medieveal mexicine 1250-1500 Flashcards
(45 cards)
what features helped improve medicine
- education: by 15th century 50% of people in large towns could read
- local councils kept streets clean
- physicians were trained
which features helped precent improvements
- printing: didn’t come until 1470s meaning communication was slow to spread
- 90% of people worked as farmers , it was back breaking work
- animals were killed in towns for food creating dung in the streets
how did crowded streets lead to spreading disease
lack of drains meant disease spread easily. homes were heated by open fires and being exposed to smoke every day meant lung diseases were common
how did physicians get there knowledge
the catholic church used ancient texts, written by leading doctors and physicians such as hippocrates and galen to explain why ppl caught diseases or they saicit was god’s will
what are the four humours
phlegm, black bile, blood , yellow bile
how did hippocrates thibk docotors should behave
they should have to keep high standards of treatment and behavior and work for the benefit of there patients not just to make themselves wealthy
how did Hippocrates think illness should be diagnosed?
clinical observation - look at patients face bad signs are : sharp pointed nose, hollow eyes, dry skin on forehead, strange face colour like green black read or lead coloured. if face is like this at beginning of illness, doctor must ask the patient if he has lost sleep or had diarrhea or not eaten. then recorded how condition changes each day
how does Hippocrates think illness should be treated
must use natural treatment because illnesses have natural causes. many illnesses can be treated by rest and a change in diet. then when you feel stronger do regular excercise. if this doesn’t work then we can bleed or purge you to remove excess humors so they are balanced
what does hippocrates think caused illness
the body contains four humors, when we are healthy these are perfectly balanced in our bodies but we fall sick when they become unbalanced and we have too much or too little of that humor
how does hippocrates think we should stay healthy
hippocrates also emphasized the importance of helping people to stay healthy. he recommended a light diet, gentle excercise and rest to keep the body’s humors balanced
how does hippocrates think physicians should learn about the body
hippocrates wrote some of the books known as the hippocrates collection but many were written by other doctors. this collection is important because it is the first detailed list of symptoms and treatments. they used theories and methods in these books for many centuries
what had Galen achieved at 16
began studying medicine at great medical school in Alexandria. became a surgeon at a gladiators school - treating wounds
what had galen achieved at 20
he moved to Rome- dissecting animals and giving talks, when plague broke out he took care of royal family and remained doctor to emperor for rest of life
how did galen advance hippocrates theory of the four humours
galen’s work was built on Hippocratic collection.
observation - Galen told them to observe and examine patients taking pulse and detailed notes
treatment- he followed hippocrates in giving advice on diet and excercise to prevent illness his most common treatment was bleeding. opposite to Hippocrates- he would treat with hot ingredients unless disease was caused by eat , hot have cold cold have hot
what were galen’s four main aspects
careful observation
theory of opposites
dissection & surgery - knowledge of anatomy
wrote over 350 medical books ( main books used for over 1500 years )
what were galen’s thoughts on anatomy and dissection
Galen disagreed with Hippocrates and believed that physicians should know as much as possible about structure and workings of body. if possible he would dissect human bodies if not apes because they were most like humans.
what were Galen’s mistakes
blood: cutting yourself to bleed urself for balance
anatomy: dissecting pigs and apes and thinking they are like humans
what are 3 reasons Galen remained very influential
- influence of church: church promoted/ believed in galen
- lack of alternatives: no scientific proof for any other ideas
- importance of book learning : most couldn’t read or write ; only read hippocrates and galen
how did medieval people believe the god or devil / evil spirits caused illness
they believed god often allowed plagues, miserable famines, conflicts , wars and other forms of suffering to terrify and torment men and to drive out their sins. it was believed god can send illnesses as punishment . evil spirit - this evidencing kills almost instantly you would have to pray to god for healing
how did medieval people thibk miasma caused illness
miasma was bad air that was believed to be filled with harmful fumes. hippocrates & galen suggested that swamps, corpses and other rotting matter could transmit disease
associated with god , a clean and sweet smelling home was a sign of spirtual cleanliness. people would burn incense
how did medieval people tbibk astrology caused illness
guy de chauliac , a french doctor: ‘general cause was close proximity as the 3 great planets saturn, jupiter and mars . a coming together of planets is always a sign of wonderful , terrible or violent things to come
how did medieval people think the four humors caused illness
theory widely accepted by doctors as an explanation for illness as they were still reading galen.
galen said in his book the body does not become sick unless it already contains evil humors
they also thought blocked digestive system could cause illness
how did the church influence medieval medicine
the church was very important in maintains status meaning they didn’t like change and wanted to keep things the way they were. the church controlled medical learning and chose which books were copied and distributed . church liked the theory of the four humours as it fitted with their teaching therefore promoted this theory & they strongly discouraged anyone criticizing the theory
how did science and technology influence medieval medicine
a lack of scientific understanding meant that new knowledge was limited. physicians and medical students tried to make new discoveries fit into old theories instead of experimenting to explain the discoveries. the printing press in 1440 led to faster and easier sharing of medical texts . however it didn’t have a huge impact