Industrial Medicine Flashcards
what continuity was there about the causes of disease?
miasma, four humours
what was spontaneous generation?
the idea that microbes were a product of decay rather than the cause of it and they spread by miasma
how many epidemics of smallpox were there in London in the 18th century?
11
what did Jenner notice?
milkmaids who had previously had cowpox were immune to smallpox
what did Jenner do in 1796?
injected an eight year old boy James Phipps with cowpox, waited six weeks and injected him with smallpox. Phipps didn’t catch smallpox meaning Jenner’s theory must have been correct
by 1801, how many people had been vaccinated?
100,000
what were the limitations for Jenner and his vaccination?
he did not understand how it worked because he had no knowledge of germs and microbes
the church disapproved of vaccines
Jenner was a country doctor so had a weak reputation
what was set up in 1802 to oppose Jenner?
the anti vaccine society
when was the vaccinations act past?
1840
when was the vaccinations act made compulsory?
1853
what was germ theory?
the theory that germs cause disease
when was germ theory published?
1861
how did Pasteur prove his germ theory?
he realised that when beer was stored in a swan neck container it did not go off because germs could not get in
how did Pasteur disprove spontaneous generation?
by proving that the beer did not go off he proved decay did not happen to sterilised matter that was left undisturbed
what was the initial impact of germ theory?
small because Pasteur could not identify different microbes due to limited technology
many doctors rejected his ideas because he was a scientist not a doctor himself
how was Koch able to move germ theory forward?
he grew colonies of bacteria in agar jelly and dyed them different colours to identify individual microbes for specific diseases
what did Koch discover in 1882?
bacteria caused TB
what did Koch discover in 1884?
cholera was spread in water supplies in India, proving Snow correct
what did Koch receive in 1905?
the Nobel prize for medicine
how did Pasteur’s assistant build on the work of Jenner?
his lab assistant Chamberlain accidentally injected old germs of chicken cholera into a chicken after forgetting to inject them before he went on holiday and the chickens survived. He realised his mistake so injected fresh germs into the chickens which still survived
what did Pasteur do with the discovery of his assistant?
developed a way to weaken germs so they could be injected - weakened rabies germs by drying out the infected spines of rabbits before injecting them into healthy rabbits
how did the discovery of germs impact the training of doctors and nurses?
training included Pasteur’s work and examining it’s affects on all aspects of medical care
how did the discovery of germs impact life expectancy?
increased from 45 to 70 in 100 years
what did people use prior to the discovery of vaccines?
inoculation
what was inoculation?
injecting yourself with a disease to try and achieve immunity
what were the problems with inoculation?
not everyone could afford it
not always effective or safe
when was the Soho cholera outbreak?
1858
how did John snow make a connection between cholera and water?
he plotted the deaths on a map
how many deaths did snow plot on Broad Street?
578
why could snow not explain his theory?
he had no knowledge of germs
why was snows connection between cholera and water initially limited?
the council refused to shut down the Broad street pump because there was no scientific evidence to prove his theory
what impact did snows theory have?
combined with the great stink it led to the government agreeing to a new sewer system planned by Joseph bazalgette
by 1865, how many miles of sewers had been built in London?
1300
what proved that Snow had limited initial impact?
further cholera outbreaks in 1866
when was snows theory eventually proved correct?
1883 when Koch identified the germ which causes cholera in Indian water supplies
when were the gin laws passed?
1750
why were the gin laws passed?
the government were worried about the effect that it was having on the poor but were also worried about the economy if people were too drunk to work properly
what did the gin laws do?
made gin more expensive
how did the compulsory vaccination improve public health?
strictly enforced in 1871 which made the number of deaths from smallpox drop dramatically
how did the role of Chadwick impact public health?
in 1842, he published his survey of housing conditions ‘the sanitary conditions of the labouring population’ which suggested it would be cheaper if local taxes were used to improve housing hygiene rather than paying for sick people
how did the 1848 public health act impact public health?
allowed towns to set up their own local board of health, to organise rubbish removal and build a sewer system
why was the 1848 public health act limited in improving public health?
it was not enforced so only 1/3 of towns did so
when was the board of health abolished?
1858
how was the public health act of 1875 a turning point in public health?
towns had to appoint health inspectors and sanitary inspectors and local councils were responsible for ensuring clean water was available, streets were paved, rubbish was removed,sewers were built and housing quality was improved
when was the Artisans dwelling act passed?
1875
what was the artisans dwelling act?
gave local authorities the power to buy and demolish slum housing
when did working class men get the vote?
1867
how did working class men getting the vote impact public health?
it gave them a voice and put pressure on the government to improve their living conditions
what was the most significant factor impacting public health in the industrial time period?
the government because they were the only ones who could enforce change
what changes did Nightingale make to hospitals?
clean wards, patients given bedding and meals
due to the work of Nightingale by how much did the death rate in hospitals fall within 6 months?
40% to 2 %
what did Nightingale write in 1859
Notes on Nursing
what did James Simpson discover in 1847?
chloroform
what happened to Hannah Greener in 1848?
she died from an overdose of chloroform during an operation to get her toenail removed
what made chloroform more popular?
queen Victoria used it during the birth of prince Leopold in 1853
what did Lister discover?
carbolic acid
why was the use of carbolic acid opposed?
it dried out the skin or surgeons and left an odd smell
what made surgeons more inclined to use carbolic acid?
germ theory
what % of surgery got infected in the 19th century?
25%
what did Humphrey Davy discover in 1795?
nitrous oxide numbed pain by inhaling it
what did William E Clarke successfully do in 1842?
used ether to anaesthetise a patient to remove a tooth
what did Robert Liston successfully do in 1846?
anaesthetised a patient with ether to amputate his leg
what was the problem with ether?
it was flammable and often made the patients vomit
why did the advancement of surgery take a long time?
surgeons were initially unwilling to accept the use of carbolic spray as they did not believe the air was full of germs and did not want to accept that they might have been responsible for the infections that killed their patients
what law was passed in 1876?
a law allowing all women to study medicine
