Overview
This lecture covers how the Renaissance spurred intellectual change and incremental progress in medicine during the 16th–17th centuries, focusing on shifting attitudes, major figures, and the slow translation of theory into practice.
The Renaissance: Context and Key Ideas
- The Renaissance was a revival of classical learning and creativity, starting in 15th-century Italy and spreading across Europe.
- Humanism, focusing on individual thought and classical texts, challenged Church authority and promoted independent learning.
- Schools expanded beyond religious training, including humanities and sciences, raising literacy and spreading new ideas.
- The printing press enabled mass communication and faster dissemination of knowledge.
Progress in Medicine: Key Figures and Discoveries
- Thomas Sydenham advocated observation over tradition and published influential medical texts.
- Andreas Vesalius advanced anatomy through direct dissection, correcting errors from Galen and improving medical illustrations.
- William Harvey discovered blood circulates in a closed system and the heart acts as a pump, using vivisection for research.
Institutional and Technological Advances
- The Royal Society, founded in 1660, provided scientists a platform for communication and published the first scientific journal.
- New inventions (e.g., microscopes, thermometers) improved observation and measurement in science and medicine.
Persistent Traditional Practices and Challenges
- Most medical practice still relied on medieval methods (four humors, bleeding, purging) despite new discoveries.
- Surgeons and apothecaries trained via guild apprenticeships, not universities; women mainly cared for the sick at home.
- Herbal remedies were popular, with new ingredients from the New World, but effectiveness varied and some treatments were dangerous.
Disease, Epidemics, and Public Health
- Major epidemics of influenza, smallpox, and especially the Great Plague (1665) devastated populations.
- Miasma theory (bad air) replaced earlier beliefs for disease causes; government interventions included quarantines and bans on gatherings.
- Plague doctors wore protective gear; their beaked masks symbolized evolving ideas of contagion, though practical medical treatments remained limited.
Key Terms & Definitions
- Humanism — intellectual movement emphasizing classical learning and individual reasoning.
- Printing Press — device enabling mass production of books, spreading knowledge rapidly.
- Dissection — cutting open of dead bodies to study anatomy.
- Vivisection — cutting open of live animals to observe bodily functions.
- Miasma — theory that diseases are spread by bad or corrupt air.
- Royal Society — first scientific institution for collaborative research and communication.
Action Items / Next Steps
- Review key medical figures (Sydenham, Vesalius, Harvey) and their contributions.
- Read about the evolution from humoral theory to germ theory.
- Reflect on how institutional changes (schools, Royal Society) influenced scientific progress.