Medicine

Medicine in the Middle Ages In the Middle Ages there was a very limited understanding of the human body. They didn't even know of the separate human organs and systems. They based most of their medicines around plants as we sometimes do today. Fear and superstition played a big role in medicine. People believed that diseases and sickness were a punishment from god or a result of sinful actions. Instead of seeing a doctor or healer, they would often go on a pilgrimage or go pray. Most of the plants and herbs used in medieval medicine could be grown in the average medieval garden. Most of the time the healer didn't have to travel far to get the plant they needed. Many of the plants used for medicine were also used for cooking, such as lavender.

Some important people in the world of medicine were: Healers:  ·  Often received no formal training. · Some were midwives, dentists, or apothecaries. · Some were hired to work in noble households but most had another job such as a butcher or barber. · Medical books were written in Latin but there was also an oral tradition where cures were passed down from generation to generation. ·  Unlike other jobs of the middle ages, it was very common for a woman to work as a healer.

Dentists: · Medieval dentists were usually barbers. · Extracted teeth. · Filled cavities. · Even fixed broken jaws.

  2 events surrounding this topic:

The black plague: <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the 1400’s, a series of royal decrees prohibited lay barbers from doing anything except, bleeding, cupping, leeching, or extracting teeth. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font: 7pt 'Times New Roman'; msofareastfontfamily: Symbol; msobidifontfamily: Symbol; msolist: Ignore;">- On the downside, this limited the money that the barbers got because they could only do certain jobs. <span style="font: 7pt 'Times New Roman'; msofareastfontfamily: Symbol; msobidifontfamily: Symbol; msolist: Ignore;">- On the upside, this created a better era of dentistry <span style="font: 7pt 'Times New Roman'; msofareastfontfamily: Symbol; msobidifontfamily: Symbol; msolist: Ignore;">- Also, people had better dental hygiene.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">About one-third of Europe’s population was wiped out.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the early 1330’s there was an outbreak of the bubonic plague in China.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The disease was from fleas which were on rats.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The rats were carried by merchants when they were trading. The rats eventually got to Europe.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">People in the villages lived in such close quarters, that the plague spread quite rapidly.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The healers tried to cure the sick but nothing worked. All they got in return was the Black Death from the person they were trying to cure.

Medicine was important because people were cured from their illnesses, and lived longer. People went to the dentist and had better dental hygiene. There was a larger population because less people were dying and there were more people to do jobs and create a surplus of food.

The Middle Ages influenced modern dentistry because they were more advanced dentists. They could extract teeth, fix broken jaws, and fill cavities. Medicine from the middle ages has had an impact on the world today because we still base some of our medications off of plants like in those times. Citations: "Medicine in the Middle Ages." __History Learning site__. 2000. 15 Apr. 2009 [].

Bellerby, Rachel. "Medicine in the Middle Ages." __Suite 101__. 9 June 2008. 16 Apr. 2009 [].

"Medicine in the Middle Ages." __The middle ages website__. 15 Apr. 2009 [].

__Medieval World__. Vol. 6. Danbury, CT: Grolier Educational, 2001.

<span style="display: block; font-size: 110%; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: left;">Emily Hensley