History of Medicine: 16 th and 17 th Century

History of Medicine: 16th and 17th Century By: Zach Campbell, Raven Martinez, Amna Madesko

Overview • Governments • Kingdoms constantly battled over territory. • Scientific Revolution • Church’s power challenged • Atlantic Slave Trade • Competition of resources and power • Life Expectancy • Mid 30s to early 40s • Power of Church and diminishing education, slows medical advancements.

Beliefs • Christianity • Dominating religion • Suppressing the advancement of medicine • Natural Remedies • Herbalists could suffer witch accusations. • If found guilty, they were drowned or hung by the court. • Known as Salem Witch Trials

Beliefs • Four fluids or humors in the body • Blood, Phlegm, Yellow Bile and Black Bile. • Disease seeds • Seeds that resulted in illness • Faulty medical beliefs were spread by different sources of help.

Sources of Help • Physicians: • Highly trained medical doctors • Exclusively taught medicine at universities • Apothecaries: • Skilled in herbal healing • Encouraged non-invasive treatments • Tooth-Puller: • Found at booths during fairs • Available to low classes of society

Sources of Help • Barber Surgeons • Bloodletting belief led to increasing demand • Trained in the military and practiced on injured soldiers • Performed almost any kind surgery or medical procedure

Common Diseases and Epidemics • Smallpox • Viral disease • Spread to Americas and Pacific Islands with Exploration • Typhus • Bacterial disease spread by fleas and lice • Affected many prisoners and soldiers

Common Diseases and Epidemics • Syphilis • Sexually transmitted infection • Facial reconstructive surgery began • Measles • Extremely contagious viral infection • Populations decimated

Treatments and Medical Techniques • New World Medicine • Coca plant • Herbs used to combat Syphilis • Salt Water Cleansing • Washing and cleansing wounds • Traction Splints • Elevate and stabilize broken bones

Treatments and Medical Techniques • Blood Letting • Believed to rid the body of harmful excesses of humors • Success depends on area of extraction and amount of blood taken

Major Contributors • Ambroise Pare • Barber Surgeon • Took care of the wounded • Anton van Leeuwenhoek • Scientist • Fought for the recognition of his medical discoveries • Robert Hooke • English Philosopher • Used microscopes to view cells • William Harvey • Physician • First to correctly describe human reproduction • Their medical research led to ground-breaking discoveries.

Major Discoveries • Microorganisms • Discovered by Anton van Leeuwenhoek • Cells • Discovered by Robert Hooke • Circulatory System • Discovered by William Harvey • Disinfectant • Made by Ambroise Pare

Remaining Medical Practices • Facial Surgery • Past: Used to fix facial injuries acquired from battle • Today: Used for beauty and health reasons • Leech Therapy • Past: Helped balance the blood humor • Today: Encourages blood flow in direction of amputated limbs

Remaining Medical Practices • Blood Letting • Past: Helped balance the four humors • Today: Known as Phlebotomy, where blood is taken for research • Barber Pole • A remaining symbol of barber surgeons • Red stripe= blood • Blue stripe= veins • White stripe= Doctors’ coats

Works Cited • “The Medical World of Early Modern France.” Oxford, 1997. Web. January 16, 2014. • “Early Practices.” Douglas Starr, 2002. Web. January 16, 2014. • Seigworth, G. R.. N.p.. Web. 18 Jan 2014. <http://www.pbs.org/wnet/redgold/basics/bloodlettinghistory.html>. • . N.p.. Web. 18 Jan 2014. <http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/broughttolife/themes/diseases.asp&xgt • Pelling, M.. N.p.. Web. 16 Jan 2014. <http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/broughttolife/people/barbersurgeons.asp&xgt;. • Risse, G.. N.p.. Web. 18 Jan 2014. <http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/broughttolife/themes/hospitals.asp&xgt;. • http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:William_Harvey-Foto.jpg

History of Medicine: 16 th and 17 th Century