History of Microbiology Flashcards
(29 cards)
Who is the father of microbiology?
Antonie van Leeuwenhoek
Who showed that some microbes in dust and air were resistant to heat?
John Tyndall
Who discovered and described endospores?
Ferdinand Cohn
What term was introduced to mean the complete removal of all life forms including endospores?
Sterile
What is ‘Spontaneous Generation’?
An early belief that living things can arise from vital forces present in nonliving and decaying matter.
What is ‘Biogenesis’?
The alternative hypothesis that living organisms can arise only from preexisting life forms.
Who is the father of bacteriology?
Louis Pasteur
What was the great accomplishment of Louis Pasteur?
Put an end to abiogenesis debate with his goose neck flask experiment.
What are some other accomplishments of Louis Pasteur?
- Showed microbes cause fermentation
- ‘Specific etiology’ theory
- ‘Germ theory of diseases’
- Introduced pasteurization to prevent spoilage
- Used cotton plugs in cultures to prevent air borne contamination (aseptic technique)
- Made attenuated vaccine to fowl chlora
What is the theory of specific etiology?
Different organisms have different end products of sugar fermentation.
What is the significance of Robert Koch?
- Provided proof that a bacterium causes anthrax using experimental steps, called Koch’s Postulates.
- First to use agar as solid culture medium in bacteriology.
What are the steps of Koch’s Postulates?
- Microbe must always be present in every case of the disease.
- Must be isolated in pure culture on artificial media.
- When inoculated into healthy host it should produce the same disease.
- Must be isolated from the diseased animal again.
Who used carbolic acid, a chemical antiseptic, to prevent surgical wound infections?
Joseph Lister
Who was Ignaz Semmelwies?
A Hungarian physician who introduced hand-washing as a means of preventing transfer of puerpueral sepsis in obstetrical patients.
What is chemotherapy?
Medicinal treatment of diseases.
Who initiated the study of chemotherapy?
Paul Ehrlich
What did Paul Ehrlich do?
- Initiated chemotherapy studies
- Contributed to hematology, immunology, and histological staining
- Discovered first drug against syphilis
- Developed the concept of ‘magic bullet’
What is the term ‘Magic bullet’?
Drugs that target and kill disease-causing organisms.
What are the specifications for an autoclave machine?
- 15 lbs/square inch of pressure
- 121 degrees Celsius
- 15 minutes
What are antibiotics?
Substances synthesized and secreted by microorganisms that destroy other microorganisms.
What did the era of antibiotics begin with?
The discovery of penicillin by Alexander Fleming.
Explain the term drug resistance.
Low doses of antibiotics kill off the less resistant bacteria, leaving only the more resistant bacteria, which are able to then grow into a colony of bacteria that are tougher to kill.
What was the first successful vaccine and who developed it?
Smallpox vaccine by Edward Jenner.
Why has the further development of vaccines become rapid in the last several decades?
New scientific discoveries and technologies have led to rapid advances in virology, molecular biology, and vaccinology.
