Christianity
Section B - Disease and Infection
Supporting Galen
Religion in the Middle Ages
1) Catholic church controlled the medical schools
where doctors were trained. Believed the ancient
There were many WARS in the Middle Ages.
writings should not be questioned. Questioning Galen
This provided surgeons with plenty of
experience in dealing with different types of
might lead to questioning the bible!
injury.
2) Galen said each part of the body ‘had a definite
A ‘wound man’ illustration
purpose.’ Supported Christian belief that God created
showed surgeons how to
human beings.
deal with different kinds
of wounds.
3) Galen’s books were studied to prove he was right!
complex surgery inside the
the Dark Ages.
 Allowed to question Galen AND dissect human corpses – led to new
approaches!
 Rhazes (860-925) = wrote over 200 medical books including own ideas.
 Avicenna (980-1037) = wrote a medical encyclopaedia called ‘The Canon’,
used to teach European doctors until the 1600’s. Known as the ‘Galen of
Islam’.
 Al – Nafis (1200-1288) = Galen was wrong in that blood moves through
invisible holes in the heart. Suggested blood circulates the body.
Caring for the sick
Rose oil solution used instead of
 Sickness sent by God to punish people
for sins.
medieval method of pouring hot oil on
 Islam taught people to look after the sick.
the wound. Based on an old Roman
 Arab hospitals famous for the care they
gave patients.
method. Successful - patients no longer
 Healed if they prayed to Jesus Christ
 First founded in Baghdad around 805AD
dying from the pain of the old method.
for forgiveness.
(hundreds of years before the first
Renaissance
Medieval
herbal remedies.
Middle Ages / Renaissance & 19th
 Translated from Arabic into Latin so could be read in Europe after
human anatomy was to blame!
Caring for the sick
Section C – Surgery & Anatomy
 Medical books included works of Galen as well as new Islamic ideas.
body = a lack of knowledge of
by hand to preserve their knowledge.
 Nuns fed the sick and gave them
New Medical Ideas
Surgeons could not complete
4) Monks copied out ancient medical books by Galen
 Hospitals found in monasteries.
Islam
 Prayer most important treatment –
altar at the end of each ward where
priests said mass seven times a day
century
Silk ligatures used instead of Medieval
method of cauterising (burning) the
wound. Ligatures used to tie up blood
vessels after amputation to stop patient
bleeding to death. Reduced the amount
of pain during the operation.
Christian hospitals!)
 By 1100’s every large town had a hospital.
 Provided herbal remedies and prayers for
the sick.
BUT! – Pare’s ideas never caught on at the
time. Ligatures were too slow to tie and
they carried infection into the wound (Pare
didn’t know this!
Time Period
Anaesthetics
Antiseptics
What surgery could they do?
Medieval (1000-1500) /
Renaissance (1500-1700)
Herbal remedies – Mandrake, Opium, Hemlock. Made
patient drowsy but didn’t completely limit pain. Could lead
to overdoses too.
Tying down or holding down a patient.
Alcohol to make the patient drunk!
Honey, vinegar and wine to kill infection.
Boiling oil to kill ‘poison’ from gunpowder wounds.
PARE’S OIL (rose oil, turpentine and egg yolk) – worked!
(But ignored – surgeons tended to stick to the older
methods – remember the failure of Pare’s CAUTERIES too)
Bradmore’s screw (metal forceps) – tool to
remove arrow heads from wounds.
Removed small tumours from surface of skin /
sewed up / cauterised wounds / reset dislocated
or broken bones.
19th century (1800’s)
Speed of surgery (patient awake – led to many nasty
accidents!)
Nitrous Oxide (Laughing Gas) – Failed to stop pain
Ether – Flammable, smelled bad, irritated patients throats
and led to coughing, during operations.
Chloroform – Discovered by ‘chance’ by James Simpson.
‘Black Period’ (1870’s) –increased deaths due to overdose.
Queen Victoria used it – ‘that blessed Chloroform!’ = A
SUCCESS!!
Ignaz Semmelwiss – Importance of WASHING HANDS! =
IGNORED / MOCKED (This was the 1840’s, before Germ
Theory)
Joseph Lister – CARBOLIC SPRAY = SUCCESS! Soaked the
operating theatre in CARBOLIC ACID which killed bacteria
(1867 – AFTER Germ Theory!)
ASEPTIC SURGERY – steam sterilising / EVERYTHING
sterilised / use of rubber gloves, surgical gowns and face
masks.
As above……..
Amputations of limbs as a result of industrial
injuries.
Internal surgery – first appendix removal in the
1880’s.
First heart operation to repair a damaged heart
took place in 1896.