medicine- roman Britain to c1350

medicine- roman Britain to c1350

1. Roman causes of disease

   • supernatural
     • the gods, a curse, planets
   • miasma
     • bad air in swampy and dirty places
   • imbalance of the four humours
     • theory originated from Hippocrates
       • believed in clinical OBSERVATION
         • study symptoms
           • watch for change
             • treat illness
               • take careful notes of progress of disease
       • Hippocrates Oath
     • yellow bile
     • black bile
     • blood
     • phelgm

2. Roman treatment of disease

   • making offerings to salus (the God of health)
   • pray
   • herbal cures
   • the theory of opposites
     • originated from Galen
       • developments made by Galen
         • dissection
           • most famous dissection was performed on a pig, he proved that: the brain and nerves controlled speech, not the heart and that arteries allowed blood to flow around the body
             • expanded the Romans understanding of human anatomy and physiology
           • forbidden to dissect on human bodies in the Roman Empire- Galen had to rely on dissections of animals
         • writings
           • published books which included what he had learnt in Alexandria and Rome
           • significant because these were the basis for medical teaching and learning for the next 1500 years
             • PROBLEM: people didn't challenge Galen so new ideas weren't developed
     • fever= cucumber
     • blood letting
     • purging
     • significant because this it encouraged doctors to focus on RATIONAL explanations of illness
   • named cities after godesses because it was thought to bless them

3. Roman public health

   • avoided swampy places (miasma)
     • built their cities on dry plain
   • clean water
     • skilled engineers built aqueducts to bring in clean water
       • prevented spread of waterborne diseases
   • drains and sewers
     • took dirty and contaminated water from latrines and homes
   • latrines
     • communal toilets
     • waste was sometimes disposed on the streets which spread disease
   • public baths
     • helped develop hygiene and cleanliness
     • beneficial for breathing problems and skin conditions
   • exercise

4. middle ages: 500AD-1500AD

   • the wars meant that many of the developments made by the Romans were lost
   • after the Roman Empire collapsed, public health regressed
   • communication was dangerous so any new ideas couldn't be spread
   • YORK
     • anglo saxons 400AD-800AD
       • high infant mortality
       • women died during childbirth
       • short life expectancy (30-40)
       • joint disease
     • vikings
       • towns were very condensed
       • animals roamed freely
       • rubbish and dung on streets
       • drinking water was next to cesspits
     • normans- later middle ages
       • stone houses
       • improved harvests= better diet
       • cesspits lined and emptied
   • main public health problems
     • no means of removing sewage
       • remained in open drains, cesspits and the street
     • lack of clean water
       • latrines were built directly over rivers where people got their water
     • vermin on streets
       • remains of butchered animals attracted rats and mice

5. middle ages treatment of disease STAGNATED

   • developed through trial and error
   • Galen's theory of opposites
   • public baths fell to ruin
   • supernatural
     • gods
     • charms
     • astrologists consulted for best time for operation
     • who was responsible for treatment?
   • herbal remedies
     • written in leech books

6. middle ages;: training of doctors

   • trained in blood letting
   • women could not be doctors
   • church oversaw training
     • helped
       • preserved medical books and works of Galen in Chruches & monasteries
         • used trusted methods
       • set up universities where doctors could be trained
         • doctors could not practice until fully trained
         • doctors work was accurate and reliable
       • monasteries and cathedrals had fresh water supplies and sewage was piped away
       • monasteries & convents cared for the ill and monks and nuns ran hospitals
     • hindered
       • dissection was banned by the church
       • god and the devil were often seen as the cause of illnesses and diseases
       • people would pray, make wake offerings and go on pilgrimages in the hope that God would cure them
       • thought that the King had religious powers- the Kings touch could cure
       • was the only international organisation that could preserve & transmit knowledge
       • new, original ideas about medicine were labelled 'heresy'- heretics were imprisoned or even worse
         • church prevented and discouraged innovative ideas so new medicine and treatment weren't discovered
   • based treatment on astrology
   • check urine against urine chart
   • trained at medieval schools

7. middle ages: government attempts to improve health in towns

   • 1281- attempted to stop pigs being allowed on London streets
   • 1347- Sanitary act tried to keep streets cleaner
   • 1388- parliament statute complaints

8. middle ages; Christian ran hospitals

   • small hospitals- 12 inmates to reflect 12 disciples
   • beds positioned toward alter and religious statues to help them focus of religion and be healed
   • more priests appointed than doctors as they thought patients needed spiritual rather than medical treatment
   • monks and nuns aimed to CARE NOT CURE
   • patients were fed well
   • laid out spaciously
   • illness was seen as a punishment for your sins
   • over 1000 hospitals were established in England and Wales