HOS big ideas- unit 1, the body

Who is associated with the Hippocratic Oath?

Hippocrates (Greek physician) and his followers; taken by physicians.

4th-5th century BCE

What is the Hippocratic Oath?

An early code of medical ethics outlining duties, limits, and values for doctors.

When was the Hippocratic Oath written?

Around the 3rd–5th century BC.

Where did the Hippocratic Oath originate?

Ancient Greece.

Why is the Hippocratic Oath important?

• It set the first written ethical standards for medicine.

• Ensured doctors treated patients for healing, not harm.

• Created rules of professional conduct (no corruption, no sexual misconduct).

• Established confidentiality between doctor and patient.

• Drew boundaries around what doctors should and shouldn’t do (e.g., no surgery unless trained).

• Promoted integrity and accountability, with consequences for breaking the oath.

Who: on airs waters and places

• Hippocrates (or the Hippocratic school of medicine)

• Early Greek physician(s) credited with shifting medicine from divine causes to natural explanations.

What- airs waters places

A medical text analyzing how environment, climate, water, and lifestyle shape health and disease.

when: on airs, waters, places

• 5th century BCE (Classical Greece)

• Written during the rise of Greek rational science and philosophy.

where: on airs, waters, places

• Greek world (likely on the island of Cos or in the wider Aegean region)

• Applied broadly to any city or locality a physician might encounter.

why: on airs waters places

• To explain how climate, geography, water, and lifestyle determine the kinds of diseases people develop in different places.

• Significance: showed that health patterns could be predicted and understood scientifically, making it a foundation for epidemiology and public health.

What is the Humoral Body?

• Definition: A theory that health and disease depend on the balance (eucrasia) or imbalance (dyscrasia) of four humors: blood, phlegm, yellow bile, black bile.

• Significance: Shaped medical thought for nearly 2000 years; framed the body as interconnected with mind, environment, and cosmos.

developed by hippocrates

Hippocrates of Cos (c. 4th-5th c BCE)

Early proponent of humoral theory, associated with the Hippocratic Corpus.

Galen of Pergamon (2nd century CE)

Systematized and expanded humoral medicine, dominant authority in Europe and Islamic medicine for centuries.

Ibn Sina (Avicenna, 980–1037 CE)

Persian physician whose Canon of Medicine synthesized Galen with Islamic scholarship, spreading humoralism widely.

What are the four humors in humoral theory?

Blood, phlegm, yellow bile, black bile.

What does health (eucrasia) mean in humoral theory?

A proper balance of the four humors.

What does disease (dyscrasia) mean in humoral theory?

An imbalance or improper mixture of the humors.

What are key features of humoralism?

Balance/flow, individual variation, mind-body connection, microcosm/macrocosm.

What was the therapeutic goal of humoral medicine?

Restoring balance by responding to internal and external factors.

galen:

the body mirrored the cosmos, (microcosm-body, macrocosm-universe) so the balance of the four humors corresponded to the four elements in nature

Illness was interpreted as an imbalance in the “microcosm” (body) caused by disharmony with the “macrocosm” (environment, seasons, stars, etc.).

Who is considered the founder of humoral theory?

Hippocrates of Cos (c. 5th-4th BCE).

What is the Hippocratic Corpus?

A collection of ~60 medical texts (5th c. BCE) outlining early humoral concepts.

Who expanded and systematized humoral theory?

Galen of Pergamon (2nd century CE)

How did Galen expand humoral theory?

• Galen (129–216 CE) built on Hippocrates’ ideas by systematizing humoral theory into a comprehensive medical framework.

• He connected the four humors to the four qualities (hot, cold, wet, dry) and to the four elements (earth, air, fire, water).

• He emphasized causality — linking disease to imbalances that could be diagnosed and treated through observation and logic.

• He introduced detailed therapies (diet, exercise, bloodletting, purging) to restore balance.

• His writings became the authoritative medical texts for over 1,000 years in both the Islamic world and medieval Europe.

How did humoralism spread after Greece and Rome?

Through the Arab-Islamic world (500–1000 CE), especially translations of Galen.

Who was Avicenna (Ibn Sina) and why is he important?

Persian physician (10th-11th CE); his Canon of Medicine spread Galenic medicine across Islamic and European worlds.

What was the Schola Medica Salernitana?

A medical school in Salerno, Italy (9th–13th c.) that taught Galenic medicine using Arabic and Latin texts.

Why did humoral theory last for so long?

It was adaptable, culturally compatible, institutionally supported, and explained disease in a holistic way.

Is humoralism completely gone today?

No—its ideas about balance, lifestyle, and environment influencing health still echo in modern alternative medicine.

When did Arabic/Islamic medicine flourish?

c. 500–1000 CE, especially from the 9th century onward with major translation movements and scholars.

What role did translation play in Arabic medicine?

In the 9th century, hundreds of Greek texts (especially Galen’s) were translated into Arabic, preserving and expanding humoral medicine.

Who was Ibn Sina (Avicenna) and why is he important?

A Persian physician (10th-11th CE) who wrote The Canon of Medicine (11th c CE), synthesizing Galenic, Aristotelian, and Islamic thought; it became a central medical text in both the Islamic world and medieval Europe.

Who was Constantine the African?

An 11th-century scholar (fl. 1070s CE) who translated Arabic medical texts into Latin, spreading Galenic and Arabic medicine in Europe.

Why did humoralism last so long in the Arabic and European worlds?

Because it was deeply integrated into philosophy, religion, and education; translations and scholarly networks reinforced its authority.

Galen’s medicine entered the Arabic and Islamic world mainly through translations and commentaries produced during the Islamic Golden Age (8th–10th centuries CE).

What was Galen’s therapeutic method?

Galen’s therapy aimed to restore humoral balance through the principle of opposites, starting with diet and lifestyle changes, then using drugs, exercise, and if necessary bloodletting or surgery.

Who wrote the Canon of Medicine?

Ibn Sina (Avicenna), a Persian physician, philosopher, and scholar (c. 10th-11th CE).

What is the Canon of Medicine?

A comprehensive medical encyclopedia that synthesized Greek (esp. Galen), Roman, and Arabic medical traditions into one systematic text.

Why is the Canon of Medicine significant?

It systematized humoral theory, emphasized clinical practice, and served as the standard medical textbook in Europe and the Islamic world for centuries, shaping medical education and practice well into the 17th century.

Who was Ibn Sina?

A Persian polymath (980–1037 CE) known in the West as Avicenna; one of the most influential physicians, philosophers, and scholars of the Islamic Golden Age.

Who was Andreas Vesalius?

A Flemish anatomist and physician (16th century) often called the “father of modern anatomy.”

What was new about On the Fabric of the Human Body?

It was based on Vesalius’s own dissections of human cadavers rather than relying on ancient texts like Galen’s.

How did Vesalius challenge Galen?

By showing that Galen’s anatomical descriptions (based mostly on animals) were often inaccurate when applied to humans.

Why is Vesalius’s work significant in the history of science?

It marked a shift toward direct observation and empirical methods in anatomy, laying the foundation for modern medical science.

What was Vesalius’s first public anatomy at Bologna?

n 1540, Vesalius performed his first public dissection in Bologna, Italy, where he directly demonstrated human anatomy from cadavers, challenging Galenic authority and showcasing the value of hands-on dissection.

Who was Andreas Vesalius?

Andreas Vesalius (1514–1564) was a Flemish anatomist, physician, and professor of surgery. He is often called the founder of modern human anatomy. He challenged centuries of anatomical knowledge from Galen by performing direct human dissections.

What did Vesalius do?

Vesalius conducted detailed dissections of human cadavers, carefully observing and documenting the human body. He published De humani corporis fabrica (On the Fabric of the Human Body, 1543), a groundbreaking work with detailed illustrations correcting errors in Galen’s anatomical texts.

Where did Vesalius work and study?

He studied medicine at the University of Paris and the University of Padua, where he later became a professor of surgery. He performed dissections in Padua, Venice, and later served as the imperial physician for Holy Roman Emperor Charles V in Spain.

Why is Vesalius important?

Vesalius revolutionized anatomy by emphasizing direct observation over reliance on ancient texts. He corrected many of Galen’s errors, such as misconceptions about the human liver, heart valves, and the jawbone. His work laid the foundation for modern anatomy and medical education.

Who was Sister Chiara of Montefalco?

Sister Chiara (also known as Clare of Montefalco, 1268–1308) was an Augustinian nun, mystic, and theologian from Italy. She is renowned for her mystical visions, spiritual writings, and deep devotion to the Passion of Christ.

Who was Sister Chiara of Montefalco?

A 13th–14th century Augustinian nun, mystic, and abbess known as “Chiara of the Cross,” venerated for her holiness and mystical experiences.

Who performed her posthumous dissection?

Four of her fellow nuns, led by Sister Francesca, performed the embalming and dissection at night to protect her body from male hands.

What was done to Sister Chiara’s body after death?

Her body was embalmed and dissected by the nuns to remove organs, inspect her heart, and preserve her as a saintly relic.

What did the nuns find in her heart?

An inordinately large heart, containing flesh shaped like a cross and a nerve resembling the Scourge.

What was done with the intestines?

Removed during dissection and buried in an earthenware jar near the altar of the convent.

What was the significance of her heart and its contents?

Seen as miraculous, representing symbols of Christ’s Passion (Cross, Scourge, Crown of Thorns, Pillar, Nails, Spear).

Where did Sister Chiara live and die?

In the Augustinian convent of Montefalco, Umbria, Italy.

Where did public veneration of her body take place?

In the convent church of Montefalco, where her body was displayed on the altar.

Why did the nuns perform the dissection themselves?

To prevent male hands (barber-surgeons) from touching her holy body, preserving its sanctity.

How were the mystical signs in her heart interpreted?

Flesh shaped like a cross and a nerve shaped like the Scourge were interpreted as direct manifestations of Christ’s Passion.

How did religious beliefs influence handling of bodies?

Sanctity dictated that women alone handle holy bodies, showing interplay between spirituality and anatomical study.

What does this dissection reveal about medieval medicine?

While ritualistic and devotional, it reflects empirical observation of the body, showing early anatomy practices among religious communities.

What overall lesson does this dissection provide?

It illustrates the medieval approach to anatomy, the sacred significance of the body, and the integration of medical curiosity with spiritual veneration.

How did the body become anatomical?

Through direct observation and dissection, shifting focus from books and theoretical knowledge to studying the human body as a physical object.

What was the main mode of medical knowledge in the Medieval period?

Scholastic medicine relied on books, not bodies—learning from Galen’s texts and other authorities rather than hands-on dissection.

Why was the body initially not central to medical education?

Religious, cultural, and legal restrictions limited human dissection; the body was often considered sacred or taboo to touch.

What symbolic or educational tools represented the body in Medieval medicine?

Diagrams like Wound Man and Zodiac Man illustrated injuries, circulation, and humoral theory without actual dissection.

How did figures like Chiara da Montefalco relate to the body?

Through mystical observation and veneration, emphasizing spiritual significance over anatomical study; her incorrupt body was an early site for empirical observation of a “real” human body.

What major technological innovation contributed to anatomical knowledge?

The printing press (Johannes Gutenberg, c. 1440), which allowed dissemination of anatomical texts and images widely.

What societal changes influenced dissection?

Urbanization, universities, and the Age of Exploration increased demand for trained physicians and interest in empirical observation.

How did universities contribute?

Fourteenth-century European universities (e.g., Bologna) began formally including dissection in medical curricula.

Who were early pioneers of anatomical study?

Herophilus and Erasistratus in 3rd century BCE Alexandria—practiced dissection and vivisection on humans and animals.

What was Galen’s contribution and limitation?

Advocated anatomy (2nd c. CE) but mostly dissected animals; human anatomy knowledge was incomplete.

How was dissection performed in Medieval universities?

With a lector (reads the text), a sector (cuts the body), and an ostensor (explains/illustrates), combining theory and practice.

Who revolutionized dissection in the Renaissance?

Andreas Vesalius (1514–1564), who performed dissections himself and published De Humani Corporis Fabrica (1543) with detailed illustrations.

Does dissection change therapy?

Indirectly—better anatomical knowledge improved surgical practice, diagnostics, and medical authority.

Was dissection ritual or research?

Both: ritual in its ceremonial, religious, or moralized framing; research in empirical observation and correction of texts.

What is “resurrecting” in this context?

Bodysnatching to provide cadavers for dissection due to scarcity of legal corpses.

How did the body become an object and commodity?

Bodies were dissected for education, relics, or demonstration, showing both scientific and social value.

Why move “from books to bodies”?

Texts alone were often inaccurate; hands-on observation corrected errors and built empirical authority.

What are key periods in medical history?

Ancient (~8th c. BCE–5th c. CE), Medieval (~5th–14th c. CE), Early Modern (~15th–18th c.), Renaissance (15th–16th c.), Enlightenment (18th c.), Modern (19th c.–present).

How does dissection reflect authority?

Knowledge of the body symbolized medical and social authority, distinguishing educated physicians from others

How did observation replace textual reliance?

Physicians verified or corrected ancient texts (Galen, Hippocrates) through hands-on dissections.

What is the “mind vs. hand” distinction?

Medieval medicine prioritized textual knowledge (mind) over practical skill (hand); Renaissance dissection emphasized integrating both.

Who was Edward Hammond Clarke?

An American physician, professor of anatomy and physiology, and author who wrote about women’s health and education in the 19th century.

What is Clarke known for?

Writing Sex in Education; or, A Fair Chance for the Girls (1873), arguing that rigorous academic study could harm women’s reproductive health.

When did Clarke live and write his major work?

1820–1877; Sex in Education published in 1873 during debates over women’s access to higher education.

Where did Clarke work?

He was based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, at Harvard University (Professor of Anatomy and Physiology).

Why did Clarke argue against rigorous female education?

He believed that intense intellectual exertion could interfere with women’s reproductive organs and lead to physical or mental strain during menstruation.

Why is Clarke historically important?

His work exemplifies 19th-century medical arguments used to restrict women’s educational opportunities, influencing social and educational policy debates.

Who was Mary Putnam Jacobi?

An American physician (1842–1906), pioneering female medical researcher and advocate for women in medicine.

What did Jacobi study regarding menstruation?

Whether women require mental and bodily rest during menstruation, analyzing claims that intellectual exertion could harm female health.

What did Jacobi conclude?

Women do not inherently require rest during menstruation; intellectual and physical activity is generally safe. She emphasized scientific observation over assumptions of female fragility.

Where did Jacobi gather her evidence?

In the United States and Europe, drawing on observations from medical practice, schools, and hospitals.

What was the broader impact of Jacobi’s findings?

Her work challenged gendered medical assumptions, influenced educational policy debates, and strengthened the case for women in professional and academic fields.

Who was Elizabeth Blackwell?

Elizabeth Blackwell (1821–1910), the first woman in the United States to earn a medical degree, a physician, and a pioneer for women in medicine.

What is The Influence of Women in the Profession of Medicine about?

A lecture published in 1890 discussing the role, impact, and importance of women as physicians and their contributions to medical practice and education.

Where was Blackwell active professionally?

United States and Europe; she founded the New York Infirmary for Women and Children and promoted medical education for women.

Why did Blackwell emphasize women’s influence in medicine?

She argued that women brought unique perspectives, compassion, and moral qualities to medicine, and that their participation strengthened the profession and improved care for women and children.

MATERNALISM

Why is Blackwell’s work historically important?

It legitimized women’s role in medicine, challenged gender norms, and helped institutionalize opportunities for women physicians in the late 19th century.

What were anatomical homologies?

The idea that male and female genital organs are essentially the same, only inverted or reversed (e.g., uterus = inverted scrotum, vagina = inverted penis).

How did anatomical illustrations represent sex?

Idealized, “universal” forms of male and female skeletons (Albinus, Sömmerring), reflecting cultural ideals of masculinity and femininity as much as biological reality.