medieval medicine (edexcel gcse)
- Created by: issybelle08
- Created on: 22-02-23 16:36
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- medieval medicine
- causes
- religious/supernatural
- catholic church played an important role in medieval society
- owned large amount of land
- cared for the sick
- the poor were illiterate so the only education they received was what they heard or saw in church
- sickness was a punishment sent from god
- sent by the devil to test a person's faith
- leprosy - digits and hair would fall out, leading to paralysis and death: lepers were quarantined in colonies
- catholic church played an important role in medieval society
- the 4 humours
- blood, phlegm, black bile, choler
- thought of by hippocrates, then the theory of opposites was developed by galen
- very popular ith the logicas it was detailed and could be used to explain away any kind of illness (often physicians would twist what they saw to fit w of the theory
- church supported it as they believed god made man in his image and galen wrote that the body was clearly designed for a purpose as different parts of the body worked together well
- classical thinking
- students learnt from the latin translations of the works of galen and hippocrates, rather than practical experience
- translations were copied by monks, so the church controlled which texts were read, preached and produced
- lack of alternatives
- church banned dissections, only allowing vivisections on criminals: if any discrepancies with the 4 humours were found, it could be explained that the body was a criminal, therefore imperfect
- vivisections were performed by a barber surgeon, not an educated physician
- miasma
- bad air was thought to be full of harmful fumes, which would unbalance the humours of the body
- a clean and sweet smelling home was a sign of spiritual cleanliness
- both galen and hippocrates wrote about miasmata and suggested that swamps, corpses and other rotting matter could transmit disease
- bad air was thought to be full of harmful fumes, which would unbalance the humours of the body
- religious/supernatural
- treatment
- religious and supernatural
- church suggested seeking spiritual healing as god had punished them for their sins
- praying, pilgrimages, mass, fasting
- this made the church money
- medieval kings' touch was supposed to cure the sick as they had 'divine powers'
- edward i touched up to 2000 people a year (1272-1307)
- church suggested seeking spiritual healing as god had punished them for their sins
- humoral treatments
- phlebotomy - used to rebalance the humours by letting some of the blood
- cutting a vein
- leeches
- cupping pierced skin with heated cups
- purging with an emetic/ enema (laxative)
- theriaca and other herbl remedies
- blanc mangier (and other warm moist foods)
- warm baths to ease joints and steam out impurities
- transference
- medieval medics
- apothecary
- mixed herbal remedies but also prescribed poison which was against the hippocratic oath
- used the materia medica
- didn't attend university- knowledge passed down through families
- also dabbled in alchemy, the supernatural, made charms and amulets - looked down on by the church and therefore also physicians
- surgeons
- based off experience, not books
- in Europe they were highly trained so learnt many of their skills at universities such as Padua
- barber surgeons were the least qualified medical professionals in england
- physicians
- diagnosed illness, recommended treatment
- rare, so very expensive
- would examine a patient's blood urine and faeces and consult their astological charts for a course of treatment
- the wealthy employed one full time
- apothecary
- phlebotomy - used to rebalance the humours by letting some of the blood
- religious and supernatural
- prevention
- church told peope to lead a life free from sin
- regularly praying and offering tithes meant that any minor sins were quickly forgiven
- regimen sanitatis
- live a healthy life
- be hygenic
- avoid stress
- sweet smelling homes to avoid miasma
- balanced diet with regular purging and vomiting to balance humours
- local authorities put measures in place to keep towns clean and avoid miasmata outside
- church told peope to lead a life free from sin
- causes
- case study: the black death (1348)
- prevention
- supernatural
- praying, fasting, pilgrimages, offerings
- flagellation - whipping yourself to show god you were sorry for your sins
- services and porcessions everyday to please god
- natural
- leave areas with foul air
- avoid infected people
- carry flowers or herbs to smell and block out miasma
- stop bathing as it opened up pores to take in miasma
- ring hand bells to aid air circulation
- government action
- quarantine - laws were put in place to stop people moving around too much
- people who had just moved to an area had to quarantine for 40 days to make sure they weren't infected
- banning preaching and religious gatherings to stop spread of disease
- stopped cleaning streets to 'mask' miasma
- built latrines (public toilets) in some towns
- HOWEVER THE GOVERNMENT WAS IGNORED BY THE RICH AND CHURCH WHO HAD MORE POWER
- supernatural
- cause
- religious/supernatural
- punishment from god
- unusual positioning of jupiter mars and saturn in 1345 seen as a bad omen
- natural
- miasma affected the body's humours, created by volcanoes or earthquakes
- scapegoats
- ordinary people couldn't make sense of the plague so looked for people to blame, e.g. the Jews in mainland europe
- religious/supernatural
- treatment
- supernatural
- confess your sins and pray to god for forgiveness
- natural
- bleeding and purging - actually failed and led to a quicker death
- herbs like aloe, myrrh, theriaca
- get rid of miasma by lighting fires and boiling vinegar
- surgeons would lance (cut off) buboes - when they burst, some people survived
- NO ACTUAL CURE FOUND - today it can be cured by antibiotics
- supernatural
- prevention
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