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