changes in medicine Flashcards
catgut as a ligature
-catgut soaked in carbolic acid
-used to prevent infection in a wound
chloroform inhaler
-john snow
-calculated correct dosage
-1847
what were hospitals like b4 Florence Nightingale?
- early 1800s, most people were cared by family at home, a doctor would visit to prescribe medicine. Nurses were untrained and didn’t keep records on patient care
why didn’t medicine progress before 1848?
-medical knowledge based on spiritual/ religious beliefs
-the technology used to make discoveries took a long time to develop
-scientists weren’t clear about the anatomy and how the human body worked
-nobody took responsibility for encouraging and funding research, the government didnt see it as its business
opposition to listers method
-carbolic acid made surgical instruments slippery
-irritated surgeons hands
-doctors applied listers methods wrong
-equipment was expensive to buy and set up
-lister was arrogant and disliked by many of the surgical community
medical theories before 1848
-diseases caused by supernatural forces
-four humors, by Hippocrates in Ancient Greece, caused by imbalance of four liquids (yellow bile, blood, phlegm and black bile)
-theory of opposites, treating diseases by providing conditions and food opposite to the illness
-spontaneous generation, microorganisms created decay then creating miasma
impact of blood transfusions
-used in surgery for blood loss
-help patients that suffer from blood disorders, leukemia and anaemia
-help patients that suffer from liver problems
3 key discoveries of blood that helped in transfusions
-1901, Karl Landsteiner discovered A,B and O blood groups
-1902, he discovered AB blood groups
-1907, discovered that blood type O could be used for everyone
blood being stored
the first world war lead to doctors/ scientists to develop new ways to store blood:
adding sodium citrate wouldn’t clot
then adding a citrate glucose solution so it could be stored for several days
when did queen Victoria use chloroform
during childbirth of her 8th child, Prince Leopald 7th april 1853
why was chloroform so dangerous?
-lead to the black death
-surgeons performed more complex surgeries leading to infection deeper into the body
ways the NHS have been successful
- improved healthcare facilities
-fall in child mortality rate - national vaccination scheme
-provides free healthcare
-raised life expectancy
both gender 8 years
-lowers treatment costs, promoting preventive health care
john snows main impacts
-1885, presented his results of his investigation to parliament, suggested new sewers should be built, government agreed
how did the government respond to the Beveridge report?
- NHS creation
- family allowance (paid to mother)
- clean air acts (1952 and 1956)
- slum clearance program (1960)
- new towns, built with more space and better public facilities
why was the NHS set up?
-Beveridge report (1942)
- WWI forced government to take control of public health
- advances in medicine, more ways to help the sick
how did the liberal reforms help the elderly / unemployed
elderly:
-1908, ‘old age’ pensions of five shillings per week for 70+ year old
unemployed:
-1909, labour exchanges, help them look for work
-1911, national insurance act provided them with unemployment payments
Ignaz Semmelweis
-hunagrian doctor
-worked at Veinna hospital
-suggested doctors should wash their hands in chlorine of lime, since they delivered babies after dissecting dead bodies
why did some people refuse to use chloroform?
-some army soldiers believed that soldiers should endure pain
-some religious people believed that it was gods intention that women should feel pain during childbirth, suffering was gods will
- difficult to get correct dosage–> 14 year old Hannah Greener died whilst removing an ingrown toenail in 1848 due to an overdose
3 anaesthetics in the 19th century
-nitrous oxide: laughing gas, too weak for major surgery, discovered by Humphrey Davy, first used in 1844
-Ether: Effective, caused vomiting, highly flammable, first used successfully in 1846 in an amputation by Robert Liston, known for his speed an strength, amputated a leg in 28 seconds
-Chloroform: first experimented on friends and himself in 1847, used on woman in child birth
4 key elements used in aseptic surgery
-surgeons scrubbed clean before operating
-surgeons wore new clothes and a fresh pair of gloves for each operation
- all instruments were steralised before hand, using steam
- the size of operating theatres got smaller, and spectators weren’t allowed
-establaished in 1900
joseph lister
- pioneered antiseptic techniques in surgery, discovered carbolic spray (1865)
-death rate went from 46% to 15%
john sow
- scottish doctor in the 1800s who experimented with different types of anaesthetics during childbirth
- he discovered chloroform was effective and had limited side effects when used the correct dosage
national insurance act
- provided sick pay to ill workers and allowed free access to medical treatment
-paid money to unemployed up to 15 weeks, prevented poverty
Florence Nightingale achievements
- 1859, ‘notes on nursing’ bestseller
- raised 44,000 pounds to set up training school at St. Thomas hospital
-training school for midwives at King college in 1861
Why did the understanding of medicine not progress in the 19th century?
- hospital relied on charity for funding, little money available for research
- the government did not see it as its business
- Doctors wanted to continue to work as they always had, were reluctant to try new method
cholera outbreaks
-1848 to 1859: 53,292 deaths
- 1853 to 1854: 20,097 deaths
- 1865 to 1866: 14, 378 deaths
Joseph Bazalgette
-civil engineer in the 1800s
-chief designer and engineer of Londons sewer system after the great stink.
- covered 83 miles, removing 420 million gallons of sewage per day, opened in 1865 continued to develop in the 1870s
- costed 3 million pounds
how did the 1854 cholera outbreak end
-snow asked to handle the broad street pump being removed, so people couldn’t use it.
-the outbreak ended quickly proving the disease was from the water in the pump
-it was found later that a cesspit had been leaking into the wall
