Health, disease and society: Scottish influence in the 19th century

Introduction

This unit examines the roles of Scots who contributed to the comprehensive transformation of medicine in the nineteenth century. It begins by observing how laboratory practices led to improved techniques of medical diagnosis. This is followed by assessing how Scots contributed to the emerging collective identity of medical practitioners, as well as the improvements in licensing that led to reform of the medical professions. Many new developments in medical education also enabled women to qualify and practise medicine for the first time.

Finally, using many Scottish examples, the last section of this unit presents information about how healthcare institutions, namely asylums, were again influenced by social, economic, political and cultural contexts.

This unit is an adapted extract from the Open University course Medicine and society in Europe 1500-1930 (A218). [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)]