Kategorier: Alla - education - hygiene - remedies - supernatural

av Anthea Pryde för 12 årar sedan

1381

Medicine and Public Health from Roman Britain to c1350

In the period from Roman Britain to around 1350, medical practices and public health measures were influenced by a blend of supernatural beliefs, practical observations, and rudimentary scientific knowledge.

Medicine and Public Health from Roman Britain to c1350

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