Science and Medicine of Shakespeare's Time

May 22. 2000

From the late 15th century, a Renaissance, or re-birth of interest in the sciences, spread from Italy through Europe. A re-discovery of ancient Greek and Roman texts was combined with a new approach to the study of science. Before the Renaissance, there was no scientific study and no scientific instruments, so there was mostly guesswork. There were many different methods of medicine in Shakespeare's time; some lasted until today, while others were proven wrong by the many breakthroughs of the time.

At the beginning of the sixteenth century, many surgical and medical treatments had not changed for hundreds of years. The main method of stopping a wound from bleeding was to cauterize or seal it with a hot iron. Ambroise ParŽ made his discovered by chance. One day he ran out of hot oil on the battlefield, so he used a method of his own, a mixture of oils, which sealed the wound and provided relief from the pain. Many other views, such as Galen's, that blood was continually being made and used, were believed. William Harvey announced his discovery that blood circulated around the body in 1616. Harvey proved that there was a fixed amount of blood which was pumped around the body by the heart. He also showed that blood flowed in one direction only. A more detailed view of the body led to other discoveries, such as by Thomas Syndenham, a physician from England, who made accurate and detailed descriptions of disease. This opposed the idea that disease was caused by imbalance of humours, as believed by Hippocrates. In 1680 Francesco Redi, a biologist from Italy, proved that there was no spontaneous generation. Spontaneous generation was the belief that life was created through God's will from non-living things.

The Scientific Method was needed to start many of the advances made during the Renaissance. The Scientific Method is a way of thinking and researching that developed in Europe in the 16th century. The method is a process by which scientists and doctors acquire knowledge. Instead of explaining events and diseases by guesswork or the supernatural, scientists began to look for explanations in what they could see around them. One of the most influential instruments in the advancement of science and medicine was the microscope. Before the microscope, doctors and scientists could only see with the naked eye. One of the earliest microscopes was invented by Robert Hooke, an English scientist. In 1500, the most important books used in the training of doctors were those written by Claudius Galen. Galen's theories were challenged by Andreas Vesalius, He was a professor of anatomy at Padua University in Italy. Vesalius believed that the dissection of bodies was necessary if doctors were to find out how bodies worked. In 1543, Vesalius wrote the first major book about anatomy, The Fabric of the Human Body.

There were many old methods that were proven wrong by new breakthroughs. One of them was cauterizing. Cauterizing was a method of burning a wound with an iron or hot oil to stop the bleeding and prevent infection. This was proven wrong by Ambroise ParŽ, by his idea of applying an ointment and allowing the wound to heal naturally. Before the Renaissance, people believed many theories backed by religion and guesswork. Spontaneous generation was the belief that life was created from non-living matter. In 1624, Francesco Redi proved that there was more to new life than God's word. Hippocrates, a Greek physician, is known as the father of medicine. Until the Renaissance, he was the authority on medicine. He believed that disease was the result of an imbalance of the humours. Galen, a Greek physician who also was a leading force in medicine before the Renaissance, claimed the body worked by three types of spirit: natural spirit, located in the liver, vital spirit, located in the left ventricle of the heart, and animal spirit, located in the brain.

During the Renaissance, scientists and physicians discovered many new methods for studying the human body. They proved many old methods to be wrong by study instead of guesswork. Physicians could explore the human body to prove their theories and ideas. They were also able not only to explore the body by what they could see with their eyes, but also to use the microscope and other tools to explore things further. They could also spread their ideas and views because of widespread printing. Because of these advancements, diseases could be understood and treated more scientifically after the Renaissance.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Books:

World Book Encyclopedia. article on Medicine. 1994.

Roberts, J.M. A Concise History of the World. Oxford, Oxford, 1993.

Shakespeare, William. The Complete Works. Oxford, Oxford, 1988.

Web Sites:

The BBC: Medicine Through Time
http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/medicine/nonint/home.shtml

Duke University History of Science
http://www2.mc.duke.edu/misc/MLA/HHSS/histlink.htm

University of Alabama at Birmingham Medical History
http://www.anes.uab.edu/medhist.htm

University of Michigan Historical Center for the Health Sciences
http://www.med.umich.edu:80/HCHS/

University of Victoria Shakespeare Site
http://web.uvic.ca/shakespeare/Annex/ShakSites1.html