Medieval Surgery (AQA GCSE History)

How dangerous was surgery in Medieval England? - Summary

Surgery in Medieval England was extremely dangerous due to the lack of knowledge and medical advancements. The three key problems of surgery were:

• blood loss

• infection

• pain

There was no concept of sterilisation or germs so even simple surgeries could be life-threatening. Surgeons often reused dirty tools and operated in unclean environments, which caused wounds to become infected. This made it very difficult for patients to recover and often led to death.

Surgeons could not control heavy bleeding effectively, and patients often died from losing too much blood. There were no anaesthetics to numb the pain, so patients had to endure extreme agony during operations. This could lead to shock—a condition where the body shuts down because of stress and pain. This made surgery a terrifying experience for anyone who needed it. Despite some skilful surgeons, the risks of surgery in Medieval England were so high that it was often seen as a last resort.

What was a barber surgeon?

• A barber-surgeon was someone who cut hair but also performed operations such as tooth extractions

• The striped barber pole outside of a barber's shop today was developed by barber surgeons wanting to advertise their surgical skills

  • The red represents the blood

  • The white represents bandages

• In times of war, the Army used barber surgeons to treat soldiers' injuries

Education of barber surgeons

• Barber surgeons did not have university educations like physicians

• Surgeons undertook an apprenticeship to learn the necessary skills from a master barber-surgeon

Popularity of barber surgeons

• Barber surgeons were used quite often in Medieval England

  • Surgeons were less expensive than a physician

• Some poorer people who could not afford a barber surgeon relied on wise women for operations

Medieval surgical techniques

• A variety of surgical techniques were developed and used in Medieval England. These included:

  • amputation

  • trepanning

  • cauterisation

Amputation

• Amputation is the removal of a limb or part of the body that cannot heal, for example, an infected leg

• A barber surgeon would use a saw to perform amputations

Trepanning

• Trepanning is where a surgeon drills a hole into a patient's skull

• It was believed that the hole would release bad spirits from the body

• Trepanning was commonly used to relieve:

  • headaches

  • epilepsy

• Archaeologists have found skulls with healed holes, showing some patients survived trepanning

Cauterisation

• Cauterisation is when a hot iron, heated by a fire, is placed onto an open wound

• Cauterising stopped the bleeding from a patient's wound

Problems with Medieval surgical techniques

• Barber surgeons did not clean their equipment

  • It was common for a patient to die from infection days or weeks after surgery

• There was no effective form of anaesthetic (pain relief) for painful surgeries like cauterisation, amputation and trepanning

  • Some barber surgeons used natural anaesthetics like mandrake root or opium

    • Patients were still conscious during surgery

    • It was easy to give patients too much of these ingredients, causing an overdose

    • Most natural anaesthetics were ineffective at preventing pain causing some patients to die from shock

  • Commonly, patients would be tied to the operating table so the surgeon could perform the surgery

• Surgical techniques were very dangerous

  • It was common for patients to die during procedures due to:

    • a lack of understanding of anatomy

    • performing procedures too quickly

    • inaccuracy as the patient moved during surgery

Key Medieval surgeons

• English, Islamic and European surgeons made significant contributions to the practice of surgery in Medieval times

English surgeons

John Bradmore

• Surgeon to King Henry IV

• When the king's son was shot by an arrow, Bradmore:

  • used honey and wine as an antiseptic

  • successfully removed the arrowhead

  • ensured that Henry's son recovered from his injury

• Bradmore wrote a book on the techniques he used on the king's son

John of Arderne

• Created the Guild of Surgeons in 1368

• Healed soldiers in the Hundred Years War between England and France

  • He used a combination of ancient and Arab medical knowledge

  • He developed a procedure for treating anal abscesses

• Wrote Practica (1376), a surgical manual

Islamic surgeons

Abulcasis

• Wrote The Method (1000), an important medical book

• Invented surgical equipment like grasping forceps

  • These are still used in surgery today

• Made the earliest known observation of haemophilia

• Stated the benefits of cauterisation

European surgeons

Hugh and Theodoric of Lucca

• Father and son from Italy

• In 1267, they questioned the popular belief about pus

  • Physicians believed that pus was vital for healing a wound

  • Hugh and Theodoric of Lucca did not believe in the benefits of pus

• Used wine to clean wounds, an early form of an antiseptic