Change and Continuity
Overall, what changed and what stayed the same during the Renaissance period?
| Changed | Continued |
|---|---|
| Individuals challenged old ideas and helped make progress in medicine. | Traditional ideas continued to influence medicine |
| Andreas Vesalius improved knowledge of anatomy by dissecting human bodies. This allowed him to prove that Galen was wrong, for example showing that the human jaw is made up of one bone, not two. | People still followed Hippocrates’ Theory of the Four Humours. |
| Ambroise Paré improved surgical treatment. He created a mixture of rose oil, egg white and turpentine to treat wounds instead of cauterising them. | Galen’s ideas based on animal dissections were still followed by many. |
| William Harvey discovered blood circulation, proving that the heart acts as a pump. | Religious beliefs were still very strong. People believed illness was caused by God, so they prayed, went on pilgrimages, and relied on care provided by monasteries. People continued to believe in the miasma theory. |
| In 1450, the printing press was invented and later arrived in Britain, so texts could be printed quickly and cheaply. | Treatments were based on superstition and herbal remedies, rather than scientific methods. |
| In 1660, the Royal Society was set up. | Living conditions were still poor. |
| In 1677, the microscope was invented. | Edward Jenner developed the smallpox vaccination. |
| During the Great Plague, the government took a more organised approach, including quarantining infected areas and stopping trade between towns to limit the spread. | During the Great Plague, people still believed it was a punishment from God. |
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