Medieval Medicine In The Middle Ages

Medieval medicine, an oxymoronic statement, was rife with corruption and malpractice and was

quite possibly one of the worst medical catastrophes in history. The Middle Ages was an

interesting time for medicine. Doctors knew very little in the way of medicine. Their knowledge

was sparse due to the of the lack of technology and no way to see into the body without killing or

causing great harm to the patient.They were in high demand due to the diseases that plagued the

Medieval Age. Plenty of diseases were caused by lack of hygiene.

Most of what medical lore they had was based on faith and religion. Some medieval doctors

thought that if someone was sick that it was a punishment from God for sinful behavior. Even a

simple headache
There was the use of Boar Bile

Enemas. This involved an enema of Boar bile pumped into the colon to rid the unfortunate soul of

all his or her fluids. Even King Louis XIV participated in this procedure. The effects were

unpleasant, yet the patient did not die, nor was he healed.

There are countless other methods the physicians used which were quite painful.

Trepanning is one of those painful methods used.Trepanning, or trephining, is a surgery in which a

hole is drilled into the human skull, down the dura mater, to treat diseases that are found inside

the skull such as mental disorders and seizures. (6) The patients often kept the piece of bone that

was taken out of their skull and wore it as a charm to ward off evil spirits. Trepanning can be

traced back all the way to the stone age. The doctors also performed eye cataract surgery.

Cataract surgery was when a sharp,skinny object was inserted into the patient's cornea to force

out the cataract. It was an unpleasant time to be a patient, but if they valued their life, they had no