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Medicine Through TimeKey Facts

Key Evidence

Part of Medieval Ideas about Disease · GCSE GCSE History revision

This key facts covers Key Evidence within Medieval Ideas about Disease for GCSE History. Revise Medieval Ideas about Disease in Medicine Through Time for GCSE History with 8 exam-style questions and 15 flashcards. This topic appears regularly enough that it should still be part of a steady revision cycle. It is section 5 of 15 in this topic. Use this key facts to connect the idea to the wider topic before moving on to questions and flashcards.

Topic position

Section 5 of 15

Practice

8 questions

Recall

15 flashcards

📊 Key Evidence

FactorEvidence
Galen's InfluenceHis books were THE medical textbooks for 1,400 years. Questioning him was considered heresy.
Church ControlChurch ran universities and hospitals. Said Galen's work fitted with God's design — so it must be right.
No DissectionChurch banned cutting up human bodies. Galen had used animals (often wrong about human anatomy).
Why Believed?The Four Humours SEEMED logical. Doctors saw blood, phlegm, vomit. Bleeding DID make some patients feel different.

Keep building this topic

Read this section alongside the surrounding pages in Medieval Ideas about Disease. That gives you the full topic sequence instead of a single isolated revision point.

Other Medieval BeliefsWhy Did Medieval Medical Ideas Persist for So Long?Setting the SceneThe Four Humours Theory

Practice Questions for Medieval Ideas about Disease

According to the Four Humours theory, what caused illness?

  • A. Germs entering the body through the air
  • B. God punishing sinners for their wrongdoing
  • C. An imbalance of the four humours in the body
  • D. Evil spirits possessing the patient's blood
1 markfoundation

Why did Galen often make mistakes about human anatomy?

  • A. He lived before any scientific instruments had been invented
  • B. He based his human anatomy on dissecting animals, not human bodies
  • C. He refused to examine patients and only worked from books
  • D. He rejected the Four Humours theory used by other doctors
1 markfoundation

Quick Recall Flashcards

What was miasma?
The belief that disease was caused by "bad air" or smells from rotting matter
What was uroscopy?
Examining a patient's urine — its colour, smell, clarity, and taste — to diagnose disease. A standard medieval diagnostic technique based on humour theory.

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Other Medieval Beliefs

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Why Did Medieval Medical Ideas Persist for So Long?