Western Scientific Medical Discoverys Flashcards
(30 cards)
Define disease.
A type of illness or sickness
Define germ.
A very small form of life that causes diseases
Define experiment.
Testing of an idea
What is a microscope?
An instrument used for observing very small objects
Who was Louis Pasteur?
He was the scientist who first made the link between germs and disease
What did Louis Pasteur’s experiments show?
They showed that germs make our bodies sick and can cause infections and diseases
What are harmful bacteria?
They are germs that cause infections in the body. Different bacteria cause different infections
What is tuberculosis?
Tuberculosis or TB is a serious infectious disease that infects the lungs
What was the next step in western medical history after Pasteur’s discovery?
To link a particular germ with a particular disease
In 1882, Dr Robert Koch…
… identified the germ that causes TB
Define infectious.
A disease that is spread easily from one person to another
List one way you can get TB.
When someone with TB coughs or sneezes, the air is filled with droplets containing the bacteria. If a person breathes in the infected droplets, they will probably get TB
Can TB be cured?
It can be cured by Western medicine, however many people still die from TB because they do not get the correct medicine and treatment
Who was Edward Jenner?
He discovered the vaccine for smallpox (the first vaccine)
Define laboratory.
A workplace where scientists do experiments
Define penicillin.
An antibiotic that stops germs from growing
Define antibiotic.
A drug that is used in medicine to kill bacteria and to cure infections
What did Alexander Fleming do?
He used mould to very carefully make medicine called penicillin, the world’s first antibiotic.
When was the world’s first heart transplant surgery?
1967
Who performed the world’s first successful heart transplant surgery?
Dr Chris Barnard
Where was the world’s first heart transplant surgery?
Groot Schuur Hospital in Cape Town in South Africa
Name 3 discoveries that made heart surgery possible.
. Anaesthetics
. Blood transfusions
. X-rays
Define anaesthetic.
A drug that makes a patient go into a deep sleep so that they can be operated on
How does anaesthetic help with heart transplant surgery?
If a patient who wasn’t under anaesthetic had a heart transplant, they would most likely die from the pain
