The Medical Renaissance, c1500-c1700 (Edexcel GCSE History)

The medical theories that stayed the same during the Renaissance period were the theory of Miasma.

True.

Humanism helped people to distance themselves from religious explanations. People began to focus on the logical causes of illness.

Thomas Sydenham believed that a patient's symptoms indicated the disease they had and that they should all receive the same remedy.

False.

Thomas Sydenham discovered that scarlet fever and measles were two diseases. He revolutionised the approach to disease diagnosis and treatment.

Yes.

Printing presses were important to medical advancements as physicians and scientists could publish and share their work more easily.

The Royal Society was an organisation that allowed scientists from across Europe to share discoveries and discuss new ideas. It was given support by King Charles II in 1662.

Vesalius wrote The Fabric of the Human Body in 1543.

Transference is the idea that touching an object or another animal could move disease from the person to the object or animal. In the Renaissance, this idea allowed scientists to understand how diseases were spread.

True.

Physicians in the Renaissance period prescribed the rubbing of onions on warts. They believed the wart would transfer to the onion.

Iatrochemistry is also known as medical chemistry. It was a development of alchemy which sought to find chemical solutions to illnesses.

Yes.

Apothecaries were still used to care for the sick in the Renaissance period as they were more affordable than physicians and could prescribe remedies.

False.

Both surgeons and apothecaries in the Renaissance period required a license to practice their craft.

Two changes that physicians had in their education in the Renaissance period were:

• The wider selection of medical textbooks available at universities

• The use of human dissection provided a better understanding of human anatomy

Andreas Vesalius was a famous anatomist who encouraged dissections and disproved Galen.

False.

Vesalius noted over 300 mistakes made by Galen on the human anatomy. Including the lower jaw being in one part, not two and veins in the heart did not lead to the liver.

In the Renaissance period, William Harvey proved the heart pushes blood around the body by tying a rope around a person's arm and loosening it. This experiment showed that the blood flowed down into the forearm and back up.

In the Renaissance period, hospitals focus changed as they attempted to cure patients using medical treatments.

Pest houses were hospitals in the Renaissance period that admitted patients with infectious diseases that conventional hospitals turned away.

True.

The London College of Physicians did punish women for practicing medicine without a license. Women were not allowed to attend university to receive the medical training required to be a physician.

An epidemic is an outbreak of a disease that attacks many people at the same time and spreads through several communities.

Less.

Bathing had become less popular in the 16th century because many public baths were also brothels and diseases spread quickly in those environments.

People in the Renaissance period tried to maintain better health and cleanliness by changing their clothes more often. They also moved away from areas with disease.

False.

People in the Renaissance period still believed that the supernatural influenced their health. People still prayed to prevent illness.

In the Renaissance period, the local government tried to remove miasma by having minor criminals pick up rubbish, giving fines to those who did not clean up outside their own homes and draining swamps and bogs.

True.

Barometers and thermometers were used in the Renaissance period to monitor weather conditions to prevent the spreading of diseases. Epidemics of disease spread easier in the summer months than in winter.

The Great Plague arrived in England in 1665.

False.

In September 1665, the Great Plague took the lives of 7,165 Londoners in one week.

People during the Renaissance period believed the Great Plague was caused by a comet in the sky, punishment from God, and miasma.

True.

Physicians did recommended wrapping patients in woollen cloths and laying them by the fire during the Great Plague. This was a new recommendation along with transference.

Herbal remedies were used during the Great Plague as medicines to be drunk or swallowed. Poultices were placed around the wound. Rubs were placed on the skin.

A quack doctor is a fake doctor with no medical qualifications. Some were businessmen wanting to make money, others had some medical training but did not hold full medical degrees.

Four recommendations that physicians gave to the people of the Renaissance period to prevent the Great Plague were:

• Prayer

• Quarantine

• Carrying a pomander

• Fasting

True.

Plague doctors wore distinctive outfits to protect themselves from catching the plague. These outfits had a beak stuffed with herbs to prevent miasma and leather gloves to prevent contact with patients.

The role of a searcher during the Great Plague was to find plague victims and remove bodies for burial. They would have been hired by local officials or mayors.

A decree is an official order made by a monarch or the government. It is illegal not to follow a decree.

False.

King Charles II by royal decree ordered the killing of cats, dogs and pigeons due to their role in spreading disease. Charles also banned theatre, public meetings, fairs, and large funerals during the Great Plague.