Medicine through Time Revision: Key Factors

Change &Continuity One of the areas of this course is being able t identify and then explain why Medicine improved, got worse or stayed largely the same. There are lots of reasons for change & continuity but its possible to group them into overall factors. In this course you should come across the following factors: Religion, War, Science & Technology, Government, Chance and Communication (Individuals as well but we have dealt with that elsewhere).

Religion You should find that religion is a factor through the vast majority of our period of study. Early humans clung to spiritual beliefs as they had very little else available to explain the world around them. Therefore most treatments were supernatural. In the Ancient world religion allowed for improvements in medicine without any real explanations. For example, Ancient Egyptians stayed clean for religious purposes and Greeks benefited from visiting Asklepions.

Religion cont. After the collapse of the Roman Empire religion affected medicine in a largely negative way. After the early discoveries of the Islamic Empire, the Roman Catholic Church stuck doggedly to ancient beliefs i.e. 4 Humours/Galen. Discoveries by scientists like Harvey and improvements in government’s meant the impact of religion began to wane. Religious/spiritual beliefs are still a big part of people’s lives but its role in medicine is fairly limited.

War Historians recently have tried to play down the impact of war on medical developments but it is hard to argue it plays no part. War generally influences surgery but has played role in improving public health. In the Ancient world the Romans were good examples of this. Their battlefield surgeons made advances in equipment and early antiseptics while ideas surrounding cleanliness were taken up by the Roman Government.

War cont. Through the Middle Ages and the Renaissance surgeons made some progress thanks to innovations needed during war. Paré and John Bradmore ae examples of this. Warfare in the early 20th Century led to improvements in many areas as surgeons faced new problems and were forced to improvise. War at this time also highlighted problems in public health with the huge influx of ordinary citizens volunteering to fight.

Science & Technology In the Ancient world science was largely limited to individuals such as Hippocrates and Aristotle whereas technology was used in large public sanitation works (Romans). For 1000’s of years scientific thinking was limited thanks to the power of religion. This would not change until the Enlightenment (1700’s) and the Industrial Revolution allowed scientists to combine with engineers to improve many different areas of medicine.

Science & Technology cont. The development of the microscope allowed scientists to make key discoveries such as Pasteur’s Germ Theory. The development of vaccines and eventually antibiotics relied on scientific innovation. Doctors like Lister and Simpson were able to use their scientific skills to make key discoveries in surgery while large sanitation works were now possible. Technology today allows for the successful treatment of a huge number of conditions (key hole surgery, transplants, plastic surgery etc.).

Government The concept of Government began to develop when people started living in larger communities although they usually revolved around a sole leader (i.e. Pharoah’s). Greeks ideas like democracy were taken forward by the Roman Republic meaning public health of ordinary people began to become a focus. This progress was ended by the collapse of the Roman Empire and the dominance of the Catholic Church in the Middle Ages.

Government cont. The influence of religion on Government began to wane during the Industrial Revolution but improvements in medicine were slowed by laissez-faire attitudes. The deterioration of living conditions and the increasing representation of the working classes led government’s to pay more attention (Public Health Acts, Liberal Reforms etc.). The launch of the NHS in 1948 marked the complete move away from laissez-faire.

Communication Improvements in medicine are not much use if no one hears about them. The development of early forms of writing and long distance trade allowed many ideas to be shared in the Ancient world. The invention of the Printing Press in the 15th Century meant that new discoveries could be shared easily. This was followed by telecommunications technology allowing international communication and instantaneous sharing of discoveries.

Chance This is a fairly minor factor but several figures throughout history have benefited from luck that helped their work. Good examples are Paré, Pasteur and Fleming. In all of these cases another factor was needed to make the discovery work but it is worth mentioning that chance plays a role in many areas of medicine.