Medieval Surgery

Surgery in Medieval Times

In the medieval times, surgery was rudimentary and dangerous. Few patients survived surgery. There were 3 main problems with surgery in medieval times:

Pain

Surgery was excruciatingly (very very) painful.
No anaesthetics existed and only natural anaesthetics (like hemlock or opium) existed to numb the pain.
Natural anaesthetics were dangerous because high doses could kill the patient.

Infection

There was a very limited understanding of what causes diseases and infections.
Nobody had discovered the link between dirt and disease and many doctors believed that pus in wounds helped a patient to recover.
- Many people died from infections after surgery.

Blood loss

Patients often lost a lot of blood in surgery.
There were not blood transfusions or anything similar.
Blood loss could also be fatal.

Surgery was not a respected job in medieval Europe. Lots of surgery was performed by barber surgeons. Some military surgeons learned skills to treat wounded soldiers on the battlefield. The most common surgical procedures were:

Bloodletting

Unlike doctors, there was little formal training for surgeons.
- Training was through apprenticeship.
Surgeons performed bloodletting when humours were imbalanced. By removing blood, it was believed a patient would become healthy again.

Amputation

An amputation was when a surgeon cut off a body part.
- This was often needed if a body part was painful or infected through wounds.
Given the scale of blood loss, amputations were very dangerous.

Trepanning

Trepanning was when a surgeon would make a drill hole into a human’s skull.
Surgeons used trepanning if patients were acting abnormally.
- This included being possessed by bad spirits, having a mental illness or suffering from epilepsy.

Cauterisation

Cauterisation was when surgeons burned a wound to stop blood flow or close up an amputated wound.

Medieval Progress in Surgery

There were developments in surgical procedures in the Medieval period:

Albucasis

In the 11th century, Albucasis, the Islamic physician wrote Al Tasrif, this was a 30-volume book on medicine.
- He also invented surgical instruments and popularised cauterisation.

Hugh of Lucca

In the 13th century, Hugh of Lucca argued that pus was bad for a wound.
- He began to use wine to disinfect wounds.
However, he did not succeed in overturning the dominant idea that pus was necessary for wounds to heal.

Mondino de Luzzi

In the 14th century, Mondino de Luzzi pioneered anatomy.
- He popularised dissection and wrote Anathomia which dominated medicine until the 16th century.

John of Arderne

Remembered as one of the most famous surgeons in Medieval England, John of Arderne established the ‘Guild of Surgeons’ in 1368.
He based his book, Practica, on his experiences in the war with France and his knowledge of Ancient Greek and Arab medicine.
Arderne created his own forms of painkillers from substances such as opium.

1Medicine in Medieval England

1.1Ideas about the Cause of Disease & Illness

1.1.1Supernatural & Religious Explanations

1.1.2Hippocrates

1.1.3Galen

1.1.4End of Topic Test - Ideas About Disease

1.1.5Exam-Style Questions - Hippocrates' Contribution

1.2Approaches to Prevention & Treatment

1.2.1Medieval 'Doctors'

1.2.2Medieval Surgery

1.3Case Study

1.3.1The Black Death

1.3.2End of Topic Test - Medieval treatment

1.3.3Grade 9 - Medieval Medicine

2The Medical Renaissance in England

2.1Ideas about the Cause of Disease & Illness

2.1.1Scientific Approach & Knowledge

2.2Approaches to Prevention & Treatment

2.2.1Changing Methods of Treatment

2.2.2Institutions & Technology

2.2.3Changes for Physicians, Surgeons & Hospitals

2.2.4Dissection & Vesalius

2.3Case Studies

2.3.1William Harvey & the Great Plague

2.3.2End of Topic Test - Medical Renaissance in England

2.3.3Grade 9 - The Medical Renaissance

3Medicine in 18th & 19th Century Britain

3.1Ideas about the Cause of Disease & Illness

3.1.1Germ Theory

3.1.2Koch & Pasteur's Vaccination

3.1.3Exam-Style Questions - Pasteur & Koch

3.2Approaches to Prevention & Treatment

3.2.1Improving Public Health

3.2.2Anaesthetics & Antiseptics

3.2.3Physicians, Surgeons & Nurses

3.2.4Exam-Style Questions - Nightingale's Contribution

3.3Case Studies

3.3.1Vaccination & Edward Jenner

3.3.2Fighting Cholera in London, 1854

3.3.3End of Topic Test - 18th & 19th Century Medicine

3.3.4Grade 9 - 18th & 19th Century Medicine

4Medicine in Modern Britain

4.1Modern Understanding of Disease

4.1.1Viruses & Bacteria

4.1.2New Diseases & Treatments in 20th C

4.1.3Diagnosing Disease

4.2Approaches to Prevention & Treatment

4.2.1Antibiotics

4.2.2New Treatments in the 20th Century

4.2.3New Approaches to Surgery & Prevention

4.2.4Social Changes in the Early 20th Century

4.2.5The NHS

4.2.6The NHS 2

4.3Case Studies

4.3.1Penicillin & Lung Cancer

4.3.2End of Topic Test - Modern Britain

4.3.3Grade 9 - Medicine in Modern Britain

5Treatment in WW1

5.1Medicine in WW1

5.1.1Trench Warfare

5.1.2The Impact of WW1

5.1.3Disease in the Trenches

5.1.4End of Topic Test- Treatment in WW1

5.1.5Grade 9 - Treatment in WW1

5.1.6Exam-Style Questions - Role of War on Medicine

6Themes in Medicine

6.1Themes in Medicine over Time

6.1.1The Role of Individuals

6.1.2Institutions - Government

6.1.3Institutions - The Church

6.1.4Science & Technology

6.1.5Attitudes in Society

6.1.6End of Topic Test -Themes in Medicine

6.1.7Grade 9 - Themes in Medicine

6.1.8Exam-Style Questions - Attitudes to Illness

7Some Extra Context (Not Compulsory for Exam)

7.1Medieval Medicine

7.1.1Islamic Advances in Medieval Medicine

7.1.2End of Topic Test - Extra Content

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