THE MIDDLE AGES
MEDIAEVAL MEDICINE
As the populations of medieval towns and cities increased, hygienic conditions worsened, leading to a vast array of health problems. Medical knowledge was limited and, despite the efforts of medical practitioners and public and religious institutions to institute regulations, medieval Europe did not have an adequate health care system. Antibiotics weren't invented until the 1800s and it was almost impossible to cure diseases without them.
There were many myths and superstitions about health and hygiene as there still are today. People believed, for example, that disease was spread by bad odors. It was also assumed that diseases of the body resulted from sins of the soul. Many people sought relief from their ills through meditation, prayer, pilgrimages, and other non-medical methods.
The body was viewed as a part of the universe, a concept derived from the Greeks and Romans. Four humours, or body fluids, were directly related to the four elements: fire=yellow bile or choler; water=phlegm; earth=black bile; air=blood. These four humours had to be balanced. Too much of one was thought to cause a change in personality--for example, too much black bile could create melancholy.
Medicine was often a risky business. Bloodletting was a popular method of restoring a patient's health and "humours." Early surgery, often done by barbers without anaesthesia, must have been excruciating.
Who was Treated and Who Did the Treating
Medical treatment was available mainly to the wealthy, and those living in
villages rarely had the help of doctors, who practiced mostly in the cities and
courts. Remedies were often herbal in nature, but also included ground
earthworms, urine, and animal excrement. Many medieval medical manuscripts
contained recipes for remedies that called for hundreds of therapeutic
substances--the notion that every substance in nature held some sort of power
accounts for the enormous variety of substances. Many treatments were
administered by people outside the medical tradition. Coroners' rolls from the
time reveal how lay persons often made sophisticated medical judgments without
the aid of medical experts. From these reports we also learn about some of the
major causes of death.
Humours
Natural functions, such as sneezing, were thought to be the best way of
maintaining health. When there was a build-up of any one humour,
or body fluid, it could be disposed of through sweat, tears, feces, or urine.
When these natural systems broke down, illness occurred. Medieval doctors
stressed prevention, exercise, a good diet, and a good environment. One of the
best diagnostic tools was uroscopy, in which the colour
of the patient's urine was examined to determine the treatment. Other diagnostic
aids included taking the pulse and collecting blood samples. Treatments ranged
from administering laxatives and diuretics to fumigation, cauterization, and the
taking of hot baths and/or herbs.
Surgery
Performed as a last resort, surgery was known to be successful in cases of
breast cancer, fistula, haemorrhoids,
gangrene, and cataracts, as well as tuberculosis of the lymph glands in the neck
(scrofula). The most common form of surgery was bloodletting; it was meant to
restore the balance of fluids in the body. Some of the potions used to relieve
pain or induce sleep during the surgery were themselves potentially lethal. One
of these consisted of lettuce, gall from a castrated boar, briony, opium,
henbane, and hemlock juice--the hemlock juice could easily have caused death.
