Key Terms and Factors

Bloodletting

• Treatment of opening a vein to draw blood from the patient

Herbal Remedy

• A medicine made from a mixture of plants

Pilgrimage

• Journey made to a sacred place as an act of religious devotion

Purging

• Physically removing the humours from the body

Purifying the Air

• Removing the bad air/smells thought to cause illness

Regimen Santitatis

• Set of instructions provided by physicians to help a patient to look after their health and avoid illness

• First appeared in the work of Hippocrates and was later picked up by Galen

The Church

• Played a large role in the care of the sick and training of physicians during the Middle Ages

Attitudes in Society

• Religious beliefs during the Middle Ages dominated medical thinking which led to many religious ideas about prevention and treatment