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Renaissance Medicine 1500-1700 - Coggle Diagram
Renaissance Medicine 1500-1700
Changes
influence of the church
religious ideas challenged the authority of the Catholic Church, because of this people began to look for new explanations for the cause of disease, moving away from teachings of Galen and the idea of God as the cause of disease.
dissection also became more prevalent, improving knowledge of the human body, although the Church did not agree with dissection
work of physicians and scientists
physicians carried out more direct observations and examinations of their patients, rather than relying on the patient explaining their symptoms
transmission of ideas
printing press- 1440 made by Johannes Gutenberg published all their books so people could look at their discoveries and also improved communication in the medical field
The Royal Society set up in 1660 and although was patronised by Charles II, was important because all scientists came together to share ideas and discoveries about medicine
prevention and treatment
many treatments and preventions didn't change like herbal remedies and bleeding and purging
there was an emphasis on removing miasma by draining swamps and removing sewage and waste
people started to regularly change their clothes
the theory of transference led people to try and rub objects on themselves to transfer their illness to the object
alchemy caused chemical cures using metals or minerals to become popular
hospitals
were treating more sick people and being used by less travellers
most had their own apothecaries who mixed medicines and physicians visited frequently
in 1536, the dissolution of the monasteries in England by Henry VIII caused most hospitals to close
some free, charity-funded hospitals were set up, but it wasn't well into the 1700's that the hospitals returned to pre-dissolution levels
more pest houses began to appear, where people suffering from a particular contagious disease could go for care
when hospitals did begin to re-appear, (which took 200 years) they were run by physicians rather than the church, and focused on treating the sick
care and treatment
apothecaries were still not given medical training and were still considered inferior to physicians and training was still based on text books rather than practical work
however, apothecaries and surgeons were trained better through the guild system and a licence was now needed to be either which was issued after completing training
there was more access to medical books and detailed drawings due to the printing press
dissection was legalised but not commonplace
technology
Microscope - Anthoney van Leeuwenhoek made/discovered it in 1590 and then it was also developed by Robert Hook in 1665 and led to the discovery of bacteria HOWEVER they did not know what it was
Thomas Sydenham
observed patients recorded their symptoms in detail, rather than relying on medical theory, disease had nothing to do with the nature of the person who had it
was nicknamed the english hypocrites because he disproved that the theory of the 4 humours
did not read the wrong books of Galen and instead used his skill of observation to test his theories and make new discoveries
developed the idea that there are 'species' of disease (diseases that act in similar ways)
HOWEVER - had lots of opposition from the backlash of the disapproving Galen supporters and the church as they supported Galen's ideas
William Harvey
was a british doctor who worked for James I and was one of the most important individuals of the medical renaissance. influenced by the work of Veslius and inspired Sydenham
discovering the circulation of the blood
found that blood circulates via veins and not from the liver like Galen had thought - so he proved Galen wrong
he was influenced by new technology, like water pumps
researched Vesalius' theory that blood flowed towards the heart and proved he was right by dissecting bodies and pumps that showed that blood only flowed one way -
church had less of an influence so dissections were now more common
published his findings in An anatomical account of the motion of the heart and blood in animals - in 1628 and it contained detailed diagrams of his findings
proved many of Galen's theory's wrong and improved knowledge about the human body
important because it made more people question the work of Galen
by 1700, his work was being taught in medical school
his scientific work of observation and dissection were copied by many others
HOWEVER: although he did dissect humans, his book was about animals limiting physicians and other knowledge and did not provide explanation for causes and treatments for disease
The Great Plague 1665
government actions
main difference between this and the black death (1348) was the reaction by local councils
local councils were ordered by the king to stop the spread
theatres were closed and large gatherings were banned
dogs and cats were killed
streets were regularly cleaned
barrels of tar were burned in the streets
every day carts collected the dead, they were buried in deep mass graves
a house hold was boarded into its home for 28 days or taken to the pest house if a member caught the plague
days of fasting and public prayers were ordered
most people thought that the plague was spread by miasma rather than an imbalance in the humours
treatments
many were similar to the ones for the black death
as many quarantined, little is known about treatments
herbal remedies
theory of transference meant that people tried to 'transfer' the disease to something else, especially birds like chickens
thought that people could sweat the disease out, so sufferers were wrapped up in thick blankets and put out by the fire
Andreas Vesalius
was a professor of surgery in Italy and was an important contributor to medicine
wrote ‘the fabric of the human body’ in 1543
improved the understanding of the human body and did some of the first anatomy dissection
disproved over 300 of Galen's theories
discovered that the jaw bone was one bone instead of 2 like Galen thought
his work was published throughout Europe which included illustrations of the human body
HOWEVER: his discoveries do not help find cures to diseases such as the plague and he faced opposition from the church (who still agreed with ‘the perfect design’- Galen) and all supporters of Galen opposed his findings
he also dissected - seen bad by the church and he did this a lot