Venetian Medicine

What was there technique and logic? The Three Methods

Leeching: Fire Cupping: The four humors: The Venetian doctors would use leeches on parts of a patients body in which they were swollen. The swelling would go down because the leeches would reduce the amount of blood in the swollen area. The doctor would light a little piece of cotton on fire and they would place it underneath a cup with two sticks so the fire would make all the oxygen in the cup go away. Then they would remover the lit piece of cotton and close the cup onto the skin and it would suck the skin into the cup. The four humors were an ancient belief that originated from early China. The belief was that your body was made up of four elements. They believed that if one of these elements were imbalanced that, that’s what would be causing the infection or disease in that area of the body.

People believed that the four humors has influence on the body and it’s emotions.

›Humor: Black Bile –Element: Earth –Season: Winter –Age: Old Age –Qualities: Cold and Dry –Organ: Spleen –Planet: Saturn The Four Humors: Melancholic

›Humor: Phlegm –Element: Water –Season: Autumn –Age: Maturity –Qualities: Cold and Wet –Organ: Brain –Planet: Moon The Four Humors: Phlegmatic

›Humor: Yellow Bile –Element: Fire –Season: Summer –Age: Childhood –Qualities: Hot and Dry –Organ: Gall Bladder –Planet: Mars The Four Humors: Choleric

›Humor: Blood –Element: Air –Season: Spring –Age: Adolescence –Qualities: Hot and Wet –Organ: Heart –Planet: Jupiter The Four Humors: Sanguine

Hysterectomies “A hysterectomy is a surgery to remove a woman's uterus (also known as the womb). The uterus is where a baby grows when a woman is pregnant. During the surgery the whole uterus is usually removed. Your doctor may also remove your fallopian tubes and ovaries.” -Wikipedia Early on in the 1500’s doctors believed that when women went what they thought was “crazy” it was because their uterus detached from their body and was floating around inside of them.

Plague Doctors  The plague doctors began in Venice because of how unsanitary the town was and because of the horrible disease called the plague that spread through the town through shipping  They tried curing the plague many times but failed  The streets in Venice were filthy and full of rats and germs(because of the plague)

Plague Doctor Leather Hat Glass Eye Mask Gathered At The Back Full Length Gown Covered With Wax Worn Over Leather Breeches Beak Stuffed With Herbs And Spices Wooden Stick To Keep People Away Leather Gloves Full Length Leather Boots Leather Hat: Worn to show that the doctor was actually a doctor. Glass Eyes: Added to the mask to ensure the protecting of the eyes. Mask: To protects them from catching airborne diseases. Gown: The gown was made of thick material and covered in wax. Beak: To protect them from catching airborne diseases. Wooden Stick: To keep them from having to touch their patients. Leather Gloves: Worn to protect his hands from any contact with the disease.

The Bubonic plague  The bubonic plague was an illness that had exploded all over Venice do to the contact of goods being shipped  This sickness begins 3-7 days after the exposure  Symptoms begin with severe flu like symptoms (fever, headache, and vomiting)  Another symptom was swelling of the lymph nodes  The skin (mostly on the inner thigh) begins to develop disgusting puss filled like blisters  The chance of death with this disease is 30-90% chance of death without treatment  With treatment the chances of death are 10%  If death occurs it will normally happen within 10 days

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