1. DARK AGES SUMMARY: Ideas about causes of illness and disease
Supernatural causes – God’s punishment, evil spirits, The Planets
Bad Air/ smells
Hippocrates/ Galen ideas -The Four Humours – Phlegm, Yellow Bile, Black Bile, Blood
Approaches to treatment of illness and disease
Supernatural treatments- charms, prayers, planet alignment
Herbal Remedies – passed down from older generations
Hippocrates ideas about treatment of the four humours and Galen’s theory of Opposites – especially bloodletting and purging begin to form the main natural treatments
Urinology, zodiac man etc
Methods of prevention of illness and disease
Supernatural prevention – prayers, charms
Bloodletting
Public health regressed due to lack of maintenance and destruction from war of public health systems
Who looked after the sick/ Public Health
Head of the family – Herbal Remedies
Very few Trained Doctors – trained by the Church for 10 years
Hospitals in monasteries and convents to take care of travellers or the sick – to take care of the soul not cure
Hospitals would not treat those with infectious or incurable disease
Factors leading to change in society e.g. war, science, church, attitudes
Government – after fall of Roman Empire, Europe disintegrated into individual kingdoms
War – destruction of public health structures because of constant war between the different kingdoms
Communication – ideas became stagnant as movement around Europe became difficult and dangerous. People tended to stay in one place
Church – The only organisation to survive the fall of Rome – It greatly influenced medical development
Amount of progress made (including regression)
Galens theories accepted as fact for over 1000 years – even though many were wrong because of church control, this hindered medical developments
Dissection frowned upon so no new ideas – only proved Galen was right
People still believed in supernatural causes of illness – especially Gods punishment

2. LATER MIDDLE AGES (1066-1500) SUMMARY:
Ideas about causes of illness and disease
Supernatural causes – God’s punishment, evil spirits, The Planets
Bad Air/ smells
Hippocrates/ Galen ideas -The Four Humours – Phlegm, Yellow Bile, Black Bile, Blood
Case study - Black Death
Approaches to treatment of illness and disease
Supernatural treatments- charms, prayers, planet alignment
Herbal Remedies – passed down from older generations
Treatment of the four humours and theory of Opposites – especially bloodletting and purging to stop evil humours building up
Urinology, zodiac man etc
Diet, rest and exercise
Methods of prevention of illness and disease
Supernatural prevention – prayers, charms
Bloodletting and purging
Flagellation
Public health – government attempted to improve public health – banning pigs in towns, stewes, piped water into towns, diet, rest & exercise
Who looked after the sick/ Public Health
Head of the family – Herbal ,minerals and animal parts Remedies
Very few Trained Doctors – trained by Church for 10 yrs
Hospitals in monasteries and convents to take care of travellers or the sick – to take care of the soul not cure
Charity hospitals grew – mostly run by the church
Hospitals would not treat infectious or incurable disease – almshouses, lazars
Factors leading to change in society e.g. war, science, church, attitudes
Government – Britain becomes more stable after 1066 allowing towns to grow again
Society – most people live in villages so hygiene is ok, rich towns folk have good hygiene but poor live in terrible conditions
Church – Medical Stagnation and fatalism – no new ideas because the Church said illness was caused by Gods Punishment
Communication –, the Church sends people on crusade and they meet more advanced Islamic doctors who begin to influence medical development by the end of the medieval period.
Amount of progress made (including regression)
Galens theories accepted as fact for over 1000 years – but by the end of this period people begin to look for new ideas
By the end of the period Medical Training is no longer run by the Church allowing new ideas to develop
Closer links were being developed between disease and bad air and dirt

3. RENAISSANCE 1500-1750 SUMMARY:
Ideas about causes of illness and disease
Bad Air/ smells – miasma still considered a key cause
Supernatural causes – God’s punishment, evil spirits, The Planets – although mainly at times of epidemic
Hippocrates/ Galen ideas – most doctors still thought the four humours caused illness although new ideas discredited this
Case studies – Great Plague/ Syphilis
Approaches to treatment of illness and disease
Treatment of the four humours and theory of Opposites – especially bloodletting and purging to stop evil humours building up
Urinology no longer used as a way to diagnose and treat patients
Supernatural treatments- charms, prayers, planet alignment – particularly at times of epidemic
Herbal Remedies – passed down from older generations – used in the communities usually by women healers
Medical Training and discoveries provided new methods but many were not believed or patients refused to be experimented on
Diet, rest and exercise to improve constitution
Methods of prevention of illness and disease
Bloodletting and purging by most physicians and healers to prevent an imbalance
New discoveries were not really used as people didn’t want to be experimented on
Public health – government attempted to improve public health particularly during epidemics – more expectations that Cty Councils would take responsibility. Introduced the Gin Laws to improve health of the poor – first real attempt to use taxation as a form of prevention
Good diet, rest & exercise and keeping clean were seen as best prevention
Supernatural prevention – prayers, charms
Who looked after the sick/ Public Health
Local communities still provided most of the care with healers (mainly women ) leading the way
Medical training was no longer controlled by the Church, more scientific methods became popular and dissection was allowed
Hospitals in Monasteries were closed with Henry VIII’s Reformation – Henry realised his error when crime increased and opened new hospitals controlled by City Councils not Church
Specialised hospitals opened foe pestilence and pox
Factors leading to change in society e.g. war, science, church, attitudes
Science – an age of discovery and new ideas lead to improved medical knowledge, training and technology (eg, microscope)
Government – started to take a more proactive role in prevention through Public Health changes
Attitudes– General Public did not trust the new discoveries being made and refused to be experimented on. Most physicians therefore treated patients for the 4 humours as before.
Church – Reformation led to a removal of the churches influence on science and medicine
Communication – invention of the printing press allowed new ideas to be shared and discussed – formation of The Royal Society
Amount of progress made (including regression)
Massive progress made in knowledge of anatomy and physiology (Harvey and Versalius)
Greater ability to challenge and discuss ideas and develop new theories however, new technology was needed to develop treatments and understanding of causes
New discoveries and ideas challenged the ideas of Galen and largely discredited his work, however the general population continued to prefer old methods of treatments so very little actually changed
However, the new discoveries paved the way for rapid advancement in the Industrial Period.

4. Industrial Age: 1750-1900 SUMMARY:
Ideas about causes of illness and disease
Bad Air/ smells – miasma still considered a key cause
Spontaneous generation – the idea was that certain forms such as fleas could arise from inanimate matter such as dust, or that maggots could arise from dead flesh
Both these theories were disproved by Pasteur’s Germ Theory - microbes caused disease and decay
New health problems caused by terrible living and working conditions
Approaches to treatment of illness and disease
New mass produced pharmaceuticals were cheap and became more widely available
Pasteur’s Germ Theory led to improvements in hygiene standards in hospitals
Focus moved onto treating the microbes causing disease rather than treating the symptoms of the disease.
Work of Florence Nightingale to improve treatment of patients in hospitals
Koch’s identification of different microbes causing different illnesses
Methods of prevention of illness and disease
Improved public health reforms – Chadwick, Snow, Bazelgette
Public Health Acts introduced 1848, 1875 along with other acts which improve health – factory act, education act etc
Programme of innoculation
Jenner’s discovery of vaccination of smallpox
Mass compulsory vaccinations introduced
Pasteur’s Germ Theory and Koch’s work on microbes leads to mass vaccinations of other illnesses and diseases
Improved hygiene in hospitals and towns
Who looked after the sick/ Public Health
Medical training and education became regulated – Doctors sat an exam and attended a training hospital before qualification
Charity hospitals provided cheap care
Cottage Hospitals with dedicated nursing care developed
Isolaiton hospitals for infectious diseases
New hospitals were built replacing the old poor law unions and Mental asylums for those with mental health problems were built
Nursing became a more reputable profession
Factors leading to change in society e.g. war, science, church, attitudes
Science and technology – new ideas lead to improved medical knowledge and training with advancements in technology leading to great public health improvements
Government – ended laissez-faire attitude and passed numerous laws to improve public health
Attitudes– General Public accepted new ideas more readily as many were now educated and could read, there was an expectation that government would act. More voters meant more action by government
Church – reduced influence
Communication – invention of railways, newspapers, photography etc made information much more accessible
Amount of progress made (including regression)
Massive progress made in knowledge of causes, treatment and prevention of disease – Jenner, Pasteur, Koch
Greater understanding of technology and science which improved public health
Great engineering improved public health greatly - Bazelgette sewerage system
Government introduced many laws which would improve public health
Improvements in hospital care and nursing
First female doctor
However, progress in the prevention and treatment of diseases was slow because each disease had to be researched individually – research teams improved this
Improved records and statistical analysis - Farr

5. Modern Age: 1900- Present Day SUMMARY:
Ideas about causes of illness and disease
People understood that microbes cause illness and disease – different microbes identified causing individual diseases
Scientists have looked into lifestyle factors causing disease – things like smoking, alcohol and obesity have created new challenges for doctors
Scientists have discovered and continue to investigate Genetics as a cause of disease and illness
Diseases such as cancer continue to puzzle scientists and much is still to be discovered about what causes cancer
Approaches to treatment of illness and disease
Research Teams researched different microbes to develop vaccinations for individual diseases.
Development of Chemical cures for disease – first magic bullet (Salvarsan Syphilis) and second magic bullet (Prontosil – blood poisoning)
Development of Penicillin – ‘wonder drug’ of 20th Century – used to treat bacterial infections – saved millions in WWII
Genetic research into vaccinations and treatments
Treatments for diseases such as cancer, diabetes are improving
Blood Transfusions – allow improved life expectancy
Methods of prevention of illness and disease
Pasteur’s Germ Theory and Koch’s work on microbes leads to mass vaccinations of other illnesses and diseases
Mapping of DNA allows new preventative gene therapies to be researched
Improved hygiene in hospitals and towns due to public health reforms
Government began to take more responsibility for public health with new acts of parliament passed between
NHS Campaigns to promote healthy living
Who looked after the sick/ Public Health
At the start of 20th Century it was still women responsible for treating illnesses because doctors expensive
GP may do some minor operations in a cottage hospital but most serious operations were referred to hospitals
Social care and creation of NHS changed medical care for all – free!
Nurses, midwives and doctors all fully trained and registered
Factors leading to change in society e.g. war, science, church, attitudes
Government – full responsibility for Health of the nation – Responsibility of the Dept. of Health
Attitudes– General public expect the best care for free from the NHS
Church – reduced influence although many ethical questions are posed regarding genetics
Communication – creation of the internet is a major factor in the spread of knowledge
New technology – x-ray machines, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, microscopes, endoscopes, scans, nuclear medicine, dialysis machines, pacemakers, dispensing machines need specialised training
Amount of progress made (including regression)
Massive progress made in knowledge of causes, treatment and prevention of disease –
Greater understanding of technology and science which improved public health
Government introduced many laws which improved public health, hospitals etc, especially the creation of the welfare state and NHS
Improved records and statistical analysis
Growth of pharmaceutical companies funding research and development