Medicine Medieval England 1250-1500

Who was Hippocrates

A greek doctor from around 460 BC, The ‘father of medicine’.Believed illness has natural causes

How did Hippocrates examine patients

observing and recording symptoms

Hippocratic Oath

Confidentiality between doctor and patient

What are The 4 humours

Blood, phlegm, yellow bile, black bile

What was the theory of 4 Humours

When the 4 Humours were unbalanced it would cause disease.

Galen

Greek doctor who lived around 2nd Century AD

The Theory of opposites

Galen’s theory stated when the Four humours were imbalanced, using the opposite of the problem would restore the balance

If someone had too much phlegm, how would it be treated?

Using something hot and dry, such as eating hot peppers

What did Galen dissect

Pigs and apes, leading to incorrect ideas about human anatomy such as the belief that we have 2 jawbones

Why did the Church support Galen?

His belief that the human body was perfectly designed by God aligned with the Church, they supported Galen and his theories became accepted as medical fact

What was the treatment for an excess of blood and what were it’s methods

Bloodletting: cupping, leeching (leeches starved for one day),cutting a vein

GSSH-beliefs for cause of disease

God sends smelly humours

How did God cause disease

as a test of faith or punishment for sinning

Supernatural reasons for disease

Astrology(alignment of the planets) used by looking at horoscope of patient

Witchcraft,

Miasma

the belief that Bad air and smells would spread disease, from rotting waste, sewage,etc

What did physicians use to track planet alignment

the Zodiac

Who did and who didn’t support Astrology

Physicians supported it

The Church was against it as they saw it as fortune telling which they didn’t approve of

How did the Catholic Church limit medical progress

Had control over education-trained all physicians, rich and powerful

Heavily supported Galen and would threatened those who dared go against them with being sent to hell

Did not allow human dissection

people feared god

Religious treatments

Praying-for recovery

Repenting for sins

Going on pilgrimages to holy sites- to bring healing through divine intervention

Fasting- a way to purify the soul

Paying for special masses-prayers from special priests

The King’s touch- healing power as he was chosen by God

Doing nothing-following God’s plan

Supernatural treatments

Carrying ancient charms/relics- protecting against illness warding off the devil

treatments according to the horoscope

chanting incantations

Miasma/ rational prevention

Keeping streets clean

Bathing and washing

Purifying the air- apothecaries burning incense or scented candles, carrying pomanders(small containers filled with herbs or spices)

Exercising

Not overeating

Excess blood treatment

BLOODLETTING

Cutting a vein

Leeches-blood sucking creatures starved for 1 dat then applied to skin

Cupping- creating suction drawing blood to the surface

sometimes patients bled too long and died

Treatment to rebalance 4 Humours

PURGING

reducing yellow bile and black bile

Emetics- medicines containing herbs that caused vomiting

Laxatives-substances that caused bowel movements

Enemas- liquid mixtures of herbs and oils administered through the rectum using a greased pipe fixed to a pig’s bladder

How did the church control publishing

medical books were written by hand by monks in monasteries

only monks could read and write so knowledge was difficult to spread

How did government limit medical improvement

King was not interested in public health

taxes were used to fight wars

no safe ways to dispose of waste-unsanitary living conditions

Trepanning

drilling a small hole in the skull to allow evil spirits and demons to escape

used for headaches

Religious+supernatural prevention methods

Living a christian life- regular orayer, attending church)

Carrying protective charms and amulets -Lucky obejcts were thought to ward off disease

chanting incantations

Self punishment such as flagellation-whipping themselves and chanting believing this would prevent god punishing them with illness

Regimen Sanitatis

Galens guidelines for staying healthy and living life

Surgeons

Trained through apprenticeships

based on work of ancient doctors

Would treat serious surgeries caused by accidents ,warfare and crime performed amputations

no anesthetics patients often died from pain

didn’t fully understand cause of disease(anatomy knowledge limited by church)

Charged for services

Apothecaries

learn about herbs through apprenticeships

Mixed ointments, medicines, herbal remedies prescribed by physicians

traditional knowledge from medical books

Wise Women

Knowledge passed down through family’s knowledge

experience caring for family members

treated common illnesses with household medicines and herbal remedies, midwives assisted childbirth

understood local plants and had practical knowledge

Barber Surgeons

Gained practical knowledge

carried out bloodletting, tooth extraction, wound treatment and basic surgeries such as amputation alongside cutting hair

did not understand germs or infections

were easily affordable

Monks/nuns

among most educated studied medical texts

cared for sick, elderly poor prepared remedies

prayer

understanding of disease limited

free of charge

Physicians

Trained at universities for 7 years

read books and medical theories

observed symptoms, examined urine and pulse considered 4 humours

rarely performed surgeries

diagnosed illnesses

lacked scientific knowledge

based largely on ancient texts

highly expensive

Hospitals in Medieval England

in monasteries run by Church

focused on hospitality and care, food

few medical treatments

hygiene limited-e.g. people slept in the same beds, wrapped corpses on floor

Spiritual care-prayer and confession

When did the Black Death reach England and what effect did it have

1348

catastrophic disease spread through the country and killed approximately a third of Englands population

entire villages were abandoned areas took centuries to recover population

changed english society

How did the black death spread so fast

Through infected fleas on black rats travelling on trade ships on the silk road

2 Types of plague

Pneumonic plague-lungs

Bubonic Plague-fleas

Religious cause for Black Death

Ultimate punishment from God for sin

Religious ways people tried to prevent and treat the Black Death

Confession of sins and prayer for forgiveness as it was God’s Will

Holy processions in Cathedrals, special prayers said

pilgrimages to holy sites

fasting

flagellation

Why did astrology become popular in the 1400s

People wanted other explanations for disease as so many traditional treatments had failed during the Black Death

What was flagellation and why was it ineffective during the Black Death

People would go in large groups chanting and whipping themselves as a way of punishing themselves for sins and apologising to God.This would only spread the disease further as people were in large groups, and would open wounds, leading to infection.

Supernatural cause for Black Death

Unusual positioning of planets Mars, Jupiter and Saturn in 1345

Supernatural prevention and treatment of Black death

Wearing charms of their star signs

carrying precious stones such as rubies and diamonds

listening to cheerful music

Preventions and treatments of the black death linking to miasma and air

Burning herbs and sweet scented flowers

Breathing in sweet smells

Removing excrement and filth on streets

fines for littering

Rational preventions and treatments of the

Lancing Buboes

Rubbing onions, bread, herbs and chopped up snakes on buboes

drinking vinegar

quarantine laws

avoid over indulgence of food

avoid group baths

light fires in cold

Jews during the Black Death

Anti-semitism was high

people suspected Jews of poisoning wells

eventhough many jews were expelled from england the previous year

What happened to Jews as a way of Preventing the spread of the Black Death

They were burnt alive

What did Guy De Chauliac advise

To escape the plague and return slowly to escape miasma

Who had access to private baths and bathhouses

Wealthy people like noblemen while poorer people could use public bathhouses

What did monasteries preserve

ancient medical knowledge, copying and stoting greek and roman texts

4 Humours treatments for Black Death

Bleeding or purginf

blood should be cut from cardiac vein if infected

What were monasteries like compared to towns

they had cleaner water and systems of getting rid of wastew and sewage

they ha dbooks and healing and knew how to grow herbs and make herbal remedies

What could monasteries afford to build

Infrastructure like latrine buildings and wtaerways

What were monastery populations like

small and had one leader