the renaissance c1500- c1700

When was the microscope invented?

1590

What treatments were there for The Great Plague?

It was thought that people could sweat disease out, so sufferers were wrapped up in thick blankets and put by a fire.
Bloodletting and purging were widely used.

When was the journal Philosophical Transactions publised?

1665

What was the significance of the book Medical Observations?

It was used as a textbook by doctors for 200 years.
His descriptions of medical conditions helped other doctors to diagnose their patients more easily.

What was Harvey not able to explain?

How blood moves from the arteries to the veins.

What did people believe were the causes of the great plague?

Miasma was by far the most commonly believed caused.
Fewer people believed it was caused by an imbalance of the Four Humours.
People knew that disease could be passed from person to person.

What did Thomas Sydenham believe in?

• The importance of gaining practical experience rather than theoretical knowledge.

• Diseases can be classified like animals or plants and different types of diseases could be discovered using patients' symptoms.

When was the Fabric of the human body written?

1543

Who proved that capillaries carry blood from the arteries to the veins?

Marcello Malpighi.

How did the work of physicians change during the Renaissance?

• Physicians stopped using astrology charts as fewer people believed in astrology

• Improved knowledge of digestion resulted in people realsing that urine was not a good indicator of disease and stopped using urine charts for diagnosis

• Physicians carried out more direct observations rather than relying on their patients explaining their symptoms
  

What actions did the government take during the great plague?

Theatres were closed and large gatherings were banned.
Dogs and cats were killed.
Streets were regularly cleaned.
Days of fasting and public prayers were ordered.
A household was boarded into its home for 40 days or taken to the pest house if a member caught the plague.

Who invented the printing press?

Gutenberg , 1440

Who granted the Royal Society a Royal Charter?

King Charles II.

What was the effect of the printing press?

• Exact copies of texts could be produced in a short amount of time.

• Discoveries and scientific theories could be shared much faster across a wider area.

• It reduced the control of the Church as Monks were previously used to hand write books.

When was The Fabric of the Human Body written?

1543

What scientific experiments did Harvey carry out?

Dissecting human corpses and carefully observing the heart.
Dissecting cold blooded animals because they had a slower heartbeat and this allows the movement of blood to be observed.
Measuring blood flow to show that the same blood is pumped around the body repeatedly by the heart.

When did Sydenham publish Medical Observations?

1676

What changes in ideas on causes of disease were there through the Renaissance?

• Fewer people believed in supernatural or religious causes of diseases

• New rational explenatinos of disease were suggested such as seeds in the air spreading disease

Who was the journal Philoshopical Transactions published by?

the royal society

What continuity in ideas on causes of disease was there in the renaissance?

• Many people still believed in miasma.

• Many physicians still believed in the Theory of Four Humours

How many printing presses were there in Europe by the start of the Renaissance?

1500 printing presses

What was the effect of Philosophical Transcations?

• Theories could be confirmed or dismissed

• News of findings could spread through the medical community quickly

How were plague doctors dressed?

Masks with sweet-smelling herbs to ward of miasma.
Cloak was waxed so that nothing from the patient could be absorbed into it.
Birds were believed to attract disease so the mask was in the shape of a bird's beak in the hope that it would cause the plague to leave the patient.

What did Vesalius' work help show?

Some of Galen's mistakes such :

• Galen said: the jaw was made of two bones

• Vesalius proved: it is actually one single bone

• Galen said: the liver had 5 lobes

• Vesalius proved: the human liver does not have 5 lobes (that was based on animals like pigs)

What did William Harvey prove?

Blood is not made in the liver and then pumped around the body.
The blood containes valves.

Who did Vesalius perform dissections on?

Criminals who had been executed.

What was the significance of Vesalius' work?

• Vesalius's findings encouraged others to question Galen
• Vesalius showed that dissecting bodies was important, to find out how the body was structured

What was Philosophical Transactions?

A journal in which scientists could share their work and ideas.

What is believed to have inspired Harvey?

Mechanical water pumps used by firefighters in the 17th century may have given Harvey the idea that blood is pumped around the body by the heart.

When was the great plague?

1665

when did Antony leeowenhook discover animalcules

1683

what was Sydenhams main theories

The disease causes the symptoms, not the patient

• Physicians should treat the disease as a whole, not each symptom separately

• Sydenham emphasised careful observationto diagnose and treat correctly

how did the public respond to new treatments

• The public distrusted the new treatments available and continued using humoural treatments like blood-letting and purging

hospitals in the renaissance

• Smaller, charity-run hospitals replaced the previous Church-owned facilities

  • These had a focus on curing, not just caring

what did use of pest houses show

• Treated people with infectious diseases like plague or pox

• Separate from general hospitals to avoid wider infections

  • This showed growing awareness that illness could spread from person to person

were superstitions still common

• People still believed that the supernatural influenced their health

• Many people prayed in an attempt to prevent illness 

• More rational ideas grew in influence, such as:

  • Eating in moderation

  • Considering how strong you were when you were born (a person’s constitution)

how did people stay clean

• they bathed more

• changed clothes regularly;arly

• moved away from places with disease

What action did Charles the second release to prevent the spread of the plague?

Local bishops fishes enforce the following rules:

A 28 day for quarantine for those who had the plague

Red crosses painted on infected houses

A banner on theatres

Lighting fires in the street toward of miasma