Health and Wellness in the Renaissance and Enlightenment (Health and Wellness in Daily Life)

Examining a 300-year period that encompasses the Scientific Revolution, this engrossing book offers a fresh and clearly organized discussion of the human experience of health, medicine, and health care, from the Age of Discovery to the era of the French Revolution. Health and Wellness in the Renaissance and Enlightenment compares and contrasts health care practices of various cultures from around the world during the vital period from 1500 to 1800. These years, which include the Age of Discovery and the Scientific Revolution, were a period of rapid advance of both science and medicine. New drugs were developed and new practices, some of which stemmed from increasingly frequent contact between various cultures, were initiated. Examining the medical systems of Europe, Asia, Africa, and the colonial world, this comprehensive study covers a wide array of topics including education and training of medical professionals and the interaction of faith, religion, and medicine. The book looks specifically at issues related to women's health and the health of infants and children, at infectious diseases and occupational and environmental hazards, and at brain and mental disorders. Chapters also focus on advances in surgery, dentistry, and orthopedics, and on the apothecary and his pharmacopoeia. Cover 1 Half-title 3 Title 5 Copyright 6 Contents 7 Series Foreword 11 1. Factors in Early Modern Health and Medicine 13 Factors in Individual Health and Well-Being 13 The Early Modern World 17 Societal Factors in Health and Medicine 21 2. Education and Training: Learned and Nonlearned 29 Western Traditions 29 Early Modern Mexicans 36 African Slaves in the Caribbean 38 The Chinese 42 3. Religion and Medicine 49 The Expanding Christian World 50 Africans at Home and Enslaved 54 Religion and Medicine among the Aztecs 57 Ming and Qing China 59 4. Women’s Health and Medicine 63 The Aztecs 63 Caribbean Slaves 66 The Chinese 66 The Europeans 71 5. Infants and Children 81 They Are Born: Neonatal and Infant Health 82 Hazards to Older Children’s Health and Lives 86 European Institutions of Child Care 90 6. Infectious Diseases 97 Background 97 The Continuing Saga: Fleas, Rats, and Plague 99 Mosquitoes, Malaria, and Yellow Fever 102 Filth and Parasites: Typhus and Dysentery 105 When the Air Is Deadly: Smallpox, Influenza, and Measles 108 Waterborne Diseases: Cholera and Typhoid Fever 112 When Sex Needed Drugs: Syphilis and Other Venereal Diseases 113 7. Environmental and Occupational Hazards 117 Environmental Hazards 117 Occupational Hazards 123 8. Surgeons and Surgery 133 The Aztecs 134 The Chinese 135 The Islamic World 137 The Europeans 140 9. Mental and Emotional Health and Disorders 151 The Aztecs 152 Caribbean Slaves 154 The Chinese 155 The Turks and Persians 158 The Europeans 159 10. Apothecaries and Their Pharmacopeias 171 Types of Materia Medica 172 Early Modern Dispensers of Medicinal Materials and Their Sources 174 The Worldwide Pharmacopeia 182 11. War, Health, and Medicine 195 The Aztec Way of War 197 Europeans at War 199 Care for the Wounded and Veterans 208 War within the House of Islam 210 12. Medical Institutions 213 The Chinese 213 The Islamic World 215 The Europeans 219 European Institutions Abroad 227 13. Healing and the Arts 233 The Visual Arts 233 Doctors in Dramas and Novels 238 Medicine in Poetry 242 Glossary 249 Bibliography 251 Index 265 About the Author 281 Factors In Early Modern Health And Wellness -- Education And Training : Learned And Non-learned -- Religion And Medicine -- Women's Health And Medicine -- Infants And Children -- Infectious Diseases -- Environmental And Occupational Hazards -- Surgeons And Surgery -- Mental And Emotional Health And Disorders -- Apothecaries And Their Pharmacopeias -- War, Health, And Medicine -- Medical Institutions -- Healing And The Arts. Joseph P. Byrne. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 239-252) And Index.