Revolution In Medicine Flashcards
(29 cards)
Ideas about how disease spread before germ theory
Miasma
Contact
Spontaneous generation- decaying matter lead to microbes spread by miasma
Applying germ theory for chicken cholera
Pasteur worked on a vaccine for chicken cholera
He identified the germ causing the disease and produced a weaker version of the disease which he gave to the chickens.
He proved by giving a weaker version of the disease it protected the animals from catching it later
Germ theory and spontaneous generation
Germ theory proved spontaneous generation wrong as it proved that microbes in the air caused decay, not the other way round
What did Robert koch discover
Successfully linked germs to disease
Discovered the bacteria responsible for tuberculosis 1882
Discovered the cholera bacteria in 1883 and in 1884 confermed water spread the disease, which john snow had theorised 40 years before
Promoted use of agar jelly and he also stained the bacteria in die to make microbes easier to see under a Microscope
Significance of koch
Taught Paul ehrlich, an important scientist who later investigated cures for syphilis
Inspired scientists to continue the hunt for bacteria that cause diseases like plague and lead to these diseases becoming preventable and less people dying from them
Opposition to pateur and koch
Spontaneous generation remained popular with many doctors supporting it. Eg bastian wrote books against germ theory
Society trusted doctors so the public opposed their ideas aswell
Support for pasteur and koch
Tyndall liked the discovery of particles in the air to germ theory but was mostly ignored by medical professional as he wasn’t a doctor
Lister linked germ theory to the issue of infection after surgery but couldn’t prove it
Roberts proved germ theory correct during his research into renal disease
Cheyne translated Robert lochs work into English promoting his work in England
What did Paul ehrlich do
Tested arsenic compounds to find a cure for syphilis, which was needed as the army realised during the boer war that they couldn’t conscript enough healthy men as to many had syphilis
Though he found no cure a Japanese scientist a couple of years later retested the arsenic compounds and discovered salvarsan 606 cured syphilis
Why was Paul ehrlich significant
Salvarsan 606, which he had made, became the world’s first magic bullet, encouraging other scientists to find magic bullets
Salvarsan 606 was the first step towards antibiotics
What did James Simpson discover and how
Chloroform, an anaesthetic
He was trying to find a better anaesthetic than laughing gass, so gathered his friends to smell various chemicals and after smelling chloroform they all passed out, showing its potential
successes of chloroform
It was better than other anaesthetics at the time like laughing gass for reducing pain
Queen Victoria used it whist giving birth , making it more accepted in society in the 1850s
Simpson gained knighthood for his work
It meant surgeries could be more complex and therefore forced advancements in antiseptics
Negatives of chloroform
Easy to overdose and kill patient
It could affect the heart, causing young healthy patients to die
Longer and more complex surgeries caused more problems with infections and bleedings
By the 20th century chloroform was no longer used in surgery
Why did people attempt to find antiseptics
Surgeons didn’t understand the importance of cleanliness
Many patients died post surgery
What did Joseph lister do
Discovered carbolic acid could be used as a antiseptic by wrapping a bandage soaked in it around a patients wound and observing that the wound healed without infection
Positive impacts of carbolic acid
The carbolic acid dried out surgeons hands, so they created rubber gloves which are still used today
Encouraged scientists to discover new antiseptic surgery methods paving the way for aseptic surgery
Negative impacts of carbolic acid
Had an unpleasant smell and made surgeons hands sore, so less surgeons wanted to use it
Many surgeons weren’t willing to use it as they did not understand the science behind germ theory
Aseptic surgery methods by 1900
Medical staff washed hands arms and faces before entering operating theatre
Germs in the air were killed by heating system
Masks
Sterilised clothing was worn
Aseptic vs antiseptic surgery
Antiseptic = use of antiseptics to destroy harmful germs and bacteria on things
Aseptic = where a completely sterile environment is achieved through a variety of methods
Impact of industrial revolution on public health
Multiple houses shared a communal toilet
Buildings had little ventilation
Water can from neighbourhood pump
Streets were overcrowded and unclean
Poor sanitation
Air pollution
Unsafe living and working conditions
Majority of people still believed miasma caused disease so tried covering up bad smells instead of hygiene
Cholera epidemic
1832 it hit London slums workhouses, and over 5000 people died that year
Beliefs about causes of cholera
Scientists and government blamed miasma, they believed the rotting material in the street released miasma so they attempted to clean the worst areas of London
What did john snow discover and hiw
Discovered that cholera was caused by dirty water
Did it by making a map of those who had died in the area and realised they had all drunk out the same water pump. He took the pump off the local water pump so the water couldn’t be drunk, and the cholera cases stopped
Short term significance of snow
Stopped the epidemic of cholera around Broad Street
When he presented the evidence the government didn’t act so everyone carried on believing cholera was caused by water
Long term significance of snow
Robert koch was able to prove snows theory correct
Proved the government should intervene in public health
