history renaissance medicine
What was direct observations?
Sydenham encouraged doctors to categorise diseases by
noting all symptoms
Who was Andreas Vesalius?
Italian doctor, 1514-1564. Did dissections. Proved Galen
wrong on the structure of the human jaw. Published
Fabric of the Human Body with detailed diagrams of
human body
Who was William Harvey?
English doctor, 1578-1657. Wrote a book on blood
circulation. Proved Galen wrong on circulation. Proved
heart pumped blood around the body. No impact in the
short term because his ideas weren’t accepted.
Who was Thomas Sydenham?
English doctor, 1624-1689. Wrote Observationes
Medicae, used by doctors for 200 years. Promoted
direct observation. Argued the Four Humours were
completely wrong. Still believed in miasma.
Who was Antonie van
Leeuwenhoek?
Dutch scientist, 1632-1723. Pioneered use of
microscope to discover animalcules (bacteria).
What was the Royal Society?
Set up in 1660 to encourage science and print ideas in
its journal. Translated and printed foreign books like
Vesalius and Leeuwenhoek.
How did herbal
remedies change?
There were new herbs from America like quinine to treat
malaria.
What was
transference?
The idea that illness could be transferred to something
else – rub an onion on a wart!
How did physicians’
training improve?
Much better training in anatomy thanks to Vesalius but
still couldn’t explain why diseases happened.
Did the government do
anything during
Plague?
Public meetings banned. 40,000 dogs and 20,000 cats
killed. Quarantine for plague houses. Daily collections of
the dead.
What was avoidance?
Keeping away from physical contact to prevent disease.
Did the anyone do
anything about
miasma?
Governments tried to prevent it, removing sewage and
rubbish, or just using herbs and fires to cover up the
smell. People used perfumed pomanders.