History - c.1000- present : Health and Medicine in Britain
Mevival Medecine:
In the medival England, treatment of disease was poor. This was due to lack of
knowledge and resources. Many people believed disease was caused by evil spirits,
a punishment from God or suppernatualr beings.
Medival medicine was heavily influenced by ancient Greek and Roman doctors, such
as Hippocrates and Galen. Hippocrates was a doctor born in ancient Greece around
406BC. He is known as the ‘father of modern medicine’ as is seen as a huge
significance in the medical world. His invention of the Hippocratic oath (a spoken
promise which all doctors have to use to promise they will treat the patient to the
best of their ability) is still used today. As well as this, he developed the idea of the
four humours. This states that the body is made up of four main substances; these
are blood, phlegm, black bile and yellow bile. If these were out of balance, it was
cause impurities in the body causing illness. Galen was a Roman doctor who was
born around AD129. His work was primarily focused on the theory of opposites and
work on the anatomy. He believed the only way to cure sickness was to balence the
hummors by doing the opposite. For example if you had a cold, you would need to
eat hot and spicy food. He gained a lot of his knowledge by working on animals such
as pigs and monkeys and found they were very similar to humans.
The catholic church was extreamly infulenctial in medival England and often had a
say in medical treatments. It had large role in training doctors and providing
healthcare to the people. However, they also used to influence people about how
they believed disease was caused. They encouraged people to believe that disease
was a punishement sent from God. The only ways to get rid of your disease was to
get rid of your sins is what monasteries told people.
Furthermore, as well as having heavy influence from ancient Greece and Rome and
the church, the mevival doctors also saw inspiration in the supernatural. They used
both natural and supernatural methods to cure illness. Prayer, astrology and
trepanning were all common supernatural treatments. Trepanning was the practice of
putting a small hole in someones skull, where the bad spirits could escape
While bloodletting, prurging and herbal remedies were natural treatments used.
These were usally done by doctors at the monasteries.
Disease was actually caused by the poor living conditions and large amounts of
poverty across medival england. Filthy streets and poor sanation were the perfect
environment for disease to spread. Toliet waste were emptied onto the streets bellow
and water would be infested with feases and other waste that people of the city
decided to throw in. This included dead animals, dead bodies rubbish and human
waste.
Mevival Medecine:
In the medival England, treatment of disease was poor. This was due to lack of
knowledge and resources. Many people believed disease was caused by evil spirits,
a punishment from God or suppernatualr beings.
Medival medicine was heavily influenced by ancient Greek and Roman doctors, such
as Hippocrates and Galen. Hippocrates was a doctor born in ancient Greece around
406BC. He is known as the ‘father of modern medicine’ as is seen as a huge
significance in the medical world. His invention of the Hippocratic oath (a spoken
promise which all doctors have to use to promise they will treat the patient to the
best of their ability) is still used today. As well as this, he developed the idea of the
four humours. This states that the body is made up of four main substances; these
are blood, phlegm, black bile and yellow bile. If these were out of balance, it was
cause impurities in the body causing illness. Galen was a Roman doctor who was
born around AD129. His work was primarily focused on the theory of opposites and
work on the anatomy. He believed the only way to cure sickness was to balence the
hummors by doing the opposite. For example if you had a cold, you would need to
eat hot and spicy food. He gained a lot of his knowledge by working on animals such
as pigs and monkeys and found they were very similar to humans.
The catholic church was extreamly infulenctial in medival England and often had a
say in medical treatments. It had large role in training doctors and providing
healthcare to the people. However, they also used to influence people about how
they believed disease was caused. They encouraged people to believe that disease
was a punishement sent from God. The only ways to get rid of your disease was to
get rid of your sins is what monasteries told people.
Furthermore, as well as having heavy influence from ancient Greece and Rome and
the church, the mevival doctors also saw inspiration in the supernatural. They used
both natural and supernatural methods to cure illness. Prayer, astrology and
trepanning were all common supernatural treatments. Trepanning was the practice of
putting a small hole in someones skull, where the bad spirits could escape
While bloodletting, prurging and herbal remedies were natural treatments used.
These were usally done by doctors at the monasteries.
Disease was actually caused by the poor living conditions and large amounts of
poverty across medival england. Filthy streets and poor sanation were the perfect
environment for disease to spread. Toliet waste were emptied onto the streets bellow
and water would be infested with feases and other waste that people of the city
decided to throw in. This included dead animals, dead bodies rubbish and human
waste.
