Changes from Ancient Greece:
The first public health system
Had a strong view on the vitality of clean water
Were strong about keeping their soldiers healthy
Galen 'the great' does not progress medicine
Worked more on preventing disease than curing it
The first public health system in our history was very successful, it provided clean water, places to clean and a sewage system. The romans recognised that in order to build a sustainable army it needed to be healthy, and so they built this incredible system that benefitted civilisation also. Architects designed structures like the aqueducts. Positive/NegativeSEWERS: carried away waste from houses, latrines and baths, but the problem was that the sewage was emptied into rivers, which people washed clothes in and drank out of.PIPES: made out of lead which gave many people lead poisoning. FOUNTAINS: provided washing and drinking water.AQUEDUCTS: transported fresh water.BATH-HOUSES: a place for washing, exercising, talking and business, the issue was that the water was only changed once a week after 5000 people had bathed in it. Sick people were encouraged to use to baths which meant that germs could be easily spread.LATRINES: waste from here was organised and then drained into the sewers, they could seat 20 people in one room, the downfall of this facility was that people shared sponges to clean themselves.
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Galen 'The Great'
Galen built upon ideas of Greek doctors like Hippocrates, he most famously developed The theory of the four humours and suggested that you should be treated with the opposite humours. He studied in Alexandria because his fathers death gave him the money to do so, and wrote 60 books. He examined, observed and recorded information. Galen was a gladiators doctor meaning that he could learn new ways the body could be injured and how to solve it. The main ideas ( he was correct about) were that the brain controlled the body, and the function of nerves. A particular experiment he used was by cutting the nerves of a pig, it squealed proving that the brain controlled the body- very cruel of him. Galen was very particular about the tools he used, this improved surgical tools. Galen's ideas were studied for a staggering 3000 years because the Church made him so influential and frowned upon people who challenged his work. Galen believed that every part of the body had a specific purpose, which fitted into the Churches beliefs about creationism. He was forbid to dissect on humans (except in Alexandria) due to religion so he mostly dissected animals which is why he made so many anatomical mistakes. He thought that blood was created in the liver. He realised that it flowed round the body, but said it was burned up as fuel for the muscles.He thought he saw holes through the septum, which allowed the blood to flow from one side of the heart to the other. He thought the human jaw-bone was made up of two bones, like a dog's. His ideas weren't challenged until the Renaissance.
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Question
Why was Galen such an influential doctor during and after the roman period? (6)-Why was his work forced on others-Who said his work shouldn't be challenged and why?-Advances he made in Roman medical knowledge
