Medicine in Renaissance Britain (1500-1700)

The Fabric of the Human Body

1543 book by Vesalius. Showed how the human body worked. Highly Illustrated - new for the time period.

An Anatomical Account of the Motion of the Heart and Blood

1628 book by Harvey. Explained how the circulatory system worked.

1645

First Meeting of the Royal Society

1436

Printing press began to be built

1518

Royal college of Physicians set up

1665

The Great Plague in London

The King’s Touch

It was believed that being touched by the King could cure some diseases such as scrofula, as the King was the closest person to God.

Renaissance

A time of change. Spread of new ideas, and the re-emergence of Greek and Roman ideas and culture. Challenging old ideas and religion.

Thomas Sydenham

Qualified doctor

Believed in observation and record-keeping

Developed the concept of ‘Species of Diseases’ - identifying the disease and using the corresponding treatment.

Believed in letting the body try to fight disease first before purging or bloodletting.

Published ‘Observations Medicae’ in 1676 - became a standard textbook for medicine for 200 years.

The Royal Society

A group of scientists established in 1645. MEt weekly to discuss new ideas in science and medicine

King Charles II endorsed & attended meetings

Published a well-respected journal ‘Philosophical Transactions’

Reasons the Renaissance happened

• New technology e.g printing press

• Key individuals e.g. Vesalius, Harvey and Sydenham

• Royal Society

• reformation & societal shift away from religion

Vesalius

• Physician who researched the human body, performed dissections and corrected many of Galen’s errors.

• Made the study of anatomy respected and fashionable

• Published ‘Fabric of the Human Body’, used to teach doctors by 1560

• Example of his discovery: that men did not have one fewer pair of ribs (like the Bible suggested)

William Harvey

• Physician who discovered how blood moved around the body

• Physician to King James I and Charles I, lecturer

• Disproved Galen’s theory that the liver made blood to replace blood lost

• Wrote 1628 book ‘On the Motion of the Heart and Blood’

• Explained the function of valves in veins and the heart; how blood didn’t move through the septum of the heart; blood didn’t contain air bubbles

Summarise Vesalius, Harvey, and Sydenham

• Vesalius - anatomy & dissections

• Harvey - Blood and circulatory system

• Sydenham - Disease classification and treatment of patients

The Great Plague

• 1665 in London

• Killed 100,000 - 25% of London population

• Miasma was blamed - like the Black Death 1348

• Improvements since 1348: quarantine introduced, local governments more involved, bodies collected and buried 6 feet deep, plague doctors used protective clothing, trade & communal gatherings banned

• Treatments included bloodletting, smoking and moving out of the city

Royal College of Physicians

• set up in 1518

• trained doctors and gave them licenses

• Distinguished doctor between trained and untrained - made getting treatment safer

Prevention of disease key ideas

• Not much change from the Medieval Era.

• Religion, purifying the air, fasting & keeping the humours balanced

• Leading a generally healthy lifestyle became popular - healthy diet & protecting the vulnerable.

Treatment of disease key points

• A lot of continuity from Medieval era - bloodletting, herbal remedies, removing bad air

• New treatments included going to a hospital for treatment, finding chemical treatments rather than herbal

• New ingredients for medicine discovered due to world exploration - e.g. tobacco, coffee, quinine

Transference

New idea that disease can be transferered to something else i.e. contagious diseases

Causes of disease - key ideas

• Lot of continuity with Medieval Era - religion, miasma, 4 humours

• New idea called transference, that disease could be spread from one thing to another. Early understanding of contagious diseases.

Care for the sick

• Physicians & doctors - university qualified so provided the most up-to-date care. Very expensive

• Surgeons. Became more qualified than medieval barber surgeons. Now had to be licensed by local bishops.

• Apothecaries - prescribed herbal (and some chemical) remedies

• Midwifery became more regulated and licensed.

• Wise women & housewives - used herbal remedies and superstition, not trained but well trusted.

• Travelling quacks - became more prominent as more people travelled between towns. Would provide medicine and basic surgery, but many were unqualified and only in it for the money.

Hospitals

• Before Renaissance - run by monks/nuns - provided shelter, food and prayer but no medical help

• Renaissance - looked after the poor. Kept people clean, warm and well-fed. Patients given herbal remedies. Basic surgery & bloodletting carried out

• Hospitals began to accept patients with contagious diseases

• Hospitals now run by qualified doctors, nursing sisters, and surgeons.