Elizabethan medicine. Bubonic plague (Black Death) Smallpox. Sewage. Clean water. Operations. Relay race cards

Transcription

1 Relay race cards Bubonic plague (Black Death) The bubonic plague was a painful disease, with black buboes, or swellings, in the groin and armpits, which lasted up to a week. There was some chance of surviving if the buboes burst. The death rate was 50% of the population. Smallpox This disease called puss filled scabs that left deep scars and caused excess bleeding. It was very contagious and was passed through contaminated water and bodily fluids. There was no cure for it. Sewage There were big open sewers that ran through the streets. Many people threw their waste straight out of their windows! The sewers ran into pits, which overflowed in bad weather. This spread diseases like cholera, which cause extreme diarrhoea. Many people died from this disease. Clean water Houses did not have piped water. People had to collect water from wells or pumps. Sewage waste often ran into the water supply in bad weather, which spread disease. Operations There were no anaesthetics to kill pain in the Elizabethan era. This meant that operations were extremely painful and often resulted in the death of the patient from shock, blood loss or infection Page 1 of 5

2 Lack of medical knowledge There were no antibiotics in the Elizabethan era. People did not understand that germs spread disease and could be found in unclean environments. Infection and disease spread very quickly after surgery was performed. Beliefs Most physicians believed in the theory of the Four Humours, created by an Ancient Greek doctor called Galen. They believed that illness was caused by the imbalance of the Four Humours. This could be corrected by treatments such as blood-letting (opening a vein and letting it bleed out) or purging (making them sick or using laxatives)! Poor diets Elizabethan people did not understand the importance of a healthy, balanced diet. Many people drank beer and ale instead of water, because unclean water held bacteria which spread diseases, like dysentery. The rich ate few fresh vegetables and little fresh fruit. Fruit was usually served in pies or was preserved in honey. Food items which came from the ground were only considered fit for the poor. Astrology At this time, physicians believed that they could decide when patients should be treated by studying the stars. The moon was considered very important in making decisions about surgery or blood-letting Page 2 of 5

3 Speed dating cards Physician Name: Ambroise Pare You have been educated at university. It took 14 years for you to become a qualified physician. Only wealthy people ask for your help, your treatments are very expensive. Your usual fee would be a gold coin worth 10 shillings well beyond the means of most Elizabethans. You look down on surgeons, they are unskilled barbers who shouldn t be allowed to practice medicine! You have recently encouraged more physicians to use ligatures, which help stop bleeding by tying thread around a wound. Surgeon Name: William Clowes You are a barber-surgeon. You have not been educated at university, all of your learning has happened as an apprentice, shadowing your boss, where you trained as a barber first. It makes sense that barbers are trained to cut hair, so why shouldn t you be able to cut off limbs as well?! As well as some amputations, you are really only allowed to pull teeth or let blood. You think that physicians are expensive time-wasters. You are a member of the Barber-Surgeons' Company and have even attended to some of Queen Elizabeth s friends! Apothecary Name: John Gerard You are a member of the Grocer's Guild. You sell sweets, cosmetics and perfumes, as well as drugs. You make remedies from herbs, plants and roots, for all sorts of illnesses such as using liquorice to help cure pneumonia and mint for stomach aches. You prepare medicines for physicians, but sell your own too. You give free advice and only charge a small amount for the remedies that you sell, so most people can afford them Page 3 of 5

4 Midwife Name: Wise woman You assist women during childbirth. Women are not allowed to go to university, so this is the only area of medicine that you are allowed to practice. You also create remedies using herbs. You are often the first person contacted by poor people in need of help. Your remedies are very cheap, sometimes you do not charge money but trade or swap belongings as payment. You think it is extremely unfair that women are not allowed to have an education. Priest Name: Friar John You provide comfort for the sick and dying in their homes. You help them pray and read them their last rites. You support families in their time of need. You work very closely with apothecaries. Many priests actually work as apothecaries themselves Page 4 of 5

5 Teaching notes These tasks are aimed at KS3 students. Task 1: Relay race Divide the class into teams of 3 or 4. Each team should nominate a scribe. The rest of the team are runners. At one end of the classroom, place copies of the cards from pp.1-2. Against the clock (3 minutes works well), each runner must run to the cards, read and absorb some information, then return to the scribe and relay what they ve found. The winning team is the one which collects and records the most information in the given time. This can be followed up with a brief class discussion of what the students found surprising/concerning about medicine in this period. Task 2: Speed dating Distribute the role cards from pp.3-4 aim to have roughly the same number of students taking each role. Students should familiarise themselves with their character s traits. They should then find someone playing each of the other roles and ask them: Who are they? What education do they have? What treatments do they provide? What is their opinion on medicine and surgery? Are their treatments expensive? Page 5 of 5