Changes in medicine 1875-1905 Flashcards
Who was known as the “Father of bacteriology”?
Robert Koch
When did Robert Koch first identify the anthrax microorganism?
1875
When did Koch publish his discovery of the anthrax microorganism and develop methods of staining and photographing microorganisms?
1876
When did Koch develop the steam steriliser and find the bacteria that caused septicaemia?
1878
When did Koch discover the tuberculosis microorganism?
1882
When did Koch discover the cholera microorganism and developed the use of agar jelly to grow culture in Petri dishes?
1883
When were aseptic surgery measures introduced?
1887
What aseptic surgery measures were introduced?
Operating theatres and hospitals were rigorously cleaned and all surgical instruments were steam sterilised
When did sterilised rubber gloves begin to be used?
1894
When were blood types discovered and by who?
In 1902 by Austrian Doctor, Karl Landstiener
What was the significance of the discovery of blood types?
This meant that blood transfusions could be carried out successfully. However the issues of clotting and how to store blood remained so blood donors had to be physically present to carry out a transfusion
What did Paul Ehrlich learn from his previous work?
He had been a member of Koch’s team and had also worked with Behring. He had worked on Koch’s discovery that certain chemicals would dye specific microorganisms without affecting others. He also knew from Behring’s work that antitoxins would only attack specific microorganisms.
Who worked on the “magic bullet”?
Paul Ehrlich
What was the “magic bullet”?
A chemical that could kill the microorganism causing a specific disease but did no other harm
How was the “magic bullet” developed?
In 1905, Ehrlich began trying to find a magic bullet that would treat syphilis. He tried various compounds based on different strengths of arsenic and in 1909, after 606 different compounds had been tried, the first magic bullet was found. It was given the name Salvarsan 606 and it was the first chemical cure for a disease
Who discovered polonium and radium?
Marie and Pierre Curie
When were polonium and radium discovered?
1898
What did the Curies and Henry Becquerel win in 1903?
The Nobel Prize for Physics
When did Pierre Curie die?
1906
What did Marie Curie do after Pierre’s death?
She continued her work using radioactivity to shrink or kill tumours. She did not patent her work so that others could use it
When were X-rays discovered?
1895
Who discovered X-rays?
Wilhelm Rontgen whilst studying cathode rays
What findings did Rontgen publish in Dec 1895?
That when his wife placed her hand between the cathode ray tube and photographic place, an image was shown of the bones in her hand. He did not patent his findings
Why were X-rays helpful?
To locate bullets or shrapnel in war patients meaning that surgeons spent less time digging around, leading to less infections and damage to blood vessels. In addition, X-rays could be used to diagnose tuberculosis or bone tumours or examine internal organs if the patient was given something to drink
