renaissance (1500 - 1700)

the great plague in london

1665

75 000 died

plague: explanation

God, planets, 4 humours, miasma

plague: treatments

praying + wearing religious charms, cut open buboes,

plague: avoiding

keep air sweet with herbs, stay at home, herbs and wine “plague water”, chew tobacco

plague: preventing the spread

public prayer, fasting

printing press

German invention in 1450s and used throughout Western Europe from 1500s

crucial development for spreading ideas more rapidly

tradition vs change (renaissance = rebirth)

reborn interest in Greek + Roman things

Britons realised that if the Greeks could ask questions and challenge ideas, why couldn’t they? - led to realisations that Galen made some mistakes

physicians + training

gradual development from middle ages (mostly learned from books of ancient writers)

• opportunities to dissect bodies

• new equipment and microscopes

• studied work of Vesalius + Harvey

Thomas Sydenham - pioneering doctor

researched how to diagnose and choose appropriate remedy as he believed every disease was different

stressed that doctors must make bedside observations of patient’s health + symptoms (and history) and record them to correctly diagnose

known as “English Hippocrates” and produced the first description of Scarlet Fever

Royal Society (London)

first meeting in 1645 and named in 1662 when Charles II began to attend

weekly meetings of people interested in new scientific ideas (physics, medicine etc.)

had its own lab and equipment and performed experiments

published books and articles to spread new ideas

William Harvey

discovered how blood circulates around the body

published “An Anatomical Account of the Heart and Blood” in 1628

William Harvey: limitations

only gradually accepted due to respect for tradition so it didn’t make anyone better

couldn’t explain movement of blood through veins, arteries and capillaries (discovered in 1661 through microscopes)

Galen’s theories disproved by Harvey

new blood manufactured in the liver to replace blood burned up in the body

blood passed through the heart through holes in the septum

how Harvey disproved Galen’s theories

dissecting live cold-blooded animals and observing muscle movements in the heart

tried to pump liquid past valves which was unsuccessful

Andreas Vesalius

published “The Fabric of the Human Body” in 1543 - a highly illustrated book describing human anatomy in accurate detail

used to train doctors in England and Cambridge students

Galen’s theories which Vesalius disproved (through dissection)

jaw is made from 1 bone

breastbone has 7 parts

there are holes in the septum

(all are Galen;s incorrect theories)

preferred healers

familiar remedies from surgeons, apothecaries and family (because physicians were expensive)

wife/mother was typically the first person to treat someone ill

hospitals

medieval hospitals closed when Henry VIII closed monasteries

St Bartholomew’s in London was kept open by the city council and charity; by 1660 it had 12 wards, 300 patients, 3 physicians and 3 surgeons

one of the first hospitals to admit the sick

bleeding and purging

still used by physicians as they still believed in the Four Humours

herbal remedies

passed down through generations of women as they wrote them down - tobacco greeted as a cure-all

God and the King

King = God on earth therefore if the king touched you, you were cured

people travelled across the country for this

folk remedies

people still used cures based on magic

from books such as 1862 book “The London Dispensary”

factors for change

attitudes seeking improvement

communications

science + tech

factors for continuity

attitudes respecting tradition

institution, Church