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