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Pharmaceuticals and medicines in the 1500s and 1600s. What were they like for people who were sick? What were the expectations of people in pirate areas? This information comes from the https://eurohistorymed.weebly.com/ web site and gives us an insight into what was available, what people thought and the beliefs of the causes of sickness at the time, and the changes in the medical profession during this time:SEVENTEENTH CENTURY In the 1600s the plague was still reappearing and still caused fear among the people of Europe. One important account of it was The Great Plague in London in 1665. In July of 1665 the plague was back in London and as the temperatures rose, so did the deaths. There was a rumor that spread saying that stray dogs and cats were the cause of the spread of this disease. The people took this into account and killed the stray dogs and cats, which actually made things worse because this caused the rat populations to increase. Victims of the plague had a red cross across the front door of their homes to warn others to stay away. In the 1500s medicine was still still limited and just beginning to be explored. There was still little knowledge about surgeries or effective ways of treatment. Free thought was still restrained because the church restricted certain ideas and practices that they deemed unholy. Surgeries and dissections were often preformed on criminals, who were sometimes completely conscious during the procedure. Many of the new age thinkers during the 1500s, such as Galileo and Copernicus were punished for their new scientific discoveries that strayed from the church and traditional ideas. As the 1600s approached so did a new age of thinking that allowed more free thought than ever before. The Enlightenment was a movement that encouraged discovery through experience rather than superstition. There was more of a focus on improving the quality of life for humanity rather than living for the approval of intangible gods. People began exploring rational ways of thinking that could be explained by the universe and through the material world. The Enlightenment changed the way people thought and perceived life whereas the Scientific Revolution changed the way people did things and learned. As people began gaining knowledge through observation and experimenting, techniques improved and surgeries and procedures were not as gruesome as they were in the past. Also hospitals were becoming more of a common standard.Scientific RevolutionTowards the end of the sixteenth century the Scientific Revolution was just beginning. Prior to the Scientific Revolution most medical procedures were based on superstition and religious beliefs rather than reason and experience. As the age of enlightenment came around many people were more open to exploring and experiencing the world around them. Enlightenment thinkers all shared a common interest in social reform and improving the quality of life. Medicine was changed as people assimilated into the age of reason. Theories were now beginning to be backed up with evidence and rational thought as more discoveries were made. Alchemists dropped their beliefs in mystical healers and remedies and became chemists and physicists who developed effective medical treatments. With a new embrace of the scientific community through groups like, The Royal Society of England medicine was being tirelessly researched. Many rulers acknowledged that being advanced in the sciences brought prestige and glory to their country. New Discoveries William Harvey's discovery of blood circulation and blood being pumped by the heart made him a notable enlightened thinker of his time. He also discovered the proper place to put a tourniquet in order to stop an arm from bleeding. Harvey influenced other physicians and philosophers, such as Richard Lower and Robert Hooke who conducted their own experiments on the circulation of blood. They discovered that when blood passes through the lung it picks up something that turns the color bright red (in the next century it is proven to be oxygen). Richard Lower was also the first to perform a blood transfusion, first between animals. In 1665 the Royal Society also conducted experiments with blood transfusing between dogs. They joined the artery of one of the dogs to the vein of the other and then tried transferring the blood. Their experiment ended up killing the larger dog who's artery was connected to the vein, while the smaller one seemed to be completely fine. One other interesting case of blood transfusion occurred in 1667 in Paris when one of Louis XIV's physicians preformed a blood transfusion between a young man and lamb. The boy had been weakened by too much blood-letting, so the doctor inserted about a half a pint of lamb blood into his veins. Reports have said that the man's condition actually improved and the transfusion was a success.Hooke utilized the newly invented microscope to discover microscopic matter known to be red blood cells and bacteria. Marcello Malpighi was another person who made use of the microscope. He used it to examine organs, such as the liver, brain, skin, spleen and the structure of the liver. Malpighi was the first scientist to observe the capillaries, which are tiny blood vessels that circulate through the flesh. Common DiseasesFewer cases of the plagueTuberculosis was a rising killerMalaria Typhus Body Lice SyphilisScarlet Fever Most diseases were caused by poor sanitation/hygiene, lack of vitamins, exploration and inability to get medical attention. The poor were still often restricted from receiving treatments or medical help.Treatments during the 1500s and 1600s were still just beginning to be researched and experimentedMedicines were now being based on chemistry rather than myths and superstition Reforms were in the progress of being established The Scientific Revolution changed the way people studied new information and how they understood the body Experiments helped physicians understand the body and how the different parts interacted, which would help them later develop proper treatments.New discoveries such as, blood transfusion would later help the development of other discoveries