medieval medicine

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medieval medicine

other

miasma - was bad air that was believed to be filled with harmful fumes. suggested swamps, corpse and other rotten matter would transmit disease. a clean and swear smelling home was a sign or spiritual cleanliness and incense was burned in churches to purify the air. homes that smell and suggest sinfulness and corruption, if a person was unwashed other would avoid them incase they catch a disease.

astrology (supernatural) - along with the role of god, alignment of the planets and stars were also considered important when diagnosing illnesses. physician would consult star charts, looking at when the patient was born and when they fell ill to help identity what was wrong. first, church found upon it due to it seeming only one step away from fortune telling or predicting the future but when the black death came around it become popular and church become more acceptant of it.

supernatural causes - devil or Satan was normal held responsible for disease. it was a test of their religion. believed that praying and showing god mercy was a cure or prevention

urine charts - they didn't blame urine for making them ill but used it to make diagnosis by examining it. they thought it was the best way to check on the humours balance. samples were sent to physicians where they examine the urine to the chart. they would check it by the colour, thickness, smell and even taste before making the diagnostic.

church

churches had a very strong hold on society's beliefs and attitudes. they were the centre and the controllers on what books were produced and what was true and false.

Galen

Galen's ideas fit in with the churches therefore no one ever dared to prove him wrong as if you did you would be going against the church as well.

He relied heavily on deception on apes due to not being able to dissect human bodies, this caused a lot of his studies to be wrong such as one extra rib.

he believe that the brain controlled everything we did not the heart - he experimented on an alive pig, he placed it on a table and sliced into it neck and cut Neve, each time he did this the pig would squeal. however, when he cut this one the pig did not squeal proving that the brain controlled speech.

he was quite a show off but he was a brilliant doctor.

regimen sanitates

avoid barking dogs, drunks and bandits, since these cause anxiety and therefore disease.

do not have too much sex

stay on friendly terms with neighbours

avoid excessive cold, heat dryness or humidity

live away from animals and not too close to the ground floor

breathe clean eastern or northern air

keep clean with regular bathing

make sure you get enough sleep - not too much!

ajust your diet to the amount of exercise you do

do not overeat

take moderate exercise

Hippocrates - theory of the four humours

theory stated that the world was made up of four elements so the body must also be made up of four basic humours. the four humours were blood, phlegm, black bile and choler (yellow bile.)

the four humours could explain mental and physical illnesses

He believe in natural cause for disease not supernatural, rejected that god could cause these diseases or do this to people and children.

He believed that if you was well and healthy, your four humours were balanced and if you was sick that they were unbalanced.

He would observe his patients and try different treatments until one worked. noticed how your body got rid of things.

society's attitudes

couldn't go against the church / challenge the church. they just had to go along with the vies of the church.

black death

was an outbreak of the bubonic plague. Rats were carrying fleas that held the disease in its digestive system.

many people believed that it was also caused by a bad alignment of the planets

preventions would be to pray to god and fast. go on a pilgrimage and make offers to god. show god you are sorry by flagellation - self whipping, large groups would Rome around chanting and whipping themselves. escape or run away. carry around posy of flowers or fragment close to your nose. avoid bathing as could open up skin pores to corrupted air. avoid those with the disease. do joyful things. quarantine houses - if ran away had to quarantine for 40 days. stop cleaning the streets - foul stench and rotten bodies would drive off the miasma.

treatments would include confessing your sins and asking god for forgiveness however if you did catch it that it was god will and nothing could cure it. blood letting and purging, however that was only making it worse and in fact made you die quicker. strong smelling herbs.

cures would be self punishment, rub themselves with onions and herbs, skit near to a fire to sweat the disease out, healthy diet, clean air and blood letting.

if you were bitten by the flea you would get buboes, ooze pus and blood and die after 5 days or cough up blood and die after 3 days. you could also get boils or black buboes appearing on the groin or armpits. chest pains and breathing troubled. sneezing or coughing up blood or a fever.

treatments

religious and supernatural

Christianity, kings touch and astrology.

remedies

food, herbs and bathing

humour treatment

blood letting and purging