Renaissance Medicine 1500-1700

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  • Created by: B.Dave
  • Created on: 27-11-17 17:08

The Renaissance Introduction

The Renaissance was a time of new ideas and fresh thinking. People began to challenge old beliefs and there were many developments in doctor's knowledge and skills. However the common people didn't see most of these changes and continued to have the same beliefs and use the same treatments as in the medieval times.

  • There was a rediscovery of knowledge from ancient Greek and Roman times. Western doctors gained access to the original writings of Hippocrates and Galen.
  • The Renaissance saw the emergence of science and scientific methods of observation and experimentation.
  • Protestant Christianity spread across Europe, reducing the influence of the Church over medical teaching.
  • Medical Training became more practical and the college of physicians encouraged the licensing of doctors to stop quacks.
  • New weapons in war like cannons and guns forced doctors to find new treatments to injuries they hadn't seen before.
  • Explorations abroad brought new ingredients for drugs back to Britain
  • In the 1530s Henry VIII ordered the dissolution of the monasteries, leading to the closure of many hospitals, but these were gradually replaced by free hospitals ran by physicians, who focused more on treating illness.
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Vesalius

Vesalius (b.1514) was a medical professor in Italy.

  • He believed that successful surgery would only be possible if doctors had a proper understanding of the human anatomy.
  • He performed dissections on executed criminals, letting him study the body in depth.
  • He wrote and illustrated books bades on his observations (e.g 'Fabrica'). were printed and copied allowing many to read about his ideas. 
  • He helped point out some of Galen's mistakes and his findings encoarged others to question Galen.
  • He also showed the importance of dissection  in medical training.
  • His work didn't have an immediate impact on medicine, but a realistic idea of the human anatomy was an essential first step to improving it.
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Thomas Sydenham

Thomas Sydenham was a Physician who worked in London:

  • He didn't believe in the value of theoretical knowledge, instead he thought practical experience was more important.
  • He kept detailed observations of his patients and kept accurate records of their symptoms.
  • He thought diseases could be classified and that different types could be discovered using patients' symptoms.
  • He is known for showing that scarlet fever is different to measles, and first using iron to treat anaemia and quinine for malaria.
  • He wrote a book called 'Medical Observations' (1676) which was used by doctors for 200 years.
  • His work on classifying diseases helped make diagnosis a more important part of doctors' work.
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William Harvey

William Harvey was born in 1578 and became a Royal Physician;

  • He discovered the circulation of the blood. 
  • He used humans and animals for his work.
  • Before Harvey people believed the blood system that Galen suggested: of purple blood being made in the liver and red blood being made in the lungs before being consumed by the body
  • He realised this was wrong because too much blood was being pumped out of the heart for it to be being constantly formed and consumed, instead he realised it circulated.

His ideas changed how people understood anatomy, and his discoveries gave doctors a new map to use showing how the ody worked, without this map blood  transfusions or complex surgery couldn't be attempted.

He also showed that Vesalius was right about the importance of dissection.

However it had a limited impact on treatments of disease as not everyone believed his theories, blood tranfusions were rarely successful due to blood loss, shock and wrong blood types being used. Also bloodletting was still performed despite Harvey showing the reasoning behind it was wrong.

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Transmission of Ideas

The invention of the printing press in the 1470s accelerated the rate of progress in medicine as it meant new ideas could be spread and debated more easily, and that people could question existing ideas. Before monks were used to copy books by hand, but now they weren't needed meaning the church's control over medical ideas was reduced.

The Royal Society was founded in 1660, this was a prestigious scienfitic body supported by the king which gave it high status. It was important in spreading new scientific theories and technologies, and encouraged people to be sceptical and to question. Also through it's scientific journal 'Philosophical Transactions', more people could read about new ideas.

However the impact of these was limited because the majority of the population were illiterate meaning they still had the same beliefs and treatments used in the Middle Ages.

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Continuity

For ordinary people medical treatment was very similar to medieval times because they couldn't afford doctors and couldn't read about new ideas.

They used other healers; Apothecaries, barber-surgeons, wise women or even Quack doctors.

Superstition and religion was still important, shown in the fact that people thought the King's touch would cure Scrofula (a skin disease).

Herbal remedy recipes were passed down through families meaning the treatment didn't change.

Hospitals were still basic, many focused on moral and spiritual education rather than treating disease. And Bedlam was first 'lunatic' institution where many patients had learning difficulties or epilepsy, people even visited to watch the patients for entertainment. However eventually health and sickness became more of a priority and the likes of St Bart's in London became centres of innovation and research.

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The Great Plague

The Great Plague hit London in 1665, London's death toll was around 100,000. 

Treatment

  • This included wearing lucky charms, amulets, prayers or fasting (magic/religion)
  • Special remedies were made using ingredients like dried toad
  • Bloodletting was still used (worsening health as it led to infection)
  • Others believed miasma caused the disease so they carried herbs/flowers to improve the air
  • Strapping a live chicken to the swelling was used by some as a cure

Preventing the spread

  • Councils tried to quarantine plague victims by locking them in their houses
  • Large gatherings and areas like theatres were closed
  • People tried not to touch other people (e.g vinegar jars for coins in shops)
  • The dead were buried in mass graves away from houses
  • Local councils paid for cats and dogs to be killed as it was thought they carried the plague.

The plague gradually disappeared. Many thought this was helped by the Great Fire of London by effectively sterlising large parts of London.

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