Since my last post, a lot of my time has been spent revising for my AS exams, however I have managed to achieve a few of my objectives:
~I have gathered materials for research - one particular book has been useful; The Hamlyn History of Medicine.
~I have identified key issues I would like to write about; firstly obstetrics and midwifery in the ancient world (as birth and difficulties with birth are truly ancient and universal issues); secondly the anceint greek beliefs about the four humours (It should be noted that these beliefs lasted right into the eighteenth century, and it would be interesting to see whether, despite the objections we take at face value, there might be any basis to the ideas.); thirdly the implications that the climates of Ancient Greece, Rome and Egypt may have had on the medical advances (I was inspired by the tragedy of Vesuvius, and interested to see what was learnt from the first classically recorded volcano. Equally, the heat must have been difficlut to cope with in Ancient Egypt, and all around the Roman Empire there was a vast network of trade routes - sea voyages and long distance journies have medical implications.)
During the Easter holiday I went to the Pompeii Exhibition at the British Museum, where I noticed a set of brass surgical tools found in the ashes of Vesuvius. I have decided to use include this in my project, as it shows how the Ancient Roman surgeons operated, and also how little the tools of surgery have changed in 2000 years.
Unfortunately, research for my extended project might have to take a back seat for a while as, obviously at the moment my priority is to revise for my AS exams. So my target for half term will be to have researched Hippocrates and Ancient Egypt in as much detail as possible during the exam period.
