During the Medieval period, medicine was dominated by ancient Greek theories of disease causation such as the humoral theory and miasma theory. At the end of the Medieval period and into the Renaissance, several key changes took place that impacted medicine. Artists studying anatomy improved knowledge of the human body, while universities began applying the scientific method to medicine through experiments. The printing press also allowed new medical ideas to spread more quickly. However, many old beliefs about disease causation still persisted due to the lack of knowledge about germs.

1. WALT: What happened at the
end of the Medieval period?
WILFS
E – Describe the changes that took place at the end of the medieval
period.
C – Explain how medicine changed in this period.
A – Evaluate whether these changes were good or bad.

2. How much did the understanding of the causes
of disease change between c500 and c1350?
• In 1348, when the Black Death reached England, the Church
played an important role in medieval ideas. Many people
thought illness had a supernatural cause. Other ideas at the
time were that disease was caused by miasma, or by an
imbalance of the humours.
Introduction – Tell me what you going to say in
your answer in short.
Information – The Filling P.E.E – What’s your
point, why have you said it, can you support it
with a Quote?
Conclusion – Tell me what your argument was.
Tell me what your opinion for change is.

3. PEER Assess…
Grade What do they need to do.
E Generalised answer with little supporting detail, or relevant details on a
very limited aspect of the question. E.g. understanding was based on
Ancient theories;
D Describes ONE theory of the cause of disease which is valid within this
period.
C3 Describes TWO theories of the causes of disease which is valid.
C1 Describes and explains TWO theories of causes of disease and why it did
not change.
B3 Gives a detailed argument that medicine did not progress in the West
because of the impact of the Christian Church but progression was made in
the East.
B1 Gives a detailed argument, has a good introduction and conclusion.
A Evaluates with detail from both sides and comes to a conclusion about
medieval medicine.

4. SELF Assess.
• WWW – Did I show off my knowledge about Ancient
medicine? Did I show off my understanding of medieval
beliefs and continuity?
• EBI - What do I need to do to improve! Was there any
progress?
• LIT – How can I improve my literacy?

5. How to link…
• You’ve mastered how to use the Question in the
introduction and some of you have also used the Question
in the your conclusion.
• Now I would like you to LINK your points, explanation and
evidence back to the question. This can be a short sentence
that references the question.
• I.E. This shows how medical understanding changed in the
period … …
Can you come up with 5 more connective
sentences to use?

6. Application
• Now apply it to your answer. Can you rewrite one paragraph
(a few sentences) and LINK back to the question.
• This PROVES to the examiner that you have answered the
question.
• This is how you get top marks!

7. Beat the Teacher …
Rewrite in your books and correct my mistakes… (If there are any, you may even
need to rewrite some of it, for bonus marks can you improve my answer…)
Who was Gale and why was he so important.
Gale was a physician, who became the most famous doctor
in the Eygptian Empire, his theories dominated European
medicine for over 1,000 years.
His most notable work is on dissection (mainly humans as
the Romans thought that animals were sacred).
He was also a believer in the
Hippocratic Three Tumours theory.
(Blood, Tears and Sweat).

8. Did you beat me…
• Who was Galen and why was he so important.
• Galen was a physician, who became the most famous doctor
in the Roman Empire, his theories dominated European
medicine for over 1,000 years.
• His most notable work is on dissection (mainly animals as
the Romans religious beliefs prevented human dissection).
• He was also a believer in the Hippocratic Four Humours
theory.(Blood, Black Bile, Yellow Bile and Phlegm).

9. The Medical
Renaissance 1400-
1750…
What might Renaissance mean ?
Renaissance means ‘rebirth’ … Think about Galen and
Hippocrates and their method, what might the medical
renaissance be…

10. The Renaissance Period…
Create two columns for your notes today.
One on Factors & the other on renaissance medicine.
We’re going to watch a short clip… Take notes. You will have
4 minutes to share your notes with each other.]
You now have 12 minutes to add to your notes. Use the
information around the room. As well as the Textbooks.
Q. Why was there sudden change in the Renaissance Period?

11. The Renaissance
• During the 1400s, Western civilization changed significantly.
Historians call this the Renaissance era, meaning 'rebirth'.
• The beginning of the Renaissance is often dated from 1453 AD,
when Constantinople fell. This drove scholars, with knowledge of
Greek and Roman learning, westwards.
• Artists, such as Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and Titian,
revolutionized painting. They studied the body in more detail,
which improved knowledge of anatomy.
• Universities began using the Scientific Method. These
experiments tested theories about medicine, which was vital for
its development.
• The invention of the printing press allowed these new ideas to
spread quickly through Europe.
• Religious reformers like Martin luther began to question the
teachings of the Roman Catholic Church
• However, although the Renaissance saw an improvement in
medical knowledge, many people still rejected these new ideas

12. Questions.
• i) How did medicine progress in the Renaissance?
• ii) Why did medicine progress in the Renaissance?
Find-Someone-Who
Write at least 5 questions that can be answered by the
class on Renaissance Medicine on the pieces of paper.
Now you have to find the answers from other people.
Pink Slips for the person who gets 10Q and 10A.

13. Summary.
• What happened in the Renaissance Period. Stick it in
someone else book! You have to have a completed Post It
to be able to leave today!

14. Rebirth
• During the 15th century Western civilisation experienced a
process of profound change, which historians call the
Renaissance (meaning 'rebirth').
• The beginning of the Renaissance is often dated from AD
1453, when the fall of Constantinople drove many scholars
with knowledge of Greek and Roman learning westwards.
The period historians call the Early Modern Age lasted from
about 1450 to about 1750

15. Key Changes
• Governments - such as that of Henry VIII - were strong and rich.
The economy boomed and trade prospered. People could afford
doctors.
• Artists (such as Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and Titian)
revolutionised painting - this led them to study the body in more
detail, and was connected to improved knowledge of anatomy
(eg the fabulous illustrations for 'Fabric of the Human Body' by
John Stephen of Calcar, one of Titian's students).
• There was a revival of learning. Universities established schools of
medicine. The Renaissance saw the beginning of scientific
method - which involved conducting an experiment, collecting
observations, then coming to a conclusion. At first, scholars
merely claimed that they were renewing the perfection it had
amongst the ancient teachers', but soon they began to conduct
experiments which led them to question the knowledge of the
Greeks and Romans. This was vital for the development of
medicine.

16. Key Changes
• The invention of the printing press allowed new ideas
to spread more quickly around Europe.
• The discovery of America by Columbus meant that new
foods and medicines were brought back from the New
World.
• The invention of new weapons (especially gunpowder)
led to soldiers getting different sorts of wounds, which
battlefield doctors had to deal with.

17. Progress
• Although the Renaissance saw an improvement in medical
knowledge, particularly of anatomy and physiology, many
people rejected the new ideas.
• Key individuals made breakthroughs in anatomy (Vesalius),
physiology (Harvey) and surgery (Pare)

18. Continuity
• Little progress was made in understanding disease because
doctors still had still not discovered the role that germs play
in causing disease. Old practices such as bleeding therefore
still persisted