Medicine in Britain (c1250 - present) Edexcel

By Evieg
  • Period: 1250 to 1500

    The Middle Ages

  • 1348

    The Black Death

    The Black Death reached England in 1348, killing about one third of the population. Majority believed it was a punishment sent from God, also believed it was caused by an imbalance in the Four Humours.
  • 1440

    The Printing Press

    Invented by Gutenburg, meant that many exact copies of texts could be produced in a short amount of time. It helped reduce the Churche's control of ideas, as it could no longer prevent the publication of ideas it did not approve of.
  • Period: 1500 to

    Medical Renaissance

  • 1543

    Andreas Vesalius

    Published his work 'The Fabric of the Human Body' Studied medicine in Paris in 1553, and then became a professor of surgery in Padua. Carried out a large number of dissections on the human body and made made discoveries about how the body worked. He proved some of Galen's theories were incorrect which encouraged others to question Galens theories.

  • William Harvey

    Published 'An Anatomical Account of the Motion of the Heart and Blood.' Harvey researched Vesalius' theory that blood flowed towards the heart, which contradicted Galens theory. He proved Vesalius right using dissected bodies. Harvey was very important as he proved some of Galen's theories incorrect. He also improved the knowledge about how the human body worked, and also encouraged others to find out more.

  • Thomas Sydenham

    Worked as a doctor during the 1660s and 70s. He became know as the 'English Hippocrates'. He did not rely upon medical books when making a diagnosis, but observed patients and recorded them in detail. He based the treatment on the disease as a whole and did not treat individual symptoms. Very influential.

  • The Royal Society

    Aimed to bring together leading scientific minds of the day. Most significantly, it sponsored scientists to enable them to carry out research.

  • The Great Plague

    The first serious outbreak of the plague in England since the Black Death. The most popular belief about the cause of this was miasma, although some still believed in the Four Humours. Treatments were similar to the Black Death. The BIGGEST DIFFERENCE was the government, there was a far greater reaction by local councils, who were ordered by the King to try and stop the Plague from spreading.
    - dogs and cats killed
    - streets regularly cleaned
    - days of fasting and public prayer

  • Theory of the Four Humours no longer widely belived

  • Period: to

    18th and 19th Century

  • Theory of Spontaneous Generation

    The theory of spontaneous generation was that decaying matter, things that had started to rot, created microbes.

  • Edward Jenner - development of vaccinations

    In 1798 Edward Jenner proved vaccination prevented people catching smallpox. His work was based upon observation and scientific experiment. However, he did not fully understand what caused smallpox or how the vaccination worked. It was not enforced for many years, until 1852 when vaccination or children was made compulsory and by the 1970s vaccination was completely wiped out. However it aslo did not lead to any further breakthroughs, as it only dealt with one disease.

  • James Simpson - first effective anaesthetic

    Showed that chloroform could be used as an effective anaesthetic during surgery. However, there was issues with dosage and after-care of surgery.

  • John Snow - preventing cholera

    In 1854 cholera killed over 500 people around Broad Street near Dr John's surgery. He mapped out these deaths showing people has caught cholera from the water they used for washing and drinking. However, many did not acknowledge this discovery and continued to believe in the miasma theory.

  • Florence Nightingale

    Florence Nightingale was asked to lead a team of nurses at a military hospital in Scutari during the Crimean War. She believed in the theory of Miasma so emphasised hygiene, fresh air, good supplies and training for nurses.

  • Louis Pasteur - Germ Theory

    Theory which suggested that bacteria (microbes/germs) caused human disease. Based his theory off experiments which proved that germs make milk go bad and cause disease in animals.

  • Discovery of DNA

    DNA was discovered in 1869, but it took until 1943 before scientists realised that DNA was the genetic material in cells, and that it contained a code for life.

  • Public Health Act

    Major change in peoples attitudes of government to improving peoples health. Law that made it compulsory for local councils to improve sewers and drainage and provide fresh clean water supply.

  • Robert Koch

    Robert Koch and his research team proved Pasteurs Germ Theory and used it to discover bacteria that caused individual diseases.

  • X-rays developed

    Wilhelm Rontgen
  • Period: to

    Modern Britain

  • Blood Transfusions

    In 1901 Karl Landsteiner discovered blood groups, allowing blood transfusions to be performed

  • Flemings Discovery of Penecillin

    Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin in 1928 after noticing that a mold inhibited the growth of bacteria on a Petri dish. He identified the mold as Penicillium notatum and named the substance it produced penicillin. Fleming's discovery marked a major breakthrough in medicine and the start of the antibiotic era.

  • Electron Microscope Invented

  • Human Genome Project

    The Human Genome Project (HGP) was an international scientific endeavor, launched in 1990 and completed in 2003, with the goal of mapping and sequencing the entire human genome