Medical Practice In Medieval Times Essay

2030 words - 8 pages

The practice of medicine in medieval times played a very important role in society. The communities and civilizations would not have survived without the treatments that were offered. In order to have kept the population going, medicine was required. The population might have been much smaller, or even tanked without the hope of these medicines in certain cases. If the Black Death had not occurred, most of the advancements in medicine would not have taken place. While this was a devastating event in history and a misery for all of the people affected, it led the way to many new improvements in medicine. Medical recipes were developed which used the resources they had available to create relief for some of the illnesses that affected people at that time and which we still have today. The medical issues that could not be cured with the herbs and resources they had available required surgery. Compared to modern surgeries, medieval surgeries were very different. Surgery was only performed if it was the last resort and there was no other option. They had to use poisonous resources, which could be extremely dangerous. Today, we take for granted the opportunities we have with surgery, and if we need it there is sometimes no thinking twice, as in the case of someone who gets plastic surgery to change the appearance of a part of the body. Although these practices may seem like they have no affect on where we have advanced to today, they in fact do. Without the practice of medieval medical recipes and surgical practices, the medical world would not be where it is today.
Because of the occurrence of the Black Death, advancements in medicine were made that helped us to be where we are today in the medical field. The Black Death first began in India, then spread to Tharsis, then to the Saracens, and lastly to the Christians and Jews. This plague travelled at a very fast rate, quickly getting to more and more places and spreading the disease to more and more of the population. It was transported by fleas that were carried by rats or other animals. Because these animals were so small, they were able to fit through the small open cracks in buildings and homes more easily than large animals and were able to easily spread the fleas. If this event happened in modern times, I think that there would be a vaccine that people could get so that they would be immune to the plague. Also, today homes and public places are more sanitary and people are very concerned with making sure that sanitary conditions are followed. The symptoms started off with a fever and being unable to keep food down. The most visible symptom was that the sick were covered in black boils that oozed blood and pus and hence “The Black Death.” If someone had these symptoms today, they would be in the hospital under treatment, and would be given medicine that would probably be very effective in fighting the disease and would most likely get rid of the illness. The medical practices we have today,...

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