Ideas about the Cause of Disease and Illness

Ideas about the Cause of Disease and Illness

• Religious society

• Majority of people followed the teachings of the Catholic Church

• Cause of disease was unknown due to the lack of scientific knowledge

• Majority of people couldn’t read or write so learnt everything from the church about the cause of disease

• Church controlled education and the universities where physicians were trained

Supernatural Explanations

• Astrology

  • Alignment of the planet and stars was used when diagnosing illnesses

• Star Charts

  • Map of the night sky

  • Consulted by looking at when a patient was born and when they fell ill to provide a diagnosis

Religious Explanations

• Church

  • Taught that peoples sins were to blame for their illnesses

  • Illnesses and disease were a punishment from God

• When people recovered, Church declared it was thanks to patients prayers

• Church also taught that disease was sent by God to cleanse the soul of sin or test your faith

Rational Explanations: Theory of the 4 Humours

• Developed in Ancient Greece by Hippocrates

• Continued to influence medical ideas in medieval England

• Suggested that the body was made of 4 liquids

  • Blood, phlegm, black and yellow bile

• Imbalance of these caused illness and disease

• Equal balance of these led to good health

Rational Explanations: Miasma Theory

• Bad air that was believed to be harmful

• Believed that bad air and smells contained poisonous fumes which caused disease and illness

• Beliefs suggested that any rotting matter could transmit disease

Influence of Hippocrates and Galen

• Galen: physician in Ancient Rome

  • Extended the theory of the 4 humours by suggesting they should be rebalanced by the Theory of Opposites

  • Too much phlegm for example was caused by cold, so hot chillies and peppers would rebalance

• Galen also believed in the soul, which fitted with teachings of the Church

  • Church promoted the ideas of Galen

    • Doctors widely used the Theory of the 4 humours