Medicine Through Time
RevisionGuide
Key Topics
• Medieval Medicine (c.1250‐1500)
• Renaissance Medicine (c.1550‐1750)
• Industrial Medicine (c.1750‐1900)
• Modern Medicine (c.1900 to present day)
1
, Ideas on the cause of disease in the Middle Ages
Ideas on the cause of disease in the Middle Ages showed significant continuity. They were based on ancient ideas from the
Greek and Roman periods whilst the power of the church continued to influence medieval thinking.
Hippocrates was a Greek doctor & teacher who created the theory of the Four Humours.
He believed the body contained four humours (black bile, yellow bile, blood and phlegm).
• If you are healthy the humours are balanced.
• If you are ill, you have imbalanced humours (too much of it).
Hippocrates believed you saw evidence of this when you were sick
e.g. you would would have a nosebleed if you had too much blood.
The Four Humours
To cure this illness you needed to get rid of the humour that was
unbalanced, e.g. you would need to use leeches or cups to remove the excess blood.
Galen, a Roman doctor then developed the Four Humours by
creating the ‘Theory of Opposites’. His theory was very simple:
if you had too much of a humour, you needed to cure it with the
opposite. For example:
if you had too much phlegm, which is cold and wet, you were given
something spicy which is hot and dry to cure the sickness.
The church supported the idea of the Four Humours and all physicians
(doctors) were taught about it when educated by the Church.
Physicians also used urine charts linked to the Four Humours to check the
colour, smell and taste to check for illness e.g. white = too much phlegm.
People blamed bad stinking air, called ‘Miasma’, for causing disease. They believed
dirt/waste from the streets poisoned the air which caused illness – this seemed logical as
dirty places smelt bad.
Miasma
Even King Edward III said ‘The filth from the houses is infecting the air with contagious
sickness’ during the Black Death. The idea of miasma was also supported by Hippocrates
and Galen, making it more supported. It was also thought the air was sent from God
himself, or caused by the planets.
The bible taught people that diseases were a punishment from God for their sins (e.g.
gambling and drinking) or a way of God testing your faith (if you survived it was a
miracle!). A common disease linked to sin was leprosy.
God
The 1348–49 Black Death was thought to be a punishment for peoples’ sins. The Prior of
Christchurch Abbey wrote that the 1348 Black Death was caused by God who used
‘suffering to drive out the numberless sins of the people’.
Many people in the Middle Ages were superstitious – they believed in the supernatural
like witchcraft and astrology.
Supernatural
In the 14th Century, astrology (the study of the movement of stars and planets) was a key
part of medical training and physicians used planetary movements and zodiac signs in
their treatment. Physicians believed the stars and planets affected your health and
caused disease, for example the movement of Saturn and Jupiter was to blame from the
Black Death.
Other causes were witchcraft, bad luck or blaming minority groups such as Jews, who
were blamed for poisoning wells
A lack of progress
During the Middle Ages, no progress was made
towards understanding the cause of disease.
People knew nothing of the real causes of disease
A respect for tradition, a lack of education and
scientific knowledge coupled with the power of
the church caused continuity in ideas from the
ancient world. There was no desire to find the
2
real cause!
, Prevention of Disease and Public Health in the Middle Ages
Although treatment of disease was common, there was a strong focus in the Middle Ages on prevention of disease.
This was common when there was little proof that many of the treatments actually worked.
Prevention of Disease
Many people thought ONLY God could cure diseases so they aimed to prevent it first.
Flagellants whipped People fasted, Many people simply followed
themselves to beg made offerings to a Christian lifestyle; praying, going to
God for forgiveness God and lit candles church and following the
during the Black to show they were commandments. The King ordered
Death. sorry for their sins. religious services during the Black Death.
Physicians promoted To prevent diseases some wore amulets
‘Regimin Sanitatis’ (charms) and bought incantations to
for patients to keep provide protection from spirits.
healthy.
People also based their treatments on the
This included: avoiding zodiac charts
stress, exercising, People attempted to solve miasma by removing the dirt that poisoned
eating a healthy diet the air.
and bathing regularly. • People carried sweet smelling herbs and
This was only used by lit fires to overpower the bad air.
the rich as it was • Others rang bells to keep the air moving away from them.
expensive to have a list • The rich could visit bath houses and hung sweet herbs
created for you. in their houses.
Public Health
In the Middle Ages, people cared about Public Health (the health of the population as a whole) and the wealthy spent money to
keep towns clean. They tried to improve sanitation and introduced clean water with London being the first city to have piped
water.
However, the cost of public health improvements was high, so the poor still lived in dirty conditions.
Problem: Waste and litter Problem: Dirty water
Streets were filled with litter Water supplies were polluted
and threw blood and human by human and industrial waste.
waste onto it. Solution: In Gloucester, they
Solution: Laws banned used lead pipes and aqueduct
littering, public latrines (toilets) to bring in fresh water,
built in London. Butchers had however it was only for the rich.
to throw away waste out of
towns.
Problem: Too many animals Problem: Leaking Latrines
Animals were butchered in Latrines and cesspits
streets and horses left dung in contaminated water supplies.
streets. Solution: Laws on locations for
Solution: 12 Rakers were private latrines. Cesspits built
employed to clean the streets of
The government ONLY spent to improve public with stone to stop leaks. Night
London by 1370. Cities like health in the Middle Ages during the Black carts were used for emptying
Newcastle paved their streets to Death. cesspits in towns like Hull.
make them easier to clean.
Progress?
There was little progress in the
Middle Ages (continuity) as a majority
of prevention remained based on
religious factors. However, the ideas
of regimin sanitis were healthy.
You could argue that public health improved with
rakers, fresh water and efforts to clean cities, 3
however it was still not enough to improve health.
, Treatment of disease in the Middle Ages
Treatment of disease made little progress in the Middle Ages, simply due to the lack of understanding in the cause of disease.
Treatment
Treatments in the Middle Ages often followed the idea on the cause e.g. religion or the Four Humours.
Religious Four Humours
It was important to go through spiritual healing for illness. Continued use of ancient ideas by physicians using Four Humours.
Religious healing included:
Blood letting – The most common way to remove
• Healing prayers and incantations bad humours/blood. It included:
• Paying for mass to be said
• Cupping ‐ putting warmed cups onto open
• Fasting (going without food)
cuts to draw out blood into the cup.
Pilgrimages to tombs • Leeching – using leeches to suck out bad blood.
were popular and the Purging – swallowing a mixture of herbs and
sick would touch holy animal fat to make you sick, or taking
relics or pray at a shrine laxatives to empty your bowls and ‘cleanse’.
to cure their illness.
Bathing ‐ warm baths prescribed with herbs
Herbal Remedies to draw out the humours.
Herbal remedies to drink/sniff/bathe in
were given by wise women or apothecaries. Supernatural
Many remedies worked: honey was put on wounds to Specific treatment for illness, such as a magpies
fight infection whilst aloe vera for digestion. beak around your neck for toothache.
Barber surgeons ‘trepanned’ skulls to release
Most remedies used herbs, minerals and animal parts – demons making them ill but dangerous!
stye in the eye used onion, garlic, bulls bladder and wine.
Surgery in the Middle Ages
Surgery made some surprising progress in the Middle Ages.
Medieval surgeons could do In a time of frequent war,
some complex external surgery, surgeons' skills were much in
from removing eye cataracts or demand and as a result their skills
trepanning – the drilling of a hole increased – Prince Henry V was
into the skull to remove demons. saved by his surgeon John
Bradmore.
They used wine as an
antiseptic, natural substances
(opium or hemlock) as Surgeons still had no idea that
anaesthetics and honey to dirt carried disease so surgeries
clean wounds. and equipment were often filthy,
causing infection.
Surgeons were not trained
and knew little about anatomy.
Also, they could not prevent
They would use a ‘Wound Man’ infections or stop heavy bleeding,
illustrations which gave advice on therefore most deaths came from
how to deal with different this.
wounds.
Progress?
There was little progress in
the Middle Ages (continuity)
as a majority of treatments
remained based on religious
or humoural factors.
You could argue that surgery did make some
progress due to the constant warfare and experience 4
of surgeons in the Middle Ages.
RevisionGuide
Key Topics
• Medieval Medicine (c.1250‐1500)
• Renaissance Medicine (c.1550‐1750)
• Industrial Medicine (c.1750‐1900)
• Modern Medicine (c.1900 to present day)
1
, Ideas on the cause of disease in the Middle Ages
Ideas on the cause of disease in the Middle Ages showed significant continuity. They were based on ancient ideas from the
Greek and Roman periods whilst the power of the church continued to influence medieval thinking.
Hippocrates was a Greek doctor & teacher who created the theory of the Four Humours.
He believed the body contained four humours (black bile, yellow bile, blood and phlegm).
• If you are healthy the humours are balanced.
• If you are ill, you have imbalanced humours (too much of it).
Hippocrates believed you saw evidence of this when you were sick
e.g. you would would have a nosebleed if you had too much blood.
The Four Humours
To cure this illness you needed to get rid of the humour that was
unbalanced, e.g. you would need to use leeches or cups to remove the excess blood.
Galen, a Roman doctor then developed the Four Humours by
creating the ‘Theory of Opposites’. His theory was very simple:
if you had too much of a humour, you needed to cure it with the
opposite. For example:
if you had too much phlegm, which is cold and wet, you were given
something spicy which is hot and dry to cure the sickness.
The church supported the idea of the Four Humours and all physicians
(doctors) were taught about it when educated by the Church.
Physicians also used urine charts linked to the Four Humours to check the
colour, smell and taste to check for illness e.g. white = too much phlegm.
People blamed bad stinking air, called ‘Miasma’, for causing disease. They believed
dirt/waste from the streets poisoned the air which caused illness – this seemed logical as
dirty places smelt bad.
Miasma
Even King Edward III said ‘The filth from the houses is infecting the air with contagious
sickness’ during the Black Death. The idea of miasma was also supported by Hippocrates
and Galen, making it more supported. It was also thought the air was sent from God
himself, or caused by the planets.
The bible taught people that diseases were a punishment from God for their sins (e.g.
gambling and drinking) or a way of God testing your faith (if you survived it was a
miracle!). A common disease linked to sin was leprosy.
God
The 1348–49 Black Death was thought to be a punishment for peoples’ sins. The Prior of
Christchurch Abbey wrote that the 1348 Black Death was caused by God who used
‘suffering to drive out the numberless sins of the people’.
Many people in the Middle Ages were superstitious – they believed in the supernatural
like witchcraft and astrology.
Supernatural
In the 14th Century, astrology (the study of the movement of stars and planets) was a key
part of medical training and physicians used planetary movements and zodiac signs in
their treatment. Physicians believed the stars and planets affected your health and
caused disease, for example the movement of Saturn and Jupiter was to blame from the
Black Death.
Other causes were witchcraft, bad luck or blaming minority groups such as Jews, who
were blamed for poisoning wells
A lack of progress
During the Middle Ages, no progress was made
towards understanding the cause of disease.
People knew nothing of the real causes of disease
A respect for tradition, a lack of education and
scientific knowledge coupled with the power of
the church caused continuity in ideas from the
ancient world. There was no desire to find the
2
real cause!
, Prevention of Disease and Public Health in the Middle Ages
Although treatment of disease was common, there was a strong focus in the Middle Ages on prevention of disease.
This was common when there was little proof that many of the treatments actually worked.
Prevention of Disease
Many people thought ONLY God could cure diseases so they aimed to prevent it first.
Flagellants whipped People fasted, Many people simply followed
themselves to beg made offerings to a Christian lifestyle; praying, going to
God for forgiveness God and lit candles church and following the
during the Black to show they were commandments. The King ordered
Death. sorry for their sins. religious services during the Black Death.
Physicians promoted To prevent diseases some wore amulets
‘Regimin Sanitatis’ (charms) and bought incantations to
for patients to keep provide protection from spirits.
healthy.
People also based their treatments on the
This included: avoiding zodiac charts
stress, exercising, People attempted to solve miasma by removing the dirt that poisoned
eating a healthy diet the air.
and bathing regularly. • People carried sweet smelling herbs and
This was only used by lit fires to overpower the bad air.
the rich as it was • Others rang bells to keep the air moving away from them.
expensive to have a list • The rich could visit bath houses and hung sweet herbs
created for you. in their houses.
Public Health
In the Middle Ages, people cared about Public Health (the health of the population as a whole) and the wealthy spent money to
keep towns clean. They tried to improve sanitation and introduced clean water with London being the first city to have piped
water.
However, the cost of public health improvements was high, so the poor still lived in dirty conditions.
Problem: Waste and litter Problem: Dirty water
Streets were filled with litter Water supplies were polluted
and threw blood and human by human and industrial waste.
waste onto it. Solution: In Gloucester, they
Solution: Laws banned used lead pipes and aqueduct
littering, public latrines (toilets) to bring in fresh water,
built in London. Butchers had however it was only for the rich.
to throw away waste out of
towns.
Problem: Too many animals Problem: Leaking Latrines
Animals were butchered in Latrines and cesspits
streets and horses left dung in contaminated water supplies.
streets. Solution: Laws on locations for
Solution: 12 Rakers were private latrines. Cesspits built
employed to clean the streets of
The government ONLY spent to improve public with stone to stop leaks. Night
London by 1370. Cities like health in the Middle Ages during the Black carts were used for emptying
Newcastle paved their streets to Death. cesspits in towns like Hull.
make them easier to clean.
Progress?
There was little progress in the
Middle Ages (continuity) as a majority
of prevention remained based on
religious factors. However, the ideas
of regimin sanitis were healthy.
You could argue that public health improved with
rakers, fresh water and efforts to clean cities, 3
however it was still not enough to improve health.
, Treatment of disease in the Middle Ages
Treatment of disease made little progress in the Middle Ages, simply due to the lack of understanding in the cause of disease.
Treatment
Treatments in the Middle Ages often followed the idea on the cause e.g. religion or the Four Humours.
Religious Four Humours
It was important to go through spiritual healing for illness. Continued use of ancient ideas by physicians using Four Humours.
Religious healing included:
Blood letting – The most common way to remove
• Healing prayers and incantations bad humours/blood. It included:
• Paying for mass to be said
• Cupping ‐ putting warmed cups onto open
• Fasting (going without food)
cuts to draw out blood into the cup.
Pilgrimages to tombs • Leeching – using leeches to suck out bad blood.
were popular and the Purging – swallowing a mixture of herbs and
sick would touch holy animal fat to make you sick, or taking
relics or pray at a shrine laxatives to empty your bowls and ‘cleanse’.
to cure their illness.
Bathing ‐ warm baths prescribed with herbs
Herbal Remedies to draw out the humours.
Herbal remedies to drink/sniff/bathe in
were given by wise women or apothecaries. Supernatural
Many remedies worked: honey was put on wounds to Specific treatment for illness, such as a magpies
fight infection whilst aloe vera for digestion. beak around your neck for toothache.
Barber surgeons ‘trepanned’ skulls to release
Most remedies used herbs, minerals and animal parts – demons making them ill but dangerous!
stye in the eye used onion, garlic, bulls bladder and wine.
Surgery in the Middle Ages
Surgery made some surprising progress in the Middle Ages.
Medieval surgeons could do In a time of frequent war,
some complex external surgery, surgeons' skills were much in
from removing eye cataracts or demand and as a result their skills
trepanning – the drilling of a hole increased – Prince Henry V was
into the skull to remove demons. saved by his surgeon John
Bradmore.
They used wine as an
antiseptic, natural substances
(opium or hemlock) as Surgeons still had no idea that
anaesthetics and honey to dirt carried disease so surgeries
clean wounds. and equipment were often filthy,
causing infection.
Surgeons were not trained
and knew little about anatomy.
Also, they could not prevent
They would use a ‘Wound Man’ infections or stop heavy bleeding,
illustrations which gave advice on therefore most deaths came from
how to deal with different this.
wounds.
Progress?
There was little progress in
the Middle Ages (continuity)
as a majority of treatments
remained based on religious
or humoural factors.
You could argue that surgery did make some
progress due to the constant warfare and experience 4
of surgeons in the Middle Ages.
