Medicine and Public Health from Roman Britain to c1350
Provision of clean water and removal of sewage
Rivers often contaminated by sewage
Piped water and conduits
Public latrines
Ideas about the treatment of disease
No hospital care for the very ill
Bloodletting, purging, diet, exercise
Purify the air
Herbal remedies
Herbal remedies based on knowledge of plants
Leechbooks
Folk remedies, often based on beliefs about magical qualities of animals or actions
Prayer, religious pilgrimage
Ideas about the causes of disease
Imbalance of the Four Humours
Link between hygiene and health recognised even if not understood
Miasma (poisonous air) caused by volcanoes, decaying matter left outside, swampy water
Sent by God
Astrology (the result of the movement of planets and stars)
The result of a curse or witchcraft
Factors affecting the development of medicine
Pandemics
Black Death
War
Disruption in times of war and loss of knowledge after Roman withdrawal from Britain
Government
Some local authorities issued orders to keep towns clean
Education, training and communication
Little formal training and qualifications for physicians until the 13th century
Apothecary
Trained physician
Some knowledge gained from Muslim doctors
Medical training based on Galen's works
Science and technology
Dissection discouraged
Religion
Monks and nuns cared for the sick
Ideas about the prevention of disease
Physical (linked to the body)
Hygiene
Public stewes
Roman public baths
Practical (linked to external events)
Isolation of sick people
Supernatural
Amulet or lucky charm
