What is miasma?
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What is miasma?
Miasma is bad air found near swamps, corpses and rotting objects that people believed caused illness if breathed in.
Name the two influential ancient philosophers whose ideas about disease were followed in Medieval times.
The two influential philosophers were Galen and Hippocrates.
What are the four humours according to the Theory of the Four Humours?
The Four Humours are blood, phlegm, black bile and yellow bile.
What is the Hippocratic Oath?
The Hippocratic Oath is a promise made by doctors not to harm patients in their care.
What was Galen's Theory of Opposites?
Galen's Theory of Opposites was the theory that the cure for an excess of one humour is treatment with the opposite humour.
Why did Galen dissect animals?
Galen dissected animals as this provided him with evidence to support his theories on the functions of organs, nerves and the skeletal system of the human body.
Why did the Medieval Church support the theories of Hippocrates and Galen?
The Medieval Church supported the theories of Hippocrates and Galen as they did not require human dissection. This supported the Church's belief that for a person's soul to go to heaven, the body must be intact.
Why did people in Medieval England support the theories of Hippocrates and Galen?
People in Medieval England supported the theories of Hippocrates and Galen because people were not as well educated as Hippocrates and Galen and did not question them. There was a lack of scientific knowledge and understanding about illnesses.
What role did religion play in beliefs about disease in the Medieval period?
Religious beliefs of the Medieval period resulted in people believing that God had the power to make them ill as punishment for sins.
How was the study of astrology used by physicians during the Medieval period?
Physicians used astrology by referring to star charts and looking at when the patient was born to help diagnose their illness.
Name three ways bloodletting could be performed by a physician in the Medieval period.
A Medieval physician could perform bloodletting by:
Cutting a vein
Using leeches
Cupping
What is an emetic?
An emetic is a bitter herb or poison that forces a patient to vomit as a form of purging.
How did Medieval physicians use horoscopes?
A Medieval physician would use a patient's horoscope to influence the timing of treatments by using astrology charts.
Name two reasons why people in the Medieval period believed a King's touch could heal people.
Medieval people believed a King's touch could heal people because:
Holy oil was placed on a King's hands during their Corrination.
Some of God's supernatural powers were passed onto the King.
What is a pilgrimage?
A Pilgrimage is a long journey to a religious place.
Why did Medieval people touch relics when they were ill?
People in the Medieval period touched relics when they were ill because the Church promoted the touching of relics as a treatment, based on the belief that saints performed miracles.
How would an apothecary in the Medieval period heal the sick?
A Medieval apothecary would heal the sick by mixing herbal remedies.
Define a barber-surgeon.
A barber-surgeon was someone who performed operations such as tooth extractions and amputations.
True or False?
A wise woman was the main source of care for the sick in Medieval villages and households.
True.
Wise women were the main source of care for sick people in Medieval towns and villages. They would also mix herbal remedies and carry out minor surgeries.
What was the role of a Medieval hospital?
The role of a Medieval hospital was to provide care to patients, not to cure them.
What was the Regimen Sanitatis?
The Regimen Staitatis was a book that provided people of the Medieval period with a loose set of instructions on how to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
True or False?
The Theory of the Four Humours linked to good health to digestion.
True.
The Theory of Four Humours linked good health to digestion, and physicians discouraged overeating.
Define purging.
Purging is when a physician makes a patient vomit or poo to remove ‘excess bile.’ This could be through laxatives or emetics.
What was a pomander?
A pomander was a locket worn around the waist containing sweet-smelling herbs for protection against miasma.
True or False?
The Medieval Church believed the only way to prevent illness was by leading a morally good life.
False.
The Medieval Church believed there were many different ways of preventing illnesses, such as regular prayer, confession and leading a morally good life.
When did the Black Death arrive in Medieval England?
The Black Death arrived in Medieval England in 1348.
What are buboes?
Buboes are pus-filled swellings that develop in the hot areas of the body such as the armpits.
True or False?
At the peak of the Black Death, roughly 300 people in London were buried every day.
False.
During the peak of the Black Death, roughly 200 people in London were buried every day.
How did people in the Medieval period use supernatural beliefs to explain the Black Death?
People in the Medieval period used supernatural beliefs to explain the Black Death because in 1345 there was an unusual positioning of Jupiter, Mars, and Saturn which people thought was a sign of bad things to come.
Name four symptoms of the Black Death.
Four symptoms of the Black Death are:
Boils and buboes in armpits and groins
Sneezing and coughing up blood
Chest pains and breathing troubles
Fever
True or False?
The Black Death usually took three to five days for victims to die.
True.
It usually took three to five days for victims to die of the Black Death.
What treatments did the Medieval Church suggest for the Black Death?
The Medieval Church suggested that the people in the Medieval period should confess their sins and pray for forgiveness to cure themselves of the Black Death.
Name three different treatments Medieval physicians used to treat the Black Death.
To treat the Black Death Medieval physicians would:
Bleed and purge patients
Use strong- smelling herbs
Lance buboes
Define self- flagellation.
Self-flagellation is when a person would whip themselves to show God how sorry they were. People in the Medieval period did this to prevent the Black Death.
Define quarantine.
Quarantine is when sick people are isolated from healthy people to stop a disease from spreading.
What quarantine laws did the English Medieval government create to prevent the spreading of the Black Death?
The Medieval English government stated that anyone new to an area had to quarantine for forty days to prevent the spread of the Black Death.