A Revolution In Medicine: Revolution in surgery Flashcards
What was the limitations of existing knowledge?
- people still did not know what caused diseases.
- microscopes were in existence but they were not very powerful.
- surgical operations were still carried out in filthy conditions.
- infection was often.
- patients often died from trauma of pain.
- blood was loss still a problem, blood transfusions did not yet work.
What was the impact of the industrial revolution?
- in the the late 18th century a number of changes took which turned Britain into an industrialised society.
- the population began to increase rapidly and there was an increase in demand for all types of resources/goods.
- factories started to spring up, they were powered first by water, then steam, then electricity. Around factories large towns developed rapidly.
- this is turn brought slum housing, poor public health and epidemics of infectious diseases.
How did epidemics cause a development in medicine?
Larger population = larger towns = spread of more epidemics
This encouraged government to take action and clean up towns.
How did war help health and medicine develop?
They acted as a ‘forcing’ agent for change.
- Crimean War 1844-6 (nursing)
- Franco-Prussian War 1870-1 (Pasteur and Koch)
- WW2 1939-45 (Welfare state)
When was the drug chloroform developed, and how was it used?
- In 1847 a Scottish doctor James Simpson discovered chloroform after experimenting in himself and his friends.
- Simpson has been testing a number of different substances when somebody knocked over a bottle of chloroform, his wife found him and his friends sleeping peacefully.
When was nitrous oxide discovered, how was it used?
-in 1775, the Bristol physician Thomas Beddoes and his assistant Humphrey Davy, experimented with inhaling nitrous oxide.
When was ether discovered, how was it used?
- In October 1846, William Morton gave a public demonstration in the use of ether in a Boston Hospital. News of this reached Britain where the acclaimed surgeon Robert Liston used it to amputate a leg December. It was inhaled as a anaesthetic.
- In 1842 William Clark, an American dentist experimented with ether. He used it in a tooth extraction and was quickly followed by Crawford Long, a doctor who also used ether to to remove a neck growth from a patient.
How successful was chloroform?
-chloroform induces dizziness, sleepiness and unconsciousness in patients. He used it successfully to reduce pain in child birth. E.g queen victoria used it when giving birth in 1853 to prince Leopold.
How successful was ether?
ether was difficult to inhale, it caused vomiting and was highly flammable. This could be disastrous given that many patients chose to have their operations at home on front of an open fire.
How successful was nitrous oxide?
it became a novelty: people payed to inhale it and then fell about, laughing hysterically. It was not until about 1844 that an American dentist, Horace Wells, used it in the removal of his own teeth. However, his demonstration failed to convince doctors.
Davy published an account in 1800: he described how the gas made him laugh, feel giddy and relax, but he did not recognise its medical value.
What were some of the reasons for opposition of chloroform?
- Some believed it was a ‘decoy of satin’ meaning religious people and the church opposed it. -they believed God wanted women to feel pain during child birth.
- some doctors said they didn’t want to use it because they didn’t know the effects on the human body.
- people also felt it influenced inappropriate behaviour in women.
How had the opposition of chloroform been overcome?
Queen Victoria used it in 1853 during the delivery of prince Leopold.
More women in royal or high position used it.
Charles Dickens wife used it during child birth. He then wrote about it and his article of was read by many people wide spread.
How could surgery develop now due to chloroform?
- it could be done more properly, surgeons could take their time as patients were asleep and couldn’t fell pain.
- surgery could become more complicated and harder. More painful procedures could be done.
What impact did anaesthetics have on professional surgeons?
- more procedures could be carried out and quicker.
- it made their jobs easier they no longer had to worry about pain.
- their professions could develop and become more specialised.
