C1700-C1900 Flashcards

1
Q

What was enlightenment

A

A movement in Europe during the 18th century that encouraged people to think for themselves and that traditional authorities (the church) should not be able to control every day life

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2
Q

What was spontaneous generation

A

Early 18th century
An alternative to the theory of the four humours that has now been discarded
Improvements in the quality of microscopes meant that scientists could now see microbes present on decaying matter however many people believe that these microbes were a product of decay rather than the cause of it

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3
Q

Louis Pasteur and the germ theory

A

1860 - Louis Pasteur a French scientist was able to observe unwanted microbes in wine and vinegar which turned both liquids bad

He published the results of his experiments in 1861

He theorised that spontaneous generation was wrong and that it was something in the air that caused decay

He proved that microbes can be killed by heating them

He believed that microbes might also be causing human disease but he did not published this germ theory of infection until 1878

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4
Q

Pasteur’s influence in Britain

A

To begin with it had to impact because it wasn’t promoted by Dr Henry Bastian who was one of the most powerful doctors in the country who supported the theory of spontaneous generation

Joseph lister did go onto link Pasteur’s germ theory to infection problems in his surgical patients. He was often overlooked tho because he could not prove his theory

John Tyndall promoted his ideas and theorised that dust particles carried the germs that caused disease - however he wasn’t a doctor, he was a physicist and so he was often overlooked

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5
Q

Robert Koch’s work on microbes

A

Robert Koch successfully identifies that different germs caused many common diseases
He discovered that bacteria caused tuberculosis in 1882

He published his ideas on the methods that could be used to identify disease-causing microbes

1883 - discovered cholera and 1884 he discovered it was spread in water supplies whilst he was in India

He made it easier for other scientists to study bacteria by developing a way to grow them, using agar jelly in a Petri dish and also developed a method for staining them with industrial dyes so that they’re easier to see

1905 he received a nobel prize for medicine

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6
Q

Kochs influence in Britain

A

Doctors now studied the disease itself rather than the symptoms - they recognised that the microbes needed to be removed as that is what caused the symptoms

In 1883 the microbes that cause diphtheria was found - by studying the microbe scientists discovered that it produced a poison that stayed in the throat and caused the painful symptoms
Since the microbe has been identified doctors were able to seek ways of attacking it directly rather than just treated the symptoms

The British government did not listen to his discoveries in the short term

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7
Q

Hospitals in the 18th century

A

1700 only 5 hospitals in the country
New ones began to appear funded by wealthy people
Doctors offered services for free to practice their skills
Hospitals were more about treatment than hospitality
The “deserving poor” were treated there and rich people would rather be treated at home
Gave poor access to medical treatment for the first time
Soon became less sanitary as they became less strict about turning away infectious patients
Mid 19th century there were a lot more hospitals but the conditions were very poor

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8
Q

Florence nightingale

A

1854 she was sent to Crimea with 38 other nurses to treat wounded soldiers in struggling hospitals
Changes she made to the care of soldiers:
-she demanded 300 scrubbing bushes to get rid of any dirt near the patients being treated
-nurses were organised to treat nearly 2000 wounded soldiers
-clean bedding and food meals were provided

Her efforts within 6 months dropped the mortality rates from 40% to 2%

When she returned to Britain in 1856 she was a national hero - giving her credibility to make changes to hospitals in Britain too

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9
Q

Hospitals by 1900

A

Nightingale encourages hospitals to follow a pavilion plan, this meant they were built with improved ventilation, more windows, larger rooms and separate isolation wards
She also established a nursing school in London in 1860

Now hospitals had many different wards to split up infectious patients from those needing surgery

Cleanliness was now very important and hospitals first focused on cleaning up germs using antiseptics - by 1900 they focused on preventing the germs from getting in to begin with

Doctors were a common sight and trained nurses lived in nearby houses provided for them

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10
Q

Problems regarding treatment in the 18th century

A

Bleeding - operations would have to be carried out extremely quickly
Pain - without and anaesthetic there was no way of preventing the excruciating pain
Infection - operations were carried out in bad conditions - often at home

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11
Q

The development of the anaesthetic

A

Laughing gas was originally used however it was extremely flammable, often caused irritation and vomiting

James Simpson gathered a group of friends and they inhaled vapours of various chemicals
After sniffing chloroform they all passed out

However it was later discovered that chloroform had some negative side effects

  • the dosage had to be watched and controlled to prevent overdose and death
  • the chemical sometimes affected the heart

It was used in surgery
In 1853 it was used by queen victoria during the birth of her son

Doctors could now attempt lengthier more complex operations however this caused infection and bleeding to become an even bigger problem

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12
Q

The development of aseptic surgery

A

Joseph lister was an English surgeon
He used to works of pasture to conclude that microbes were what caused flesh to rot

He then started to look for a chemical that would clear bacteria from wounds
He was aware of the use of carbolic acid in sewage treatments
In 1865 he operated on a patient with a broken leg and added a bandage soaked in carbolic acid - the wound healed cleanly

He started to spray carbolic acid in the air during operations

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13
Q

Why did aseptic surgery not catch on quickly

A

News of listers success spread more quickly than Pasteur’s germ theory meaning that many scientists didn’t understand the logic behind the use of carbolic acid and so weren’t willing to use the carbolic spray

Carbolic acid dried out the skin and left an odd smell which put surgeons off using it

Lister focused of encouraging people to use the spray rather than proving his theory

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14
Q

Impact of aseptic and antiseptic surgery

A

Surgeons finally understood it was their duty to perform safe surgery

By 1900, instruments were steam cleaned, operating theatres were scrubbed spotless, rubber gloves and surgical gowns were introduced and surgeons used face masks during operations

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15
Q

Opposition to antiseptics and anaesthetics

A

Before the introduction of carbolic acid the death rate increased because longer surgeries were taking place. People didn’t trust anaesthetics

Victorian’s believed that pain relief was interfering with god’s plan

Some doctors believed patients were more likely to die if they were unconscious during the operation

It took a long time for doctors to accept that germs caused infection

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16
Q

Edward Jenner + smallpox vaccination

A

11 epidemics of smallpox in 18th century in London
Worst in 1796 when 3548 people died

People used to get inoculations to try and prevent a serious case of smallpox but often these didn’t work effectively

1796 Jenner infected a local boy with cowpox

17
Q

Impacts of the smallpox vaccine

A

Short term

  • by 1800 100000 people in the world had been vaccinated
  • at first the anti-Jenner propaganda from inoculators meant that it wasn’t very popular in Britain but after the royal jennerian society was founded in 1803, 12,000 British people were vaccinated in the space of 2 years

Long term:
By the end of the 19th century vaccination against smallpox has become the normal, the number of smallpox cases fell dramatically from 1872 when the government started to enforce compulsory vaccinations
His work inspired other scientists to search for vaccines

18
Q

The first public health act 1848

A

In c1700 the government had little interest in improving conditions in cities
During 1800s more men began to vote so the government tried to appeal to the masses by passing laws that would please normal people
Also, the work of John snow led people to believe that cholera was spread in dirty water

From the 1860s the government took more action:

  • in London, 1300 miles of sewers were built by 1865
  • in Birmingham, slums were demolished
  • in Leeds, sewage was prevented from being drained into the river from which they got their water
19
Q

The second public health act 1875

A

City authorities had to follow these rules:

  • provide clean water to stop disease that were spread in dirty water
  • dispose of sewage to prevent drinking and washing water becoming polluted
  • building public toilets to prevent pollution
  • employing a public officer of health to monitor outbreaks of diseases
  • ensuring new houses were of better quality, to stop damp and overcrowding
  • provide public parks for exercise
  • inspecting lodging houses to make sure they were clean and healthy
  • creating street lighting to prevent accidents
  • check the quality of food in shops
20
Q

Cholera in England

A

Sufferers would die between two and six days after falling sick
Spread through person to person contact or water contaminated with the faeces of the sufferer

Arrived in Britain is 1831 and arrived in London in February 1832 and were 5275 deaths in the city by the end of the year

21
Q

Attempts to prevent cholera in England

A

People tried to clean the cities to rid them of miasma

Also tried to provide clean water supplies

22
Q

John snow

A

A surgeon who had moved to Soho in 1836 and had become London’s leading anaesthetist
He observed the cholera outbreak of 1848-49
He recognised that
-cholera could not be transmitted by miasma
-drinking water was being contaminated by the cholera ridden faeces in the cities drains

23
Q

The 1854 cholera epidemic

A

In August 1854
Cholera broke out in soho
Snow investigated 93 deaths in his local area
Created a spot map
All centred round water pump on broad street
Led to a cesspit (1 metre away)