Renaissance ideas about disease and illness: change and continuity Very little really changed in the practice of medicine during this period. However, the Renaissance was a time of new ideas and this included in the field of medicine. A new scientific approach was developing as some people began to question the Church and Galen. Use the table below and p.42-3 to answer the following questions: New ideas about disease and illness New ideas about disease and illness Influential individual In the 16th century, the Theory of the Four Humours was rejected Paracelsus, a Swiss by some radical physicians. Disease was seen as something scientist and medical separate from the body, needed to be attacked. New chemical professor. treatments started to appear, influenced by the increasing popularity of alchemy. In 1546, a new text called On Contagion theorised that disease was Girolamo Fracastoro, caused by seeds that spread in the air. an Italian physician. In 1628, a new theory was published in Britain, which suggested William Harvey, an that blood circulated around the body instead of being made in English scientist. the liver, as taught by Galen. A better understanding of the digestive system developed. This Jan Baptiste van meant that people gradually stopped believing disease was caused Helmont, a Flemish by eating the wrong things. Urine was no longer seen as an physician. accurate way of diagnosing illness. New microscopes were being developed, which allowed for a Robert Hooke, an much clearer magnification. A new book, Micrographia, published English scientist and in 1665, showed many detailed images, including a close-up head of experiments at drawing of a flea, copied from a magnified image. the Royal Society. In 1676, the medical textbook Observationes Medicae was Thomas Sydenham, an published. This theorised that illness was caused by external English physician. factors, rather than the four humours. By 1683, more powerful microscopes had been developed to allow Antony van for the observation of tiny or little animals in plaque Leeuwenhoek, a “animalcules” scraped from between the teeth. The images were not very clear, scientist.
Renaissance ideas about disease and illness: change and continuity Very little really changed in the practice of medicine during this period. However, the Renaissance was a time of new ideas and this included in the field of medicine. A new scientific approach was developing as some people began to question the Church and Galen. Use the table below and p.42-3 to answer the following questions: New ideas about disease and illness New ideas about disease and illness Influential individual In the 16th century, the Theory of the Four Humours was rejected by some radical physicians. Disease was seen as something separate from the body, needed to be attacked. New chemical treatments started to appear, influenced by the increasing popularity of alchemy. Paracelsus, a Swiss scientist and medical professor. In 1546, a new text called On Contagion theorised that disease was caused by seeds that spread in the air. Girolamo Fracastoro, an Italian physician. In 1628, a new theory was published in Britain, which suggested that blood circulated around the body instead of being made in the liver, as taught by Galen. William Harvey, an English scientist. A better understanding of the digestive system developed. This meant that people gradually stopped believing disease was caused by eating the wrong things. Urine was no longer seen as an accurate way of diagnosing illness. Jan Baptiste van Helmont, a Flemish physician. New microscopes were being developed, which allowed for a much clearer magnification. A new book, Micrographia, published in 1665, showed many detailed images, including a close-up drawing of a flea, copied from a magnified image. Robert Hooke, an English scientist and head of experiments at the Royal Society. In 1676, the medical textbook Observationes Medicae was published. This theorised that illness was caused by external factors, rather than the four humours. Thomas Sydenham, an English physician. By 1683, more powerful microscopes had been developed to allow for the observation of tiny “animalcules” or little animals in plaque scraped from between the teeth. The images were not very clear, Antony van Leeuwenhoek, a scientist.