19th-century public health (Chadwick, Snow, Pasteur, Lister) (medicine through time) Flashcards
What were the main public health problems in the early 1800s?
• Overcrowded, unsanitary cities due to industrialization.
• No clean water or proper sewage systems.
• Frequent outbreaks of cholera, typhoid, and tuberculosis.
• No government intervention – laissez-faire attitude.
What did Chadwick discover about public health?
• Published the Report on the Sanitary Condition of the Labouring Population (1842).
• Showed that disease was linked to poor living conditions and poverty.
• Argued for clean water, proper drainage, and government action to improve health.
What did Chadwick’s report lead to?
• Influenced the Public Health Act of 1848 (though it had limited impact).
• Encouraged sewers, clean water, and waste removal in some areas.
• Faced resistance due to cost and government reluctance.
What did John Snow discover about cholera?
• Investigated the 1854 cholera outbreak in London.
• Mapped cases and found they were linked to the Broad Street water pump.
• Proved cholera was spread by contaminated water, not miasma (bad air).
What was the significance of Snow’s work?
• His findings led to the removal of the Broad Street pump handle, ending the outbreak.
• Initially ignored because the germ theory was not yet accepted.
• Later influenced government policies on clean water and sewage systems.
What was Pasteur’s major contribution to public health?
• Disproved spontaneous generation and proved Germ Theory (1861).
• Showed that microorganisms (germs) cause disease.
• Developed pasteurization to kill bacteria in liquids like milk.
How did Germ Theory change medicine and public health?
• Proved that clean water, sanitation, and hygiene prevent disease.
• Led to the development of vaccines for diseases like rabies.
• Influenced Joseph Lister’s antiseptic surgery and later government policies.
What did Lister introduce to surgery?
• Applied Pasteur’s Germ Theory to surgery.
• Used carbolic acid to sterilize wounds, dressings, and surgical instruments.
• Dramatically reduced post-surgical infections and death rates.
How did Lister’s work change surgery?
• Reduced infection rates in surgery.
• Paved the way for aseptic surgery (completely germ-free operations).
• Faced resistance at first, but later widely accepted.
What was the significance of the 1875 Public Health Act?
• Required clean water supplies and proper sewage disposal.
• Forced local councils to improve sanitation and housing.
• Marked a shift from a laissez-faire approach to government responsibility for public health.
