Crusades?
Wars fought by the European Christians against the Muslims. They wanted to retake Jerusalem.
56
What happened when the Mamelukes (slave -soldiers) came to power in the Islamic world?
Attitudes hardened, less freedom of ideas.
57
Where was learning in Medieval Europe concentrated?
In the church.
58
What was the Church view of illness?
Many believed illness was punishment for sins.
59
What was the attitude to texts in Medieval Europe?
Authoritative texts were accepted without question, even when there was evidence to show that they could be wrong.
60
Who cared for the sick?
Mainly the church.
61
What did eg St Thomas's hospital in London start out as?
A monastic establishment.
62
When were the works of Galen and Hippocrates coming back to Europe?
By about 1100, bit by bit, via Arabic texts based on them
63
Where was Avicenna's Canon translated into latin?
Spain, which was partly Islamic
64
How did the west become aware of the body of Islamic medical knowledge?
The Crusades
65
When did medical schools appear in Europe?
About 1100
66
Where was the first medical school in Europe?
Salerno, Italy
67
Who was taught at the medical school in Salerno?
both men and women
68
What was the status of the translations of the Arabic versions of Galen and Hippocrates?
They were considered the absolute truth
69
What was Medieval medicine based on?
The four humours
70
What progress was made within the four humours framework?
It became more complex, taking in the seasons, stars, foods and clothing.
71
What did it mean to be a doctor in Medieval times?
It meant to have studied and learned from the key ancient texts and the Arabists. It did not mean that you had any experience treating people.
72
Who else was attempting to heal people in Medieval times?
The apothecaries could treat some diseases, but they were not regarded highly as they did not have the learning. There were also the monastries, housewife-physicians.
73
What human dissection went on in Medieval times?
There was some in the medical schools, but the results were interpreted in line with the theory of four humours.
74
What happened as more and more medical schools sprang up?
Debates and research led to some doubt about the classical texts.
75
How were urine samples used to diagnose disease in Medieval Europe?
Colour and taste
76
What else caused disease, other than an imbalance in the humours?
The stars, so astrology was important.
77
When were women allowed to train as doctors in England?
Tenth century, by the Law of King Edgar
78
When was the Law of King Edgar that allowed women to train as doctors revoked?
Fifteenth century
79
Why was the Law of King Edgar that allowed women to train as doctors revoked?
The status of doctors was rising, and they were organising themselves into Guilds.
80
Who got the Law of King Edgar that allowed women to train as doctors revoked?
The Guild of surgeons
81
Who founded the College of Physicians?
Henry VIII in 1518
82
What did the College of Physicians do?
It licensed doctors, controlling who could practise in London, and later, in the whole of the country.
83
How did one join the College of Physicians when it started?
An oral exam
84
Was is the College of Physicians today?
The Royal College of Physicians.
85
Who was healing as well as the doctors in medieval England?
Monasteries, apothecaries, housewife-physicians.
86
Why would you not go to a doctor in medieval England?
They were expensive
87
What was a housewife-physician?
Could be the local "wise woman", or the lady of the manor
88
Why did the Church get involved in healing?
They had access to the Latin texts used by doctors, and felt that they had a vocation to help.
89
What did the apothecaries do?
They sold drugs and medicines, and sometimes advised on their use.
90
Why did the apothecaries admit women to their guild?
The wise-woman herbalists were very influential.
91
What was the role of pilgrimages?
People believed that pilgrimages to shrines (often containing the remains of saints) could cure illness. (Think of Lourdes today!)
92
Who were the quacks?
People without any real medical knowledge who sold medicines, which might well have done more harm than good.
93
What was the role of superstition in medieval medicine?
It still played a part, doctors consulted the stars and used certain forms of words.
94
What was the status of surgeons in medieval times?
Low, surgery was passed to low paid assistants or even barber-surgeons. (Today a surgeon is still Mr, not Dr)
95
When did the dissection of corpses as a teaching aid start in medieval England?
about 1300
96
What happened to the standard of anatomical knowledge?
It came back up to Roman standards
97
Why did knowledge of anatomy not progress much beyond Roman standards?
Dissections were done by assistance, who had to find what the books and their "betters" told them to, this made any new progress painfully slow.
98
Why was surgery not more advanced?
Pain, bleeding and infection made surgery very risky
99
What attempts were made at anaesthetics and antiseptics?
Hugh of Lucca used wine as an antiseptic in the early 13th century. John of Arderne had a recipe for an anaesthetic in 1376, but it may well have killed.
100
How did Hugh of Lucca work out that wine was an antiseptic
Empirically (try it, see if it works)
101
What public health measures were taken in medieval cities?
None. Human waste was often emptied into the street.
102
What public health measures did the monasteries take?
Clean running water and toilets
103
Why was it healthier to drink wine and beer in medieval cities?
The brewing process involves boiling, which sterilises the liquid.
104
What was "small beer"?
Very low alcohol beer brewed for servants.
105
Who would brew beer?
Most wealthy houses and monasteries.
106
What did some town councils (corporations) try to do?
They tried to regulate against the worst practices, but as the risks were not understood there was little desire to spend money on improvement.
107
What is the black death believed to have been?
Two illnesses caused by the same bacterium pneumonic plague, and bubonic plague.
108
How was the plague spread?
The flea on the black rat passed the bacterium when it bit humans.
109
How were the black rats spread?
Via trading ships.
110
How many people died of the plague, worldwide, in the 4 years 1347-1351?
75 million (more than the current population of the UK)
111
When did plague first strike?
1348
112
What are the symptoms of bubonic plague?
Exhaustion, headache, high temperature, swellings in the groin and neck (the buboes).
113
What are the symptoms of pneumonic plague?
Exhaustion, headache, high temperature, coughing up blood
114
Why does the one bacterium cause different illnesses?
It depends how the bacteria get into the body.
115
How long does pneumonic plague take to kill?
2 days.
116
How long does bubonic plague take to kill?
about a week.
117
What did people believe the plague was?
A punishment from God
118
What did people believe caused plague?
Foul air, or maybe the planets.
119
What were the flagellants?
People who tried to appease the wrath of God by whipping themselves, and praying. Oh, and wandering from village to village, taking their fleas with them...
120
What did doctors do to try to protect themselves?
Strong smelling herbs were used to keep foul air away. All over suits were worn - that might have kept the fleas out.
121
What was done to try to keep disease out of ports?
Ships had to wait 40 days before landing. The word quarantine comes from the Italian word for 40.
