History - medicine Flashcards
Industrial revolution
Period from 1750 - 1900 when Britain changed from a country based on agriculture to industry
Anaesthetic
Substance that stops you feeling pain
Antiseptic
A substance that is applied to a wound to kill germs
Chloroform
Simpson discovered that this chemical could be used to prevent people from feeling pain in surgery
Carbolic acid
A spray that was used to clean sewers - lister found that this could be used to kill germs and prevent infection in surgery
Compulsory
When people are required to do something by law
Microbe
Bacteria that can cause disease
Epidemic
A widespread outbreak of disease
Cesspit
A place for collecting and storing sewage
Tax
Money collected by the government
What was the most widely accepted cause of disease before 1861?
Miasma (bad air)
When did Pasteur publish germ theory?
1861
Who published germ theory?
Louis pasteur
When did Robert Koch find the bacterium that was causing a disease called anthrax?
1876
When was the first time anyone identified a specific bacteria that caused an individual disease?
1876
Who found the bacterium causing anthrax?
Robert koch
When was the bacteria causing typhoid discovered?
1882
When was the bacteria causing the plague discovered?
1894
Who noticed that milkmaids who caught cowpox didn’t catch smallpox?
Edward Jenner
When did edward Jenner publish his work describing how to prevent smalllpox?
1798
In Edward jenners published work, how did he describe how to prevent smallpox?
By infecting people with cowpox first, to make them immune (vaccination)
When was smallpox completely wiped out?
In the 1970s
What was the problem with Edward jenners work?
He did not know how vaccination worked so it could only be used to prevent smallpox
When did the government make it compulsory to be vaccinated for smallpox?
1853
When was the first successful vaccination since smallpox and what was it for?
1885 for rabies
When was there a cholera outbreak in London?
1854
What did John snow say regarding the cholera outbreak?
That it was caused by dirty water
What did John snow do to investigate the cholera outbreak?
He mapped out the deaths in his local area and found that most deaths were of people who got their water from the broad street pump. He removed the pump and there were no more deaths in the area
What was later found regarding the broad street pump?
That a cesspit was leaking into the water
Why did many people not believe snow?
Because they believed that miasma caused disease
When were Snows findings accepted?
After the germ theory was published
When did the government introduce the first public health act?
1848
Why was the 1848 public health act introduced?
To improve towns but most of the rules weren’t compulsory so made little diference
What did the 1875 public health act state?
That it was compulsory for local councils to improve sewers and drainage, provide fresh water supplies, and to appoint medical officers to insert public health facilities
Give two reasons for why the 1875 public health act was introduced?
1) germ theory had proved that there was a scientific link between dirt and disease
2) in 1857 working men received the vote which meant that the government had to pass laws to help everyone
Which war was Florence nightingale a nurse in?
The Crimean war
What was Florence nightingale appalled by? What did she concentrate on?
The dirty conditions, she concentrated on cleaning the hospitals and the death rate fell.
Wheee and when did Florence nightingale set up her first ‘nightingale school for nurses’
In Britain, 1860
When did Florence nightingale write ‘notes on nursing’?
1859, leading to better trained nurses
When did Florence nightingale write ‘notes on hospitals’?
1863
What did nightingale emphasise due to her belief that miasma caused disease?
Hygiene and good air
What did nightingale make sure of in hospitals?
That they had good sanitation, ventilation, food supplies, clean clothing and washing facilities
When did James Simpson discover that chloroform was an effective anaesthetic?
1847
Who discovered chloroform? (Anaesthetic)
James simpson
When was surgery’s ’black period’
1850s - 1870s
What was the surgery’s ’black period’?
When the number of patients dying in surgery increases (mostly due to infection’)
When did Joseph lister discover that carbolic acid can be used as an antiseptic?
1867
Who discovered that carbolic acid could be used as an antiseptic?
Joseph lister
