HISTORY THROUGH TIME

*Most people died before the age of 40 years despite the fact that they were very fit and muscular.

*A lot died from childbirth. Women died younger than men.

*They had very healthy teeth but they were ground down by bits of stone from their food.

*Most suffered from bad joints

*believed Spirits caused illness

*went to medicine men to be healed

*wore charms to ward off the evil spirits

*also used herbs and plants to treat illness

*They used surgery like setting broken bones and TREPHINING

*Women also had an imprtant role in health care and treatment

*Prehistoric Britains died from: disease, infections, bleeding, warfare, and poor diet.

*Wealth> The Bile meant good crops so therefore wealth

* Specialist Doctors> The rich employed doctors to look after them. Eg/ The Pharoah had his own Physician.

*Metal Workers> They were skilled craftsmen and made medical instruemnts

*Trade> Wide knowledfe of herbal medicines beacuse of trade from other countries

*Improved Writing> Developed PAPYRUS to pass on remedies

*Religion> emblaming meant that they learnt about certain organs

*Nile and Farming> The irrigation channels of the Nile inspired doctors to think of body as having many channels that if blocked caused illness.

• with herbs eg/ honey, frankinsense and with charms eg/ warning off spirits
  
• surgery eg/ purging
• worshipping gods like Sekhmet

changes: doctors looking for logical causes of disease, knowledge of some parts of body, metal instruments, recording of remedies

continuities: herbs, gods and spirits

They worshipped the god of healing, ASCLEPIUS. People believed that if they went to sleep in an Asclepion (temples built from 600BC) then at night they would be healed by the god and his daughters

Whereas some Greeks believed that gods were the causes of disease, some greeks looked NATURAL causes of disease. The wealthy Greek thinkers believed in the idea of the FOUR HUMOURS. This idea grew from the theory of the four elements and the four seasons. They believed that the four liquids of the body (humours) had to stay in balance in order to stay healthy: phlegm, blood, yellow bile and black bile.

They developed this idea because the greeks had enquiring minds and wanted to understand things. Greek thinkers and doctors used OBSERVATION to learn things. Eg/ they saw that when pple were ill they had a liquid coming out of them.

Although the idea was wrong it did improve medicine. It led them to do everything in moderation - not eating/ exercising too much.

*Observation> diagnosis, history, syptoms

*Treatments> vomit, purging, bleeding, visit to Asclepion

*Advice> how to avoid illness: diet and exercise

*Surgery> sharp instruments: amputation, setting broken bones, draining of lungs. Most operations WEREN'T INVASIVE.

• Hippocratic oath is still taken today. Shows that they have high standards and want to better life of patient
• Hippocratic Collection of books contains symptoms and treatments. Used for hundreds of years
• Hippocrates showed importance of observing and recording
• Developed four humours and looked for NATURAL causes of disease instead of SUPERNATURAL causes

In Greece, you could not dissect dead bodies - they thought this was wrong. However in Alexandria, the centre of all medical knowledge because of its university and library, you could. Medical students would travel to Alexandria to learn about medicine and influenced great doctors.

• Had larger cities and were cramped> health problems
• Had a centralised strong government> ideas and diseases spread wuickly
• Prefered practical solutions to theories
• Had a huge army> good medical care
• Even more wealthy