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Ideas about Causes of Disease and Treatments – page 1 of 3
Summary – the real cause of disease was unknown until Pasteur’s germ theory in 1861. Previous to that main theory that was believed about cause and treatment was the 4-
humours theory. Hippocrates, a Greek doctor, came up with this by observing that there were 4 elements, 4 seasons and thus he deduced that there were 4 humours in the body
that needed to be kept in balance. Balance meant health, imbalance meant you were unhealthy. The Roman doctor Galen really believed this theory and belief in Galen is what
kept the 4-humours theory as virtually the unquestioned approach to diagnosing and treating illness. In 1861 Pasteur came up with Germ Theory. It took a few years for it to be
universally accepted. Once it was accepted then medicines, vaccinations could all be developed to treat illness more in the way that we think of things today.
Key time periods/Key Dates
Greek – Hippocrates was Greek
Roman – Galen was from the Roman
period.
Medieval
1. Influence of Islam
-Islam encouraged medical learning as
Muhammad said ‘For every disease Allah
(God) has given a cure
-preserved books from of Galen and
Hippocrates, hospitals treated patients
not just cared for them, scientists
encouraged to discover new cures
-Knowledge from Islamic doctors spread
via books that came to Europe via Italy.
2. Influence of Christianity
-hindered medicine as it was believed
that illness was a punishment from God.
Prayers more important than drugs.
Hospitals run by monks – focus on caring
not curing, believed in miraculous curing
eg going on pilgrimage. Believed in
helping sick as Jesus had helped healed
the sick
Key Terms/events - From Medieval – Supernatural and Natural Thinking
4-humours theory – the main theory of the cause of disease the idea that the body is
made of of 4-humours – blood, phlegm, yellow bile and black bile. If the humours got out
of balance then you were ill. The aim of any treatment was to restore the balance of the
humours. Believed up until Germ theory of 1861
Purgatives – things that induce vomiting or diarrhoea to restore balance
Bleeding/Blood-letting – treatment based on 4-humours theory – restore balance by
removing blood from the body. Done up until germ theory
Ideas about what caused disease –imbalance of humours, miasma, Superstitious causes
eg God – punishment from God for sins, astrology – planets and stars aligned in a way to
cause ill-health
Ideas about Treatments – natural – eg herbal remedies (onions/garlic), praying to God,
Urine Chart (medieval) – used to diagnose illness – physician would look at urine colour,
taste it, smell it and use this to decide on a treatment
Zodiac Chart – would tell a physician treatment based on the astrology – eg when to treat
a person, what part of the body to take blood from
Flagellants – associated with Black Death of 1348 – people who went from town to town
whipping themselves in order to prevent getting the Black Death – thought the cause was
punishment from God
Herbal Treatments – wise women had a knowledge of herbs that would help
Key people/groups
Hippocrates – came up with the 4-
humours theory. He was a Greek
physician (doctor)
Galen – kept the 4-humours theory going
for 100s of years (he was a Roman
physician)
Wise women – associated with villages –
a women who had a knowledge of herbal
remedies
Apothecaries – like a ‘chemist’ of today –
associated with towns, you could buy
remedies from them
Ibn Sina (Avicenna) - Islamic doctor,
wrote an encyclopaedia containing
information on many drugs, it became
the standard European medical textbook
Rhazes – Islamic Doctor- wrote many
books, first doctor to distinguish measles
from small pox
Ibn-al-Nafis – challenged Galen about the
heart – said it circulated via the lungs
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Ideas about Causes of Disease and Treatments page 2 of 3
Key Dates
1500s – 1600s – The Renaissance
1798 – First small pox vaccination
1853 – Vaccination for small pox
made compulsory
1866 - Anti vaccine league set up
opposing compulsory small pox
vaccine
1861 – Pasteur’s Germ Theory
1870s – 1890s – many microbes for
many diseases identified such as
cholera, TB, anthrax, dysentery,
typhoid and more
1880 – Koch discovers the TB
microbe. It was so small it was
missed by other doctors
1885 - First human vaccine – rabies
– by Pasteur
1890s onwards – many more
human vaccines developed
Key Terms/events
Renaissance (ideas about cause of disease the same as medieval, and most treatments the same)
Renaissance – a period of time of new inventions (eg the microscope, the printing press), travel to new lands
(America, India, Australia), developments in art (more accurate drawings of the human body), development of
scientific method
New Herbal Remedies – travel to the new world meant some new herbs for treatments eg opium, tobacco,
cinchona bark (which is aspirin),
Quacks – travelling salesmen/conmen who sold ‘cure-all’ medicines (up until the Victorian times)
Culpepper’s Complete Herbal – book of herbal remedies – printing press helped to spread this useful knowledge
Blood-letting – still a common treatment
Early Modern (ideas about cause of disease the same as medieval and renaissance, and most treatments the
same, although idea of God and 4-humours was fading, but still believed)
Spontaneous Generation - as a cause of disease – the idea that decaying, rotting matter turns into germs.
New Theories - Contagionists – believed that disease was person to person/anti-contagionists – believed that
disease came from environment thus cleaning/hygiene was important
Small Pox – biggest killer of the 18th century
Vaccination – Jenner – uses cow pox to make a vaccination for small pox
19th Century/Victorian England
Vaccinations – against a range of diseases. Pasteur discovers how vaccinations work by doing work on chicken
cholera.
Anthrax – Koch discovers the microbe but Pasteur develops the vaccine for it (for animals)
Staining microbes/using photographic lenses – enabled Koch to work out which microbe caused which disease.
Magic Bullets – chemical cures for disease discovered - First one was for syphilis in 1909
Key people/groups
Renaissance
Wise Women/Apothecaries –
the same as medieval
Galen – believed as in medieval
Sydenham – English doctor at
this time
Early Modern
Inoculation for small pox -
main way of preventing small
pox Inoculators made a lot of
money from it
Jenner – came up with
vaccination for small pox
19th Century
Anti-Vaccine League – opposed
compulsory vaccination
Pasteur - French scientist who
came up with germ theory in
1861. Rival of Koch
Koch – German doctor who
found out which microbes
caused which disease. Rival of
Pasteur
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Ideas about causes of Disease and Treatments – page 3 of 3
Key Terms/events – 20th century Modern Medicine
20th century – The ‘real cause of disease’ and technological developments meant that
huge advances in medicine have been made
-from 1940 – 1960s - free vaccines for TB, diphtheria , whooping cough, tetanus, polio,
measles, mumps, rubella – all still offered today
-hearing aids, organ transplants, open heart surgery, contraceptive pill, heart transplants,
key hole surgery, IVF fertility treatment, small pox eradication, cancer treatment –
chemotherapy, prosthetics
-growth of pharmaceutical industry – growth of amount of drugs to treat illness,
-growth of alternative medicine – acupuncture, aromatherapy, homeopathy,
-antibiotic resistance – overuse of antibiotics has meant some diseases are resistant to
them
Key people/groups
Fleming – Motivated by his experiences in
WWII and treating soldiers. Accidentally
discovered penicillin by leaving dirty petri
dishes – Fleming discovered that the mould
was killing the bacteria. Fleming thought it
was an anti-septic not an antibiotic. He
didn’t test it, and therefore few people
took Fleming’s discovery seriously
Florey and Chain – able to prove penicillin
worked to kill infection but got no funding
to mass produce it. The American
government funded this after Pearl Harbour
attack of 1941. By the end of WWII
penicillin was being mass produced
Crick and Watson – discovered DNA.
Developments in hereditary illness could be
made, as well as genetic screening and gene
therapy
Key Dates
1928 – Fleming discovers penicillin
1938 – Florey and Chain
1953 – Crick and Watson
1968 – First British Heart Transplant
1980 – Small pox eradicated
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Key Time Periods/Key Dates
Roman Britain – had good public health (aqueducts, latrines
(privies) mainly because they needed to keep the army healthy.
After they left Britain in 410 AD, all of these facilities and
knowledge was lost
Medieval Britain - Towns– virtually non-existent public health –
overflowing cesspits, cesspits near wells/contamination of water
supplies, animal waste on streets (waste from slaughter and
faeces/poo),
Attempts to clean the towns were made – laws to encourage
clean steets, most towns had privies, some towns got water from
springs so water was clean
Monasteries – public health better there – privies (toilets) put
where waste would flow away, pipes delivered clean water,
monks washed regularly – clothes and hands/feet, hospitals to
treat sick
Renaissance – after 1665 plague stricter quarantine laws prevent
epidemic diseases coming to the country on ships
From Renaissance to 19th century – public health still not a
priority- no commitment to spend money on public health
Public Health – Medieval to Present Day – page 1 of 3
Public Health up to the 19th Century
Summary Public Health is when the authorities/government take an active role in helping people stay healthy by taking measures (doing things) to prevent illness. The
authorities/government are able to do this by using taxes (rates) collected from the people. Today, public health is a priority for the government/society and we have full public
health/full government intervention in that we have a free (at the point of access/using it) NHS, guaranteed clean streets due to rubbish collection, guaranteed clean water. It
also extends to alleviating poverty – as poverty and higher levels of illness were proven to be linked. This means taking measures/doing things to help keep people out of poverty,
such as unemployment benefit or providing free school meals.
Up until germ theory (1861), public health was not a priority. The authorities/government didn’t intervene/get involved public health measures were reactionary and this means
that the authorities/government might do some things in reaction to an epidemic. Examples of this are the Black Death 1348, The Plague epidemic 1665, and the Cholera
outbreaks in the 19th century. After germ theory began to be more accepted, there was more of a case to get the government to take an active role and to stop their laissez faire
(don’t get involved/don’t intervene). This was coupled with the actions of individuals, politicians and some factors such as the Boer War. This led to the full government
intervention that we have today
Key Terms/events
The Black Death 1348 – new disease that spread very quickly due to poor public
health – streets dirty – animal waste on streets, poor cleaning of streets, throwing
rubbish on streets made rats breed quickly, no idea about the real cause of disease
Belief of the causes of the Black Death – miasma, position of the stars/planets, God,
wells poisoned by Jews
Treatments of the Black Death – prayer, moving away from those with plague, some
quarantine, unusual remedies like strapping a shaved chicken to the buboes,
treatments based on 4-humours theory
The Great Plague of 1665 authorities react to the plague epidemic and order certain
public health measures- people recognised there was a connection between dirt and
disease - sweeping streets, quarantine - women searchers to tell if person died of
plague and then a cross painted on that door, bodies moved at night and buried in
mass plague pits, gathering in crowds banned – eg theatre was banned
Causes of the Great Plague – same as medieval times-Treatments of Plague –
Renaissance – smoking to keep poisoned air away/burning tar, using animals eg
frogs/pigeons to ‘draw out plague’. Moving away/quarantine. Plague ends due to
rats developing greater resistance to disease
Key people/groups
Flagellents – Black Death –
thought the Black Death was
a punishment from God -
they thought that by
whipping themselves they
could atone for people’s sins
thus prevent the Black Death
Raker- cleaned streets
(poorly paid, not enforced)
Gong Farmer – emptied
cesspits
Charles II – King during the
Plague of 1665
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Public Health 19th and 20th century – page 2 of 3
Key people/groups
Miasma – the idea that bad
smells/corrupted air causes disease
Spontaneous Generation the idea
that microbes/germs appear as if ‘by
magic’ from rotting matter and that
germs are the result of disease
Edwin Chadwick – was minister for
workhouses but did an
investigation/wrote a report
Louis Pasteur – discovered Germ
theory
John Snow – used scientific method
to prove that cholera was in the
water by mapping an area of London
and linking the outbreak to a specific
water pump
Joseph Bazalgette – ‘the sewer king’
– oversaw the construction of
London’s sewers (after Great Stink)
Key Terms/events
Industrialisation – rapid development of
machines/factories
Rapid/very fast Growth of Towns – mass
migration of people from the
Laissez Faire –– means the government should not
get involved/should not use taxes/rates and invest
in public health, prevailing idea about government
intervention
Cholera – new disease in England, very quick
unpleasant death
Report on the Labouring Poor – written by
Chadwick 1842, linked ill health and poverty,
suggested that the government provide sewers,
clean water, remove rubbish from streets. He
suggested that taxes be used to fund this (and not
the workhouses – basically said if the government
spent the money on public health there would be
no need to spend money on workhouses)
The Great Stink – very hot summer in 1858,
Thames ‘evaporated’ revealing the filth, the smell
was so vile that Parliament couldn’t meet, the rich
are affected by poor public health and so are more
motivated to take measures/do something
Key Dates
1831/32 – first cholera outbreak/epidemic in England; first time cholera had ever
been in England; quick death
1842 – Chadwick’s Report on the Labouring Poor – suggested the government
intervene and improve conditions in the poorer areas of towns. Basically
suggested diverting/moving funds from workhouses to better public health.
Suggestions were ignored by government
1848/49 – second cholera epidemic
1848 - First Public Health Act, which was based on Chadwick’s suggestions.
Government reacted to the cholera outbreak of 1848, not compulsory
1853/54 third cholera outbreak
1854 – First Public Health act abolished (as it didn’t prevent another outbreak of
cholera), John Snow proves that cholera is in the water. His findings are largely
ignored
1858 – The Great Stink. Rich now affected by poor public health
1866/67 – Fourth Cholera outbreak
1867 – more working class men get the vote; encourages government to
improve/implement (start) public health, so that they will get the votes of the
working classes
1875 – Second Public Health Act – compulsory – clean water supply, proper
toilets, drains, sewers, better standard of housing, shorter working hours for
women and children, compulsory education
Summary – There were many changes in public health on the 19th century. At the beginning of the century the government and the wealthy upper and middle classes strongly
held to the belief of laissez faire and did not want to invest their taxes in providing public health facilities. This was due to the attitude that the poor should help themselves out
of poverty, and that it was their fault that they were poor. This was also pre-germ theory and so the true cause of disease wasn’t known. As the century progressed there was
not only a change in knowledge of the cause of disease, but a change in attitude about why the poor were poor. This led to increased government intervention, to the point that
in the 20th century, in 1948, the government took full responsibility for the health of the nation, and security of the nation by providing the ‘cradle to grave’ welfare state.
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Public Health in the 19th and 20th centuries - page 3 of 3
Key Dates
1890s Charles Booth and Seebohm Rowntree and other rich men (but not
politicians) investigate and highlight the link between poverty and ill health
and pressurise the government for
1901 – Rowntree produces his Poverty Line
1899 – 1902 – Boer War
1906 – Liberal government wins a landslide victory, largely due to their
campaign promised to introduce reforms/laws to improve lives of poor
The Liberal Reforms 1906 – Free School Meals Act, 1907 – Free Medical
inspections, 1908 – Children’s and Young persons act – Children are protected
people- parents can be charged with neglect, 1908 – Old Age pension act,
1909 – first job centres set up, 1911 – National Insurance Act
1942 – Beveridge Report
1948 – Introduction of the ‘cradle to grave’ welfare state – Full government
intervention in terms of public health. Prevention and treatment/cure
Key Terms/events
Poverty Line – a line that shows the minimum
amount of money needed to live – living ‘on it’ or
falling below it means you are living in poverty
Rowntree’s Poverty Line – produced/done by
Rowntree; proved that poverty was out of the
control of the people, revealed that poverty occurred
at certain points in a person’s life (eg childhood, old
age) and that the government should provide help at
these stages
Boer War – reveals/highlights that more government
intervention needed and that poverty and ill-health
are still a problem due to recruits for the war being
both underweight and under height
Liberal Reforms – laws promised by and done by the
Liberal Government to improve life for the poor
WWII – people were making sacrifices and felt they
deserved better lives which included good housing
and free health care
5-Giants that could ruin lives – disease, want (being
in financial need), ignorance (lack of education),
idleness (being unemployed), squalor (very bad
housing/living conditions.
Cradle to Grave Welfare State – the idea that the
government should take charge of social
security/health care
NHS – National Healthcare Service 1948
Key people/groups
Charles Booth – investigate
poverty in London, found that
30% lived in extreme poverty – he
used this to pressurise the
government to intervene/get
involved
Seebohm Rowntree – produced
Poverty Line he used this to
pressurise the government to
intervene/get involved
Liberal Government –
government that introduced
reforms at the beginning of the
20th century
David Lloyd George – Liberal
Government Politician who
introduced the reforms (he was
the Chancellor of the Exchequer)
Beveridge – wrote a report in
1842 identifying need for the
welfare state based on the right
of all people to be free of the 5
giants
Bevin – introduced the cradle to
grave welfare stated which
included the NHS in 1948
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Surgery and Anatomy – page 1 of 3
Summary – Surgery from the Medieval period up to the 19th century was a risky business. Surgeons had not idea that dirt carried disease. Some believed it was good to cause pus in
wounds and operations were done without effective anaesthetics. Surgery was limited since surgeons could not help patients with deep wounds to the body; these patients would die
from bleeding, shock and infection. Pain, infection and blood loss were the major problems in surgery and remained up until the 19th century. A lot of surgery occurred on a
battlefield. In everyday life surgery was performed as a last resort. Barber surgeons did minor surgery on the outside of the body. Speed was the priority and speed (along with a very
dirty apron) was the mark of a good surgeon, and surgeons were considered a ‘lower class’ within the medical profession. Much remained the same until the 19th century when there
was a revolution in surgery. Chloroform was discovered to be an effective anaesthetic and carbolic acid was found to be and effective antiseptic. There was however opposition to
these. Eventually there was acceptance and surgery developed. WWI and WWII were both important in the development of surgery. The scientific developments of the 20th century
meant continued major developments in surgery
Key people/groups
Medieval
John of Ardene – example of in English
medieval surgeon. War surgeon. Set up
the Guild of Surgeons. Use Arab
knowledge and Knowledge from
experience of 100-years war
Abulcasis – Muslim surgeon – wrote
books and invented 26 new surgical
instruments; made cauterisation
popular
Key Terms/events
3 problems of surgery – PAIN, INFECTION BLOOD LOSS (PIB) – These limited the surgery
that could be done
Speed – the main priority in surgery. A surgeon was judged on how fast they and had a
good reputation if they were very fast
Barber Surgeons – barber who carried out surgery and dentistry. Considered a ‘lower class’
than physicians (medical doctors)
Bloodletting – medical treatment of removing blood from a patient by opening a vein or
using leeching to suck it out. Done to balance the humours
Amputation – cutting off a limb – a main type of surgery
Cauterisation – using a heated iron to stop bleeding and seal a wound thus stopping the
flow of blood
Trepanning – drilling holes in the skull
Apprenticeship – surgeons learned their skill by being apprenticed to another surgeon –
watching an copying them. Some learned on battlefields
Anaesthetics – opium/hemlock use as anaesthetics- overdoses possible, a lot of surgery
had involved no anaesthetic
Key Time periods/Key Dates
Medieval Surgery
Any advancements were made by
surgical pioneers who tried new
methods. Books were read in
Latin by religious men and were
translated in to English. Surgery
however remained very basic and
very dangerous.
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Surgery and Anatomy Page 2 of 3
Key time periods /Key Dates
Renaissance
1500 – 1600 – time period of
the Renaissance
1500s – Pare and Vesalius
1600s - Harvey
Early Modern
1700s – John Hunter a
pioneer of scientific surgery.
Some hospitals begin to
teach surgery
Key Terms/events
Renaissance – period of change and development. Surgery mostly stayed the same but there
were some individuals who made discoveries in terms of surgery and anatomy. These did not
have impact (did not change things) at the time but laid the foundations for the future
developments and advancements
Gunshot wounds – new wounds – gunpowder – it was thought to be poisonous (it wasn’t).
Pare made developments in the area of treating gunshot wounds.
Boiling Oil- treatment used to treat gunshot wounds – thought to kill the poison
Ligatures – silk threads that were used to tie off arteries to stop bleeding in surgery. Used by
Pare
The Fabric of the Human Body – the book produced by Vesalius showing his findings on
anatomy
Key people/groups
Renaissance
Pare (surgery) – used ligatures to tie arteries
instead of using cauterisation. Used a cream
instead of boiling oil. Not widely believed or
useful at the time
Harvey (surgery) – Blood – worked out that blood
circulated around the body in 1 direction.
Disproved Galen – who said that blood was
produced in the liver. Heart - Proved that the
heart pumps blood around the body. Not widely
believed or useful at the time
Vesalius (anatomy) – did dissections on his own
and realised that Galen was wrong about
anatomy. Examples – the jaw bone is one bone
and not 2. (Galen had dissected animals). Proved
Galen wrong. His books were translated into
English and read by English surgeons. Not widely
believed or useful at the time
John Hunter – pioneer of scientific surgery (see
‘hospitals section for more information on John
Hunter)
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Surgery and Anatomy – Page 3 of 3 – Revolution in Surgery – 19th and 20th centuries
Key time periods /Key Dates
1847 – chloroform as an anaesthetic
discovered by James Simpson
1848 – Hannah Greener dies of a
chloroform overdoes during minor
toe surgery
1850 – Queen Victoria uses
chloroform and likes it
1861 – Germ theory discovered –
bacteria cause disease
1867 - Carbolic Acid discovered as an
effective anti-septic
1850 – 1870 – Black period of surgery
– death rate in surgery increased due
to discovery of chloroform as deeper
surgery could be carried out, yet the
problem of infection had yet to be
conquered. Led to opposition of
chloroform
1895 – X-rays discovered
1914 – 1918 – WWI – field hospitals -
new weapons mean new wounds and
development in surgery – eg head
wounds
1915/1916 – blood – sodium citrate
and citrate glucose means blood
doesn’t clot and can be stored for
longer
1938 – Blood transfusion service set
up enabling blood banks to store
blood. This is still in existence today
1967 – First heart transplant surgery
Key Terms/events
Pain/Infection/Blood loss (PIB) in the 19th century still the main problems with surgery
Speed – still the priority in surgery – a surgeon was judged on his speed and his reputation depended on it
Anaesthetic – something that dulls pain, numbs the body, makes you unconscious
Nitrous Oxide/Ether – anaesthetics used before chloroform. (Ether was flammable and caused vomiting)
Chloroform – used as an anaesthetic
Opposition to Chloroform – slowed surgeons down – reputation was based on speed, pain meant you
were ‘fighting to stay alive’, childbirth – God intended women to have pain, death due to overdoses,
Anti-Septic – a chemical applied to wounds/surgical instruments to clean it and to prevent bacteria from
being/growing on it
Carbolic Acid – was used to clean sewers – Lister made the link that it could be used to
Aseptic – keeping an environment/the air (eg in an operating theatre) free of any bacteria
Opposition to Carbolic Acid – unpleasant to use – cracked the skin, a lot needed and was quite messy,
took time for germ theory to be accepted therefore for an antiseptic to be accepted, Lister kept changing
the precise way it should be used which made surgeons lose faith in him/carbolic acid,
X-rays – used extensively for the first time in WWI – could locate broken bones/shrapnel or bullets and so
know exactly where to operate
Blood transfusion – having blood put in you. The blood comes from another person
Sodium Citrate – keeps blood from clotting, enabling blood banks meaning more surgery could be done
Citrate glucose – stores blood for longer, meaning more blood transfusions so more surgery (WWI)
Plastic Surgery – developed during WWI – facial (face) wounds due to shrapnel, first done in WWI. This
continued to develop during WWII. It continues today. Plastic surgery units are often attached to burns
units.
Heart Surgery – progressed in WWII – shrapnel taken out of hearts which helped to develop other heart
surgery after the war, also transplant surgery/key hole surgery/laser surgery part of modern surgery
Key people/groups
James Simpson – discovered
chloroform as an anaesthetic
Joseph Lister – discovered
that carbolic acid worked well
as an antiseptic
Hannah Greener – died of an
overdose of chloroform during
minor surgery on her toe (an
example of why there was
opposition to chloroform)
Landsteiner – discovered
blood groups therefore
enabling blood transfusions in
surgery
Queen Victoria – liked
chloroform – helped with
acceptance of chloroform
Elizabeth Garrett Anderson –
first female surgeon
Marie Currie = developed x-
rays
Gilles – did plastic surgery in
WWI
McIndoe – did plastic surgery
in WWII
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Hospitals over time
Key time periods /Key
Date
1720 – 50 – 5 new general
hospitals set up in London
By 1800 – London
Hospitals had over 20,000
patients
Key Terms/events –
Middle Ages
Hospitals were funded (given money by) the Church or wealthy people
-Hospitals focused on caring for the sick and not curing; most patients had a priest rather than a doctor
-nuns cared for the sick
Over 700 hospitals set up between 1000 – 1500 – most in monasteries
-treatments based on the beliefs of the time (see section on beliefs of causes/treatments in this booklet)
18th Century- 1700s
Scientific medicine in more modern hospitals began
-funded (paid for) either by the rich or by local people getting together to set up a hospital
-many new hospitals built – 5 new general hospitals built in 1700s, hospitals had specialist wards, some
hospitals trained doctors, treatment mostly based on 4-humours theory; less emphasis on illness being sent
from God and the scientific method/approach becoming more common, some hospitals had pharmacies,
specialist hospitals began to grow eg maternity hospitals
Key people/groups
Monks/Nuns – gave most treatment in
hospitals
John Hunter – pioneer of scientific surgery –
wrote many books based on his
observations, skill at dissecting and his
experience as an army surgeon
-taught many surgeons (eg Jenner) some of
his pupils went on to establish teaching
hospitals
-Demanded careful observation in surgery;
would take risks and do ‘radical surgery’
rather than just opt for amputation
-had a large collection of anatomical animals
– plants, fossils, diseased organs, - which
could be used in teaching and helping to
understand disease
Summary –In the Middle Ages hospitals were primarily in monasteries and care was given by monks and nuns. They were more like today’s ‘care homes’ than hospitals.
Care was more important than cure. This remained the case until the 18th century. The scientific revolution that was beginning meant that surgeons such as John Hunter
were making advancements in hospitals. Hospitals then developed further with the introduction of the NHS in 1948.
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Hospitals page 1 of 2
Key time periods /Key Dates
1850s – Crimean War
WWI 1914 – 1918 –field
hospitals and hospitals in
England for treatment and
recovery
WWII 1939 – 1945 field
hospitals and hospitals in
England for treatment and
recovery
1948 – NHS set up
Key Terms/events
19th Century hospitals
Crimean War = Florence Nightingale, who believed in the miasma theory, developed hospitals in
terms of cleanliness, promoting having separate wards and training nurses. Previous to this
nurses did not have proper training. She set up nursing schools, set standards for nurses eg no
drinking of alcohol, and made nursing ‘professional’
WWI and WWII –medical knowledge develops and hospitals develop with more treatments
offered in hospitals – wounded soldiers treated in field hospitals but also in hospitals in England.
Creation of the NHS – this puts all hospitals under government control. Surgery, treatment of
disease, blood tests, x-rays, labour wards all offered in hospitals
Key people/groups
Florence Nightingale – pioneer of
modern nursing
.
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Factors
Factors are things that are not directly connected with medicine, that have had an influence on the development of medicine. The factor might help or
hinder medicine
Looking the factors, explain how they have helped medicine, or have hindered medicine. Use all time periods to do this
War
Science and Technology
Individual Brilliance/Genius/’the role of the individual’
Chance (luck)
Government
Communication
Superstition and religion
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Britain : Health and
the People
1000 – Present Day
14
14