Roman Medicine and Treatment

1. Roman Medicine and Treatment Medieval Medicine and Treatment Medieval medicine did not change much because most people living in Britain had continued to use druids and herbal cures whilst the Romans were in control and, although some British would have adopted Roman ways, most simply continued their old herbal ways. • Hippocrateswas a doctor in Ancient Greece and did not believe that illness was caused by the Gods. He believed: • That the body was balanced by four humours. If your humours fell out of balance then you would get ill. • In clinical observation – this means watching a patient, observing them and making notes so that you can learn better and treat other patients with similar symptoms. • That doctors should respect all life and not try anything on patients that might be harmful. • That the best form of treatments came through diet, rest or exercise. Honey, onions and garlic were often part of medieval medicines and we now know that they have some antibiotic qualities (fight infection). Prayers and pilgrimage were also popular as people in the middle ages attempted to get better. People also carried lucky charms or had superstitious rituals such as rubbing snail juice on eyes to cure blindness. Astrologers would be consulted before operations were carried out. They thought that body parts were linked to the stars, for example, according to medieval medics, a head injury should be operated on during the time of Aries which is March 21st-20th April. • Galen was a Greek doctor that lived in Rome and did not believe that illness was caused by the Gods. He believed: • In almost all of the ideas first raised by Hippocrates about 500 years before. • His ideas for treatment were different. Galen created the theory of opposites and that if you have an imbalance in your humours then you should attempt to rebalance them e.g. if you have too much phlegm (a cold), eat hot peppers. • He proved that the brain controlled the body by cutting the nerves of a live, screaming pig. When he cut certain nerves coming from the brain, the pig stayed alive but was unable to scream. • He wrote over 350 books. His teachings were used long into the Middle Ages. Richer people used physicians who followed the teachings of Galen and they might use blood letting or purging (making yourself throw up) to attempt to ‘balance the humours’. They might attach leeches or open a vein to bleed a certain amount of blood into a bowl with measuring marks on it. Churches were a central part of medieval medicine. They had infirmaries who cared for the sick but also held medicine back by encouraging prayer and pilgrimiges as treatment. • Changes • Using the star signs to choose when to operate • More use of rituals and lucky charms • The church controlled a great deal of medical world • Similarities • Still believed Galen • Blood letting • Still praying to try to get better • Still using herbal remedies • Still believed in four humours • Other Roman ideaswere that: • Some thought the Gods caused disease. • Some thought bad smells caused disease. • Romans used ideas that they got from countries in their empire if they appeared to work, for example they used some of the herbs that the druids used in Britannia (our country).

2. Roman Public Health Medieval Public Health Romans saw a link between hygiene and health so they stressed the need for clean water and the need to remove sewage. No one took responsibility for Roman structures so the Roman baths and health facilities fell into ruin. Lead pipes were laid in London in the 13th century and were paid for by the city authorities, to provide water from the River Tyburn. However the pipes cracked, had leaks, the water was often contaminated and the pipes only provided water for a relatively small amount of people. Romans noticed that if you lived near marshes and swamps you were more likely to get ill, they thought this was due to ‘bad air’ which they called Malaria. Open sewers ran in the streets, animals were butchered in the streets, rats ran freely around town and although some laws were passed during times of disease they had little impact. The government found it too hard to enforce their laws as it wasn’t developed enough. Roman baths were popular. During a typical visit a person would: Do some exercise such as wrestling or lifting weights Use the public toilets which had fresh water for cleaning hands Go in the warm rooms, either steamy and damp or hot and dry like a sauna. People would scrape their skin (good for removing dirt) and have massages. Finally, they would go for a cool dip in the baths and leave cleaner and relaxed. An examples of a law passed was the 1281 the government which attempted to stop pigs being allowed in London’s streets. Rich people often had a good standard of hygiene and had their own tubs for bathing. They had toilets to keep waste away from living areas. • Other features of Roman public health were: • The government collected tax and spent some of it on public health works such as aqueducts. • The army needed a good standard of hygiene. They also provided men to build some of the public health works. • Roads were important for the spread of information and ideas across the empire. • Sewers were built by the Romans in some British cities to remove waste, though most cities and towns had open sewers in the streets. • Water pipes were used to pump fresh water to towns such as Lincoln but most people would still get their water from shared wels. Monks and nuns usually had a fresh water supply and had their waste carried away by streams or rivers. Towns such as Exeter, Southampton and London had fresh water pipes. Some towns or wealthy families had large baths known as stewes in which people would bathe as a social occasion. • Changes • Less use of baths • No sewage works • Less government control of public health • Roman structures fell to ruin • Similarities • The rich had their own baths • Some fresh water pipes

3. Roman Medical Training Medieval Medical Training Alexandria in Egypt was the main place that medical people went to train because they were allowed to dissect dead bodies. There was also a well stocked library including medical books from Greece, India and Egypt. Word of mouth was how many of the remedies and treatments were passed down through generations. However some books were written such as the Leechbook of Bald. A lot of the medical knowledge that the Romans brought was followed, rather than the old druid knowledge, because the druids relied on word of mouth and did not write things down, but the Romans did. Books were the main way that people ‘trained’ in the Roman period, people read books such as the Hippocratic Collection. Books was the main way in which doctors trained in the Middle Ages. Following existing doctors to learn from watching them was another way. Monasteries and convents had their own libraries and became centres for medical training. To begin with people had to train in the ‘arts’(geometry, astronomy, music etc…) as well as medicine and it took 10 years. There was no formal requirement for doctors to be trained and anybody could call themselves a doctor. By the 12th century a separate course had been set up based on books called ‘ArsMedicinae’ (Art of Medicine) including some books by Muslim medics. • Changes • Libraries in monasteries and convents so they became centres for training, rather than just Alexandria. • A new medical course had been set up by the 12th century using the set of books called ‘ArsMedicinae’. • By the 13th century some towns and cities would not let doctors set up practice unless they had several years of training. But there was no body to check this. • Similarities • Galen was still the main basis of training. • Books were the main method for training. • Following established doctors was also still the other main method of training. Galen was still the man on whom medical training was based. The church did not encourage people to look for mistakes in his teachings so his ideas were followed for much of the Middle Ages. Education and training was largely controlled by the church and therefore ideas could spread quickly and training centres were available in many places BUT there were few ideas because they continued to base training on Galen,. By the 13th century some towns would prevent a doctor from practicing medicine unless he could prove that he had completed several years of study.