ReviseRush logoREVISERUSH

AQA GCSE History

AQA option: Britain — Health and the People, c1000 to present — AQA GCSE History revision

Free revision notes, key terms, common exam traps and 5 practice questions with answers. About 8 minutes to read.

Medieval and Renaissance medicine

  • Medieval ideas were dominated by Galen, the Four Humours and supernatural explanations; treatments included bleeding, purging, herbal remedies and prayer. The Church preserved learning but discouraged challenge to Galen.
  • Public health was poor in towns, though monasteries had clean water and latrines. The Black Death (1348-49) was explained by miasma, God and astrology, and 'treated' by flagellation and herbs.
  • The Renaissance brought Vesalius (anatomy), Paré (surgery, ligatures) and Harvey (circulation of the blood) — knowledge improved before treatment did.

Industrial breakthroughs

  • Jenner's smallpox vaccination (1796) worked without understanding why; Pasteur's germ theory (1861) and Koch's identification of specific microbes finally explained disease.
  • Surgery improved through anaesthetics (ether, chloroform) and antiseptics (Lister's carbolic acid), later aseptic operating theatres — but early on, painless surgery increased death rates.
  • Public health improved with Chadwick's report, Snow's cholera work at the Broad Street pump, the 1848 and decisive 1875 Public Health Acts and Bazalgette's London sewers.

Key terms

Four Humours
Galen's theory that health depended on balancing blood, phlegm and the two biles.
Miasma
The belief that bad air caused disease.
Germ theory
Pasteur's proof that microbes cause disease.
Antiseptic
A substance killing germs during surgery, e.g. carbolic acid.
Aseptic surgery
Keeping germs out of the operating theatre entirely.
Magic bullet
A chemical drug targeting a specific microbe.

Common exam traps

  • Saying Jenner understood how vaccination worked — he did not; germ theory came later.
  • Confusing antiseptic (killing germs during surgery) with aseptic (preventing them entering).
  • Claiming the 1848 Public Health Act was compulsory — it was largely permissive; 1875 was the decisive one.

Practice questions with answers

  1. 1. Whose ideas dominated medieval medicine?

    • • Pasteur
    • • Galen
    • • Lister
    • • Koch

    Answer: Galen

    Galen's theories were protected by the Church for centuries.

  2. 2. Miasma theory claimed disease was caused by:

    • • Microbes
    • • Bad air
    • • The humours
    • • Contaminated water only

    Answer: Bad air

    It persisted until germ theory replaced it.

  3. 3. Name one Renaissance figure and their contribution.

    Answer: Vesalius (anatomy), Paré (ligatures) or Harvey (circulation)

    Renaissance advances improved knowledge more than treatment.

  4. 4. Jenner's 1796 breakthrough concerned:

    • • Anaesthetics
    • • Smallpox vaccination
    • • Penicillin
    • • Sewers

    Answer: Smallpox vaccination

    He used cowpox to protect against smallpox.

  5. 5. Explain why germ theory was so important.

    Answer: It proved microbes cause disease, allowing targeted prevention, antiseptics and vaccines instead of guesswork

    It changed the direction of all later medicine.

Keep going in the app

This topic has 52 questions in total, plus flashcards, cram mode and Grade 9 Push challenges.

Open the full topic Quick-fire quiz

More free History revision

ReviseRush is an independent educational revision aid. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to AQA, Edexcel, OCR, WJEC, Pearson or any exam board. All notes and questions are original. Always check content against your official course and specification. No grade outcome is guaranteed.