Medicine in the Renaissance

• Born in 1514 and was a medical professor in Padua, Italy
• Believed that successful surgery was only possible with a proper understanding of the anatomy
• Able to perform dissections on criminals who had been executed, so he was able to study the human anatomy more closely
• Wrote books based on his observations using accurate diagrams; his most important books were 'Six Anatomical Pictures' and 'The Fabric of the Human Body'
• His works were printed and copied (via the printing press)
• His work helped to point out some of Galen's mistakes e.g. by showing that there were no holes in the septum
• His work encouraged others to question Galen and doctors realised that there was more to discover because of Vesalius' questionning attitude
• He showed that dissecting bodies was important and from then on, dissections were used more and more in medical training
• His work didn't have an immediate impact on diagnosis or treatment, but he did provide an essential first step to improving them

• Didn't believe in the value of theoretical knowledge and so thought it was more important to gain practical experience in treating patients. As a doctor, he made detailed observations of his patients and kept accurate records of their symptoms
• Thought that diseases could be classified like animals or plants and the different types of diseases could be discovered using patients' symptoms
• He is known for showing that scarlet fever is different to measles
• Discovered that laudanum can relieve pain
• Also one of the first doctors to use iron to treat anaemia, and quinine for malaria
• He wrote a book 'Medical Observations' in 1676 which was used as a textbook for 200 years
• His descriptions of medical conditions like gout helped other doctors to diagnose their patients more easily
• His work helped make diagnosis a more important part of doctors' work whereas before the focus had been on prognosis

• Studied both animals and humans for his work and he realised that he could observe living animals hearts in action and that his findings would also apply to humans
• He realised that the theory that there were two kinds of blood - purple 'nutrition carrying' blood and bright red 'life-giving' blood - was completely wrong. From experiments, he knew that too much blood was being pumped out of the heart for it to be continually formed and consumed. He realised that the blood must circulate and must fo round and round the body
• His ideas changed how people understood anatomy and his discoveries gave doctors a new map showing how the body worked. Without this map, blood transfusions or complex surgery wouldn't be possible
• He supported Vesalius' theory of the importance of dissection
• He was Royal Physician to James I and Charles I
• Not everyone believed Harvey's theories because when blood transfusions were attempted, they were rarely successful because of blood loss, shock, and because the wrong blood types were used
• Bloodletting still continued to be performed, even though Harvey had shown the reasoning behind it to be wrong

• The first British printing press was set up in the 1470s and this accelerated the rate of progress in medicine
• Before this, a single copy of a book would take months even years to make it by hand (books were rare and precious). Books could now be copied much more easily.
• For the first time, uni students had their own textbooks
• New ideas could be spread and debated more easily.
• Ambroise Paré was a French army surgeon whose ideas about surgery were translated into different languages and reprinted. His works influenced several other books about surgery from this time
• It also meant people could question existing ideas. At least 600 different editions of Galen's books were printed between 1473 and 1599, which meant that lots of people knew his theories. However, with so many different editions, it was unclear what Galen had originally written, which made his writings less reliable.
• It had a huge impact on the communication of ideas. 

• A prestigious scientific body founded in 1660
• Supported by King Charles II, which gave it a high status and it's still the highest authority on scientific matters in Britain today
• Important in spreading new scientific theories and getting people to trust new technology
• Motto was 'Nullius in verba', which means 'take no-one's word for it'. The society wanted to encourage people to be sceptical and to question scientific ideas
• Through its scientific journal 'Philosophical Transactions', more people could read about new inventions and discoveries
• Published Robert Hooke's 1665 'Micrographia', which showed the first drawings of a flea made using a microscope
• Despite the Royal Society and the printing press, the impact was limited due to people not being able to read or write. 

• London was struck in 1665 and the death toll was about 100,000 - about 20% of London's population
• The treatments revolved around superstition and magic
• They would carry special charms or amulets and would use 'potions' 
• Bloodletting was still used, even though this probably made it worse as the wounds could become infected
• Some carried herbs and flowers around because they thought that miasma caused the disease
• Some people strapped live chickens to the swellings as people thought that the plague could be transferred to the chicken
• Councils tried to quarantine victims by locking the victim's house and a red cross was painted on doors with the words 'Lord have mercy upon us'
• Crowded areas were closed and people tried not to touch each other e.g. if someone was handing over money, the coins would be placed in vinegar
• Dead bodies buried in mass graves away from houses. Carts organised by the authorities roamed the city with the infamous cry "bring out your dead!", collecting corpses for burial
• Cats and dogs were killed because they thought they carried the plague
• The Plague began to disappear after the Great Fire of London in 1666

• Many doctors trained at College of Physicians, set up in 1518, where they read Galen's books and studied recent medical developments. 
• Dissections became a major part of medical training 
• College of Physicians encouraged licensing of doctors to stop the influence of quacks, who sold fake medicines.
• Some of the college's physicians (like Harvey) made significant breakthroughs in disease and the human body
• New weapons (e.g. cannons and guns) were being used in war meaning doctors and surgeons had to treat never-before-seen injuries, forcing them to find new treatments fast
• Explorations abroad brought new ingredients for drugs, including guaiacum to cure syphillis and quinine for malaria
• In the 1530s, Henry VIII closed down most of Britain's monasteries and since most of the hospitals had been set up by monasteries, this led to the closure of a large number of hospitals. This affected people's health badly
• These monastic hospitals were gradually replaced by free hospitals, which were paid for by charitable donations. These new hospitals were run by trained physicians, who focussed more on getting better from illness.

Change:

• New plants were brought back from the New World e.g. ipecac to treat dysentery
• Fines were given for not keeping the streets clean and removing sewage and rubbish was a punishment for them
• They believed that an illness could be transferred to something else i.e. some people let sheep sleep in their room hoping that their fever would transfer to it
• Alchemy meant that people began to look for chemical cures i.e. metals were used as cures
• Bathing was less important as people were afraid of catching syphillis. They just changed their clothes
• People started to believe that other things could help avoid disease e.g. lifestyle factors, like diet
• Projects were conducted to drain boggy land and swamps to stop miasma spreading
• Ideas about atmosphere causing disease were becoming more popular and people measured weather over a long period of time. Barometers and thermometers were developed in this period.

Continuity:

• Bleeding, purging and sweating were still used to rebalance humours
• Herbal remedies still used
• Cleanliness still important
• People still believed that there were many things that could prevent disease e.g. superstition and prayer
• Still believed in the miasma theory
• Preventing disease was still considered the best way to stay healthy
• People still continued to practice the regimen sanitatis (daily hygiene and diet)
• People continued to take doctors advice on a healthy diet