Medieval Medicine (1250-1500)

Medieval medicine was dominated by supernatural and religious beliefs that shaped every aspect of healthcare. The Church controlled medical knowledge, teaching that God caused illness and only approving treatments that aligned with ancient Greek theories. Monks were the only ones allowed to write about medicine, which severely limited progress.

The Four Humours theory explained illness as an imbalance of blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile in the body. Doctors used the Theory of Opposites to treat patients - if you had too much cold, wet phlegm, you'd eat hot peppers to balance it out. Many also believed astrology influenced health, with star alignment affecting when people fell ill.

Healthcare was provided by different groups with varying skills. Physicians were university-trained but expensive, so only wealthy people could afford them. Barber surgeons performed amputations without formal training, whilst apothecaries mixed medicines despite having no medical qualifications. Most sick people were cared for at home by female family members using herbal remedies.

Key Insight: Medieval hospitals were run by the Church and focused more on caring for travellers than treating disease - people with infectious diseases weren't even allowed in!

The Black Death (1348-1349) killed millions and showed how helpless medieval medicine was against epidemic disease. Treatments included praying, draining buboes (swollen lymph nodes), and bizarre remedies like hanging magpie beaks around your neck for toothaches.

Renaissance Medicine (1500-1700)

The Renaissance brought a scientific revolution that began challenging medieval beliefs, though change was slow and uneven. The Church's influence weakened as people started looking for rational explanations for disease, whilst new institutions like the Royal Society promoted scientific experiments and published findings through the printing press.

Andreas Vesalius transformed anatomy by performing human dissections and proving many of Galen's theories wrong. His detailed anatomical drawings, published across Europe, became the foundation for modern medical knowledge. William Harvey built on this work to discover the circulatory system, showing that the heart pumps blood around the body rather than blood being made in the liver.

Thomas Sydenham revolutionised diagnosis by observing patients directly instead of relying on ancient texts. He focused on detailed symptom analysis and treated diseases as complete conditions rather than just individual symptoms. This marked the beginning of modern clinical medicine.

Medical Breakthrough: The printing press meant medical knowledge could spread rapidly across Europe for the first time, reducing the Church's monopoly on information.

However, many medieval ideas persisted. The Four Humours theory remained popular, and during The Great Plague of 1665, people still used similar treatments to the Black Death. The government did introduce some new measures like quarantine and closing public spaces, showing early understanding of contagion.

Industrial Medicine (1700-1900)

The Industrial Revolution transformed medicine through scientific breakthroughs that laid the foundation for modern healthcare. Louis Pasteur's Germ Theory (1861) proved that germs cause disease, completely overturning the belief that illness came from bad air (miasma) or supernatural causes. Robert Koch developed this further by identifying specific microbes that cause particular diseases.

Edward Jenner pioneered vaccination after noticing that people who caught cowpox didn't get smallpox. Despite initial resistance from the public and medical establishment, vaccinations became compulsory by 1853 and eventually wiped out smallpox entirely by 1979.

Surgery was revolutionised by two major breakthroughs. Anaesthetics evolved from ineffective alcohol and opium to chloroform, finally allowing painless operations. Joseph Lister introduced antiseptic surgery using carbolic acid to kill germs, dramatically reducing death rates and enabling more complex procedures.

Hospital care improved significantly with Florence Nightingale leading reforms during the Crimean War. She emphasised hygiene, proper ventilation, and professional nurse training. The first GP practices opened in 1859, and specialist hospitals were built for mental health and infectious diseases.

Public Health Revolution: The 1875 Public Health Act forced local councils to provide clean water, sewers, and street lighting - finally recognising that government had a role in preventing disease.

The cholera outbreaks demonstrated both old and new thinking. While most blamed miasma, John Snow proved cholera spread through contaminated water by tracking cases to a specific water pump in London, pioneering modern epidemiology.

Modern Medicine (1900-Present)

Modern medicine has been revolutionised by genetic discoveries and advanced technology that would seem like magic to earlier doctors. Watson and Crick discovered DNA's double helix structure using x-ray crystallography, leading to the Human Genome Project that mapped every human gene by 1990.

Alexander Fleming's accidental discovery of penicillin in 1928 launched the antibiotic age. However, it wasn't until Florey and Chain proved its effectiveness in the 1940s that mass production began. The urgent need during World War II led to US government funding that made penicillin widely available, saving millions of lives.

Magic bullets marked another breakthrough - Paul Ehrlich's team developed Salvarsan 606 as the first chemical treatment targeting specific microbes. This concept evolved into modern targeted therapies for cancer and other diseases.

Technology Revolution: Modern diagnosis uses electron microscopes, MRI scans, blood tests, and genetic analysis to detect diseases at cellular and molecular levels.

Lifestyle factors now dominate health discussions. The link between smoking and lung cancer led to comprehensive prevention campaigns, advertising bans, and graphic warnings on cigarette packets. Treatment combines surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy with increasingly sophisticated techniques.

The NHS (1948) created universal healthcare access, whilst advanced surgical techniques like keyhole surgery and robotic operations have transformed patient outcomes. However, antibiotic resistance now threatens to undo some of these gains, showing that medical progress isn't always permanent.

Medicine on the Western Front (1914-1918)

World War I created unprecedented medical challenges that drove rapid innovation in trauma care and surgical techniques. The trench system created a complex battlefield where soldiers faced new types of injuries from machine guns, high-explosive shells, and poison gas attacks that doctors had never seen before.

The chain of evacuation efficiently moved wounded soldiers from the front line through stages of increasingly sophisticated care. Regimental Aid Posts provided immediate first aid, Field Ambulances offered emergency treatment, whilst Casualty Clearing Stations had experienced doctors performing life-saving surgery before patients reached Base Hospitals for recovery.

Trench conditions caused specific medical problems that required new solutions. Trench foot from waterlogged conditions often led to amputation, whilst trench fever from lice caused flu-like symptoms. Shell shock was poorly understood but recognised as a genuine medical condition requiring treatment near the front line when possible.

Medical innovations emerged from battlefield necessity. The Thomas Splint reduced death rates from leg fractures by over 80% by keeping the limb rigid during transport. Blood transfusions became practical when doctors discovered sodium nitrate prevented clotting, allowing blood storage in refrigeration.

Surgical Revolution: X-ray technology was adapted for battlefield use in mobile units, allowing doctors to locate shrapnel and bullets quickly, whilst plastic surgery developed to reconstruct facial injuries.

The RAMC (Royal Army Medical Corps) and FANY (First Aid Nursing Yeomanry) provided professional medical care and transport that saved countless lives. Antiseptic surgery was adapted for battlefield conditions through the Carrel-Dakin method, which used sterilised salt solution to clean infected wounds, though amputation remained the last resort for serious infections.