Medical Renaissance in England c.1500 - 1700 - Revision Cards in GCSE History

Thomas Sydenham

Thomas Sydenham was a physician recognized as a founder of clinical medicine,
his treatise on gout (published in 1683) is considered his most notable piece of work,
he was among the first to describe scarlet fever - differentiating it from measles and naming it,
Sydenham introduced laudanum (alcohol tincture of opium) into medical practise,
was one of the first to use iron in treating iron-deficiency anemia,
he also helped popularise quinine in treating malaria,
insisted that doctors should visit the sick (which showed some progress),
But he taught that disease was caused by 'atmospheres'.

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Andreas Vesalius was a physician,
he produced diagrams and made detailled drawings labelling the different parts of the human body (as he could dissect the bodies of executed criminals),
in 1543, his book 'On the Fabric of the Human Body' was published. It showed that Galen had made several mistakes,
some of Galen's mistakes included: claiming that the human jawbone is one part not two, the main vein leading out of the heart did not lead to the liver and that the human liver did not have five seperate lobes,
it had little impact on everyday medicine but led to others investigating the anatomy of the human body,
he was so important because doctors, rather than surgeons, began to carry out dissections and he inspired other anatomists, some later corrected his mistakes,
but some doctors were angry that he criticised Galen - claiming that the body had changed over time.

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He explained how blood flowed in one direction throughout the body and that it was the lungs where the transformation of venous blood to arterial blood took place,
he proved that the arteries and veins were linked together in one system. This was done by tying a cord around an arm and cutting off the blood flow,
Galen had said that blood flowed through the heart and that the veins carried blood and the soul and the arteries just carried blood. Harvey proved that there were no holes in the heart, that the veins carried just blood and the heart acted as a pump,
he was important because he encouraged other scientists to experiment on bodies, his book 'An Anatomical Account of the Motion of the Heart and Blood in Animals' was widely read,
but his discoveries has little practical use in medical treatment and a lot of doctors ignored and criticised him.

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New chemical treatments began to appear.
Some physicians were starting to reject the theory of the four humours (but many continued practising the theory of opposites so that they were still trusted) and in 1676 Thomas Sydenham suggested that illness was caused by external factors and not the four humours.
A better understanding of the digestive system was developed - people no longer believed that diease was caused by eating the wrong foods.
By 1683 more powerful microscopes allowed the observation of tiny 'animalcules' (little animals in plaque scraped from between the teeth). This was the first recorded obseration of bacteria.

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100,000 (1 in 5) people died,
People didn't know what caused the 'scourge' and so the alignment of Saturn and Jupiter between Mars and Saturn was blamed, and also a comet was spotted and many believed this was the reason of the plague (astrology). Other belived that God was punishing them but the most popular theory was miasma (the plague was causd by stinkinh rubbish on the streets).
It was treated by quaranting victims in their homes, transference and herbal remedies. Doctors told their patients to pray and carry a Pomander (a ball containing perfumed substances). Other healers, like apothecaries, prescribed 'plague water' and some suggested that catching syphilis would prevent the plague.
The government helped by having public meetings and theatres closed, streets and alleyways were swept and cleaned. Also searchers and wardens checked for plague victims and quarantined the houses. Houses were painted with a large red cross. Carts would travel through the streets and collect dead bodies. However, Charles II said everyone should fast regularly and 40,000 dogs and 200,000 dogs were slaughtered.

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