Edexcel GCSE History - Medicine in the Renaissance

Reasons for little change in medieval medicine

• Physicians did very little practical learning and mostly learned the same information as past physicians had

• the government didnt put any money into medical research

• people just accepted old ideas

• The church supported Galens ideas and produced books promoting them

Key differences by 1700AD

• The four humors discredited

• chemical treatments become more popular

• physicians have a better understanding of the body

Continuity in ideas about Causes in the renaissance

• miasmabelieved by general public

• four humors

• astrology

• God punishing Humans

Change in ideas about Causes in the renaissance

• Four humors discredited by physicians - disease caused by external factors

• animalcules observed using stronger microscopes

• Diseases could be spread through seeds spread in the air

Thomas Sydenham

• Sydenham refused to rely on medical books and instead observed the symptoms and treated them together as a whole

• Theorised the nature of the patient had little to do with the disease

• Identified that measels and scarlet fever were dfferent

Humanism

• a belief that humans could make up their own mind when discovering the truth of the world around them

Printing press

• Invented by Johannes Gutenberg in 1440

• hundreds of presses in circulation by 1550

• allowed information to spread accurately

• took the job of copying from the church

The Royal Society

• Set up in 1660

• aimed to explain the world in secular terms

• Had support from the king which gave it credibility

• printing press allowed the royal society to make its own journal

Continuity in ideas about Treatments in the renaissance

• Rebalancing the humors

• bleeding purging and sweating

• Supernatural remedies

• The King’s supposed connection to God led to over 90,000 people visiting the kings court if they believed they were sick

Change in ideas about Treatments in the renaissance

• Transferrence

  • a new thepry that an ilness could be transferred to something else

• Herbal remedies

  • now coordinated with the colour of the disease

  • ipecac from brazil was used to treat dysentery

• Alchemy

  • exploring chemical compounds known as iatrochemistry

  • antimony used in small quantities to induce sweating

Andreas Vesalius

• Worked in italy but studied medicine in paris

• published a book containing images of different parts of the human body

• in 1543 Vesalius released “De Humani Corporis Fabrica“ (The Fabric of the Human Body) which cotntained a large number of very accurate anatomical drawings

• this was made possible because he was able to dissect bodie of dead criminals

• Also corrected some of Galen’s mistakes on anatomy such as rhe vena cava connecting to the liver

Continuity in ideas about Prevention in the renaissance

• Regimen sanitatis still practiced

• Continued belief in superstition and prayer

Change in ideas about Prevention in the renaissance

• practicing things in moderation

• bathing less fashionsble to to the spread of syphilis

• more steps taken to deal with miasma

Continuity in Medical Care in the renaissance

• Apothecaries continue to mix remedies

• Surgeons continue to carry out simple surgery

• Physicians

  • still trained in University

  • still verydifficult to get a dissection

  • lectures in Latin

  • Most learning still from books

Change in Medical Care in the renaissance

• Apothecaries and Surgeons organised into guilds

• Surgeons had an increased workload due to the new technology used in wars

• Physicians

  • New subjects in curriculum

  • Better access to medical textbooks

  • dissection legalised

Continuity in Care for the Sick in the renaissance

• Pest houses specialise in particular diseases

• Women continue to care for sick in their homes

Change in Care for the Sick in the renaissance

• Hospitals

  • Many hospitals close after the dissolution of the monestaries

  • Records suggests patients went in with curable diseases and were discharged not very long after

  • Physicians visited to practice their skills

• Pest Houses

  • new pest houses for plague and syphilis

  • Growing understanding that disease could be transmitted from person to persom

William Harvey’s Discoveries

• Discovered blood flows in one direction towards the heart - blood veins had valves which stopped backflow

• Blood was not made in the liver - Galen’s theory would require rhe liver to make 1800L of blood a day

• Veins only carried Blood - proved through his dissections

• Heart punped blood - saw the heart of an animal in an egg pumping blood around

Factors affecting Harvey

• Government - Harvey was emloyed by Charles I which agve him credibility

• Indiuviduals - Vesalius had already proven Galen wrong which made ir easier for other scientists to do so

• Technology - it is believed tbat the new water oumpsused by the London Fure Brigade inspired his theory about the heart

Harvey’s Impact

• Short term impact

  • Encouraged other scientists to experiment on Human Bodies

  • impact was limited as his findings did not impact treatments

• Long term impact

  • From 1673 his work is taught in universities

Similarities between the Black Death and Great Plague

• Causes

  • God punishing Humans

  • Miasma

  • Unusual aligning of Planets

• Treatments

  • Asking God for forgiveness

  • Herbal remedies

• Preventions

  • Prayer/Fasting

  • Herbal Remedies

  • Avoidance

Differences between the Black Death and Great Plague

• Causes

  • Contact with other people

  • no longer four humors

• Treatments

  • Plague Doctors

  • Transferrence

  • no longer bleeding and purging

  • catching syphilis?

  • Smoking Tobacco

• Preventions

  • Cleaning streets

  • Killing street animals

  • Searchers