Devised Clinical observation. This included Diagnosis, Prognosis, Observation and Treatment
Wrote the Hippocratic Oath (A guideline for doctors)
Wrote the Hippocratic Corpus (The first detailed list of symptoms and treatments)
Came up with the theory of the Four Humours. Yellow Bile - Summer,Fire. Black Bile - Autumn, Earth. Phlegm - Winter, Water. Blood - Spring, Air.
Claimed if you fell ill it was because you had an imbalance of the humours and to get better you must balance them out again.
Some soft treatments he used were Diet, Exercise and Herbal Medicines. If this did not work then he would use stronger treatments like Purging (filling the body with laxatives), Bloodletting (to remove excess of blood),and Blistering (blistering the skin with a hot Iron)
1 of 5
Galen
Wrote over 350 medical texts
No one saw any point for further medical research as they thought he had found it all
He believed in the Four Humours
He had the theory of “Opposites” E.g. If you had a fever you were fed cucumber
Linked Four Humours to temperament and characteristics
He dissected humans but it got banned so dissected animal
Taught people about the body (some of it was wrong as he dissected animals)
Believed bloodletting as a treatment for all illnesses and said it helps
Believed in clinical observation
He thought all parts in the body fitted together carfully to make on whole
2 of 5
Treatments used by the Romans
The Gods -They believed that the gods would help protect them. They used to pray and make offerings to the gods in hope to get a return of protection for them.
Fitness And Health -The Romans were great believers in a healthy body. They were also interested in personal hygiene shown by development and creation of the public baths in order to obtain a clean body. The Romans thought that a change in diet and undertaking regular exercise would help them maintain a fit and healthy body.
Bloodletting -Bloodletting is the withdrawal of considerable amounts of blood from the body in an attempt to cure an illness. The Romans did this by cutting open a blood vessel or by leeches. In some rare cases it had a positive effect by temporarily reducing the volume of blood within the body, but in most cases it had a harmful effect on the patient.
Amulets -The Romans had many superstitions and beliefs. They believed that lucky charms, or Amulets, would help protect them from evil and therefore prevent them from catching disease or becoming ill.
3 of 5
Treatments used by the Romans (Continued...)
Purging -The Romans thought that purging was an effective way of curing. It was a way of getting rid of the “bad” in someone’s body and balancing out the Four Humours.
Blistering -The Romans believed that blistering was a good way in which to cure illness such as colds and shivers by rapidly exposing the body to heat. They would blister the body with a hot iron in order to try and heat the body up andstop the patient from shivering
Herbal Medicines - This type of treatment uses plants and has been around for many years. Herbal medicines were commonly used by the Romans to treat minor illnesses, improve health and prevent disease; also knon as folk remedies
4 of 5
Roman Public Health
Public health means action taken by governments to improve the health of their people.
Romans carefully observed life; they noted that people living near swamps, marshes, bad smells, bad air, sewage/human waste or anything not clean were likely to fall ill. So when they began to build homes/towns/forts etc; they took care when choosing a site and worked hard to get rid of the problems
As the Romans conquered other parts of the world, so did their public health measures
The Romans believed that clean water was pure and pure water was vital for good health so water came from freshwater springs
They kept clean and fit by going to baths.
They knew sewage was a source of disease so built sewers and lead pipes
Other things they had included:Latrines (Public tolet),Reservoir (Stored water till it was needed),Aqueduct (Carried water to where needed)
Comments
Report