Medicine Through Time

NMG 2006

How to use this power point

• There are a number of different questions including multiple choice. They are followed by the correct answer

• Each answer is accompanied by an explanation

• The idea is that you try to get the answers without cheating!

• Download an answer sheet from the website

Question 1

• A) What does this show?

• B) Which civilisation developed it?

• Did it help or hinder the development of medical ideas and treatment?

Question 1

a) The Theory of the 4 Humours

b) The Greeks

c) It helped. Although it showed the symptoms rather than the causes of illness it was an attempt to demonstrate natural causes. This theory was used by doctors until the 18th century!

Question 2

• A) What time period is shown in this picture?

• B) What does it tell us about their medical knowledge and ideas?

• C) Has there been any progress in medical ideas or knowledge?

Question 2

• A) It refers to the Ancient Egyptian period• B) They believed in illness being caused by evil

spirits and so used magic to cure it. They also had more practical cures (shown by herbs)

• C) They had developed writing so could record knowledge. They also began to produce a number of doctors who were not connected with religion.

Question 3

A 14th century hospital• 1) What does this tell

you about the medical care at this time?

• 2) Did religion help or hinder medical at this time?

Question 3

• 1) There was no national health system – monks and nuns provided medical care and treatment. Prayer formed a major part of the treatment

• 2) The Church did not encourage medical experiments – much knowledge was lost. It insisted on the power of prayer

Question 4

• 1) From which time period does this picture come?

• 2) What does this tell you about medical ideas at this time?

Question 4

• 1) It shows an asklepion, a Greek temple of healing.

• 2) At this time there was a strong belief in supernatural causes of illness. Sick Greeks would spend time in the temple where they would be treated by the priests of Asklepios

Question 5

• 1) Which English doctor first developed vaccination as a medical treatment?

• 2) What disease did he develop it against?

Question 5

• 1) Edward Jenner was the 18th century English doctor who pioneered the use of vaccination

• 2) His treatment was aimed at combating smallpox, a particularly common, disfiguring and often, lethal disease. He used cowpox matter to prevent patients from catching smallpox

Question 6

• 1) What does this cartoon show?

• 2) Why was it produced?

• 3) How successful was the cartoon in achieving its aims?

Question 6

• 1) It shows the apparent side effects of vaccination – cows springing from various parts of the body!

• 2) To campaign against the use of vaccination

• 3) Jenner could not explain why his treatment worked but it quickly gained in support

Question 7

• 1) Which Renaissance figure extended knowledge of anatomy?

• 2) What factors enabled him to develop his ideas and spread his knowledge?

Question 7

• 1) Vesalius – he challenged the works of Galen and produced text books like ‘The Fabric of the Human Body’

• 2) a) Change in ideas about dissection b) the printing press c) Artists like da Vinci wanted to produce much more accurate pictures

Question 8

• 1) What new method of surgical treatment did Paré develop?

• 2) What factor caused this change?

• 3) What other changes did he make and how effective were they?

Question 8• 1) Paré used a soothing ointment instead of

cautery to treat gunshot wounds

• 2) Chance – he ran out of hot oil!

• 3) He pioneered the use of tying up arteries after amputations using ligatures. This was less painful but encouraged infection as the ligatures were not germfree!

Question 9

• 1) When would you have seen a doctor dressed like this?

• 2) What is the purpose of his costume?

• 3) What does this tell you about the medical ideas of the time?

Question 9

• 1) From the time of the Great Plague – the 17th century

• 2) The ‘beak’ contains flower petals & other sweet smelling materials

• 3) This is the miasma theory – the idea that disease/illness is spread by bad smells

Question 10

• 1) What is happening in this picture?

• 2) It dates from the 18th century – what does this tell you about the attitude towards dissection at this time?

Question 10

• 1) The body of a criminal is being dissected in plain sight – there is little attempt to show any respect!

• 2) By this time dissection was more accepted but as it was limited to condemned criminals it was viewed as an extra punishment!

Question 11

• 1) What is the purpose of this card?

• 2) What does it tell us about the change in attitude towards dissection in modern times?

Question 11

• 1) This is an organ donor card, allowing organs like the heart, lungs, liver & eyes to be harvested after the person’s death

• 2) It shows a complete change in attitude from when dissection was viewed as against religious ideas or as another punishment for a convicted criminal

Question12

This is a carbolic acid spray (19th century)

• 1) Who first developed its use?

• 2) Why was it important?

• 3) Why was there early opposition to its use?

Question 12

• 1) Joseph Lister invented this apparatus• 2) The use of anaesthetics in operations

gave surgeons more time but increased chance of post operative infections

• 3) Many surgeons dismissed the threat of germs and nursing staff were annoyed by the extra work involved in sterilising all the instruments

Question 13

Doctors used the Theory of the 4 Humours to treat patients

• A) till the end of the Roman Empire

• B) till the Middle Ages

• C) till the 17th century

Question 13

The answer is C

As late as the 17th century doctors used the theory to diagnose and treat people who were ill. When Charles II suffered a fatal stroke in 1685, his doctors tried to ‘balance his humours’ through bleeding and purging

Question 14

When did doctors stop using leeches as a medical treatment?

a) Never, they are still used today

b) By the end of Roman times

c) By the end of the Middle Ages

Question 14

The answer is

a) They are still used today, to stimulate blood flow

Question 15

When was the National Health Service set up?

a) 1922

b) 1948

c) 1975

Question 15

The answer is

b) 1948

The National Health Service was part of a whole package of reforms introduced by the Labour government, bringing in the Welfare State