Approaches to disease - Medieval Period

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  • Approaches to Disease
    • Natural approaches to disease
      • Apothecaries (medicine-makers) used herbs to 'make medicines'
      • Burning herbs to create a sweet smell to get red of miasma (smells they believed caused disease)
    • Supernatural approaches to disease
      • Flagellation (whipping) - To show God they were sorry for their sins
      • Praying to God or saints - they believed disease was a punishment from God
      • Astrology - people believed the stars and planets could be responsible for illness
    • The Four Humors
      • The Greeks believed the body was made up of four basic elements, the Four Humors. When the Humors were out of balance, the person became ill. They consist of Blood, Phlegm, Yellow bile and Black bile
      • The idea had some merit as it was rational- based on evidence from observing patterns rather than on superstition - but the remedies prescribed were often unhelpful and it hindered development in medicine
      • The balance of the Four Humors could be restored by reducing whichever one was out if balance, This usually meant purging (making them sick) or bleeding a patient using leeches or cutting to reduce the amount of blood in their body. This idea continued till the 19th century
    • Theory of Opposites
      • In the 2nd century CE, Galen took the idea of the Four Humors further. Besides purging and bleeding, his theory of opposites aimed to restore the balance of their symptoms by giving the patient the 'opposite' of their symptom
        • For example, if you had too much phlegm (linked to water and cold) you should eat hot peppers
    • Hippocrates
      • Hippocrates was a Greek doctor born around 460 BCE and was so influential that his ideas are still used today
      • His main idea was to observe patients carefully to work out what was wrong with them and to write down what he saw
        • Today we call this clinical observation and some doctors in medieval times would have used this.
      • Hippocrates is best remembered for his theory of the four humors and the Hippocratic oath which was an oath taken by new doctors promising to be ethical and not harm their patients.
        • The Hippocratic Oath is still sworn today by all new doctors
    • Galen
      • Galen was Greek but studied medicine in Egypt. He was a follower of Hippocrates and the most celebrated physician in the Roman Empire. He was the first doctor to encourage dissection even though it was illegal
      • As doctor to the gladiators of his hometown, he gained a lot of practical experience. He took the idea of the four humors further but also encouraged doctors to check their patients pulse for signs of what might be wrong
      • He wrote many books, which were edited by Islamic scholars in the medieval period

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