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History Quiz - Medicine: Medical Renaissance In The Early Modern Period (Questions)

In GCSE History students will examine the world of medicine and the advancements that have been made over time. The Renaissance, the early part of the modern era, is one period that will be looked at.

The Renaissance saw a revival of interest in the thought of the ancient world on medicine. Renaissance figures, like Vesalius and Pare, took the example of Galen, who stressed the role of dissection, as part of the importance of observation and experimentation. These were indeed the early days of the modern, scientific era.

Learn more about medicine in the early part of the modern era in this informative quiz.

1. Which Ancient Greek figure, famous for the oath taken by all qualifying doctors, was studied and admired during the Renaissance?
[ ] Hippocrates
[ ] Galen
[ ] Pericles
[ ] Socrates
2. Which medical researcher from the Low Countries studied at the University of Padua, and then became physician to the Emperor Charles V?
[ ] Pare
[ ] Vesalius
[ ] Harvey
[ ] Jenner
3. What form of treatment for war wounds had Pare pioneered?
[ ] Cauterisation with boiling oil
[ ] Ligating arteries following amputation
[ ] Amputation followed by herbal remedies on the stump
[ ] Sucking the remaining gunpowder poison from the stump, then bandaging
4. To which group of medical practitioners did Pare belong?
[ ] The Guild of Medical Practitioners
[ ] The College of Physicians
[ ] The Royal Guild of Physicians
[ ] The Guild of Barber Surgeons
5. William Harvey, famous for his discovery of the circulation of the blood, was associated with a major London teaching hospital when he had finished his university studies. Which hospital was this?
[ ] Guy's
[ ] St. Bartholomew's
[ ] St. Thomas's
[ ] Chelsea
6. Harvey became physician to two English kings. The list of monarchs below features one of them. Which one?
[ ] Henry VII
[ ] James I
[ ] Henry VIII
[ ] Charles II
7. Scrofula, a skin disease that was believed to be curable by contact with an anointed monarch, could be treated with more orthodox remedies if the "Royal Touch" failed. What was the usual alternative treatment?
[ ] Bandaging
[ ] Herbal remedies
[ ] Burning of the skin
[ ] Scraping the loose skin
8. Quacks were a familiar feature of the Early Modern period. What alternative word was used to describe those who peddled doubtful medicines and treatment?
[ ] Fraudsters
[ ] Charlatans
[ ] Witch doctors
[ ] Dupers
9. It was very difficult for women to break into medicine, especially as universities were barred to them. What one role from this list of four could women undertake?
[ ] Midwife
[ ] Medical porter
[ ] Pharmacist
[ ] Almoner
10. Edward Jenner, from Gloucestershire, noticed that girls working in a particular profession did not catch smallpox. Which group was this?
[ ] Shepherdesses
[ ] Grooms
[ ] Dairy maids
[ ] Cattle herds

You can find more about this topic by visiting BBC Bitesize - Changes in health and medicine, c.1340 to the present day

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History Quiz - Medicine: Medical Renaissance In The Early Modern Period (Answers)
1. Which Ancient Greek figure, famous for the oath taken by all qualifying doctors, was studied and admired during the Renaissance?
[x] Hippocrates
[ ] Galen
[ ] Pericles
[ ] Socrates
In the oath, aspiring medics pledge that they will do everything possible to save life
2. Which medical researcher from the Low Countries studied at the University of Padua, and then became physician to the Emperor Charles V?
[ ] Pare
[x] Vesalius
[ ] Harvey
[ ] Jenner
He was also keen on dissection, and left his carefully assembled skeleton to the University of Basel
3. What form of treatment for war wounds had Pare pioneered?
[ ] Cauterisation with boiling oil
[x] Ligating arteries following amputation
[ ] Amputation followed by herbal remedies on the stump
[ ] Sucking the remaining gunpowder poison from the stump, then bandaging
Pare specialised in military medicine, particularly during the Italian Wars
4. To which group of medical practitioners did Pare belong?
[ ] The Guild of Medical Practitioners
[ ] The College of Physicians
[ ] The Royal Guild of Physicians
[x] The Guild of Barber Surgeons
Pare was able to spread his discoveries through his membership of this community
5. William Harvey, famous for his discovery of the circulation of the blood, was associated with a major London teaching hospital when he had finished his university studies. Which hospital was this?
[ ] Guy's
[x] St. Bartholomew's
[ ] St. Thomas's
[ ] Chelsea
Here Harvey conducted further research at the centre of government and patronage
6. Harvey became physician to two English kings. The list of monarchs below features one of them. Which one?
[ ] Henry VII
[x] James I
[ ] Henry VIII
[ ] Charles II
Royal patronage was, for a surgeon or physician, truly a feather in his cap
7. Scrofula, a skin disease that was believed to be curable by contact with an anointed monarch, could be treated with more orthodox remedies if the "Royal Touch" failed. What was the usual alternative treatment?
[ ] Bandaging
[x] Herbal remedies
[ ] Burning of the skin
[ ] Scraping the loose skin
This was a serious dermatological condition, for which traditional treatments continued to be used
8. Quacks were a familiar feature of the Early Modern period. What alternative word was used to describe those who peddled doubtful medicines and treatment?
[ ] Fraudsters
[x] Charlatans
[ ] Witch doctors
[ ] Dupers
These characters were unlikely to have gone to university
9. It was very difficult for women to break into medicine, especially as universities were barred to them. What one role from this list of four could women undertake?
[x] Midwife
[ ] Medical porter
[ ] Pharmacist
[ ] Almoner
Many women working in medicine were nuns, devoted to healing the sick
10. Edward Jenner, from Gloucestershire, noticed that girls working in a particular profession did not catch smallpox. Which group was this?
[ ] Shepherdesses
[ ] Grooms
[x] Dairy maids
[ ] Cattle herds
Jenner was intrigued by their immunity to infection, and eventually he found out what caused it