Medieval Superstitions & Medicine

Use the following websites to start your research:

1. http://listverse.com/2014/03/03/10-completely-uncanny-superstitions-from-the-middle-ages/
2. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/8913709/Tony-Robinson-on-the-top-fivesuperstitions-that-gripped-medieval-Britain.html
3. http://www.stylist.co.uk/life/13-strange-superstitions
4. http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/health_and_medicine_in_medieval_.htm
5. http://listverse.com/2013/07/31/10-bizarre-medieval-medical-practices/
6. https://www.aimseducation.edu/blog/medieval-medical-practices-still-use-today/
After skimming the websites above, choose the 1 superstition AND the 1 medical
practice that intrigue you the MOST. Continue your narrowed research to learn the
specific details of each. Compile a list of at least 10 facts about each. Bookmark the
website(s) where you found your information on your Pearltrees account.
Superstition: Vampires

With several hundred years of their presence among us, vampires managed to
inspire people into creation of many legendary tales, works of art and
explanations how can they really walk among us. From such abundance of
information, we extracted some of the most important facts about vampires that
you need to know.
A Real Disease Causes Vampire Like Symptoms
Vampires Have No Reflection
A vampire's prey automatically becomes a vampire
Vampires don't show up like normal people on camera or in mirrors
Sunlight burns vampires
Vampires' souls are as dead as their bodies
Vampires must sustain themselves on the blood of the living
Vampires are immortal
Vampires can have sex

Title of Website: http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/separating-myths-fromfacts-in-vampire-the-requiem.html

Medical Practice: Trepanning

The practice was believed to alleviate pressure and treat health problems
localized within the head, though it was also thought to cure epilepsy, migraines,
and mental disorders and were a common fix for more physical problems such
as skull fractures.
Needless to say, such exposure of the brain to airborne germs would often be
fatal.
It was the first recorded form of surgery
Trepan is the instrument used for making a hole in the skull bone
It was performed as recently as 2000 when two men in the US used it to treat a
woman suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome and depression.
Additionally surgeons point out that the risks of blood clots, brain injuries from
drilling too deep, and infections outweigh the unproven benefits of trepanation.
It is estimated that between 40 to 60 Americans have been through the
trepanation procedure.
In 1965, after years of experimentation, Dr. Hughes bored a hole in his skull using
an electric drill, a scalpel, and a hypodermic needle (to administer a local
anesthetic). This must have been the first intentional trepanation in hundreds of
years.
Trepanation is somewhat akin to the practice of bloodletting.
Trepanation, making a hole in the skull, restores the pulse pressure to the brain.
The arteries and capillaries can expand again, filling with an increased amout of
blood and displacing the same volume of water. A significant amount of energy,
lost with adulthood, returns.

Title of Website: http://www.damninteresting.com/the-hole-story-on-trepanation/