Medieval surgery
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can evaluate the extent of progress made in medieval surgery.
Key learning points
- Medieval surgery was performed by barber-surgeons.
- Bloodletting was the most common form of medieval surgery.
- Barber-surgeons also performed procedures such as pulling teeth, amputations and trepanning.
- Pain, infection and blood loss were major problems of surgery.
- Despite some helpful developments, the major problems of surgery were not overcome in the medieval period.
Keywords
Invasive - in this context, medical treatments which involve cutting into the body
Amputation - the cutting off of a part of the body
Trepanning - surgery which involved drilling a hole into the skull
Anaesthetic - a substance that makes you unable to feel pain
Cauterisation - the action of burning body tissue using heat to stop an injury from bleeding or getting infected
Common misconception
There was no change in medieval surgery.
New developments did occur, such as the use of opium as an anaesthetic and wine to use against infection, but the impact of these was limited.
Teacher tip
After reading through section E of the Additional Material, show pupils the image of an amputation from slide 26 again. Ask them to explain why there is a small fire with metal instruments in it shown on the right hand side and why the patient is shown being held down.
Content guidance
Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
Depiction or discussion of mental health issues
Supervision
Adult supervision required
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.What was the purpose of bloodletting?
Q2.What does the treatment of illness and disease involve?
Q3.Herbal remedies which included mint could be good for treating what conditions?
Q4.Complete the sentence. Pomanders were used to protect people from ...
Q5.Identify the examples of purging.
Q6.When did the Theory of Opposites recommend people eat peppers?
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Which surgical procedure involves cutting off part of a person's body?
Q2.How did medieval barber-surgeons train?
Q3.What was the most common medieval surgical procedure?
Q4.Which medieval surgeon recommended using wine to help fight infections?
Q5.Match each of the major problems with medieval surgery with the methods which were mainly used to try and manage them.
cauterisation
using wine on wounds
providing patients with opium
Q6.Which statement is most accurate about medieval surgery?
To help you plan your 10 history lesson on: Medieval surgery, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 10 history lesson on: Medieval surgery, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 4 history lessons from the Britain: Health and the people - c1000 to the present day unit, dive into the full secondary history curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.