Industrial revolution: causes, diagnosis, preventions, treatments Flashcards
How did understanding of the causes of disease develop from the Renaissance to the 18th century?
1) Miasma ￫ disease seeds/animalcules
2) People started to believe in disease families (Thomas Sydenham)
How did understanding of the causes of disease develop from the 18th to the 19th century? (summarise)
1) 4 Humours ￫ spontaneous generation
2) 1861: germ theory (Pasteur)
3) 1870: John Tyndall’s lecture (linked to Joseph Lister)
4) 1880s: Robert Koch, specific germs
How did understanding of the causes of disease develop from the 18th to the 19th century? (detail)
At the beginning of the 19th century, the belief in the 4 Humours was replaced by “spontaneous generation”, the idea that germs were the product of decay.
In 1861, Louis Pasteur published his germ theory, claiming instead that germs were the cause of decay. His work took a long time to be accepted, but eventually was.
Why was Pasteur’s germ theory slow to be accepted in Britain?
Spontaneous Generation was widely supported and advocated by important individuals, such as the well respected Dr. Bastien.
What influenced the gradual acceptance of Pasteur’s germ theory in Britain?
1) John Tyndall, in his 1870 lecture, spoke of small particles in the air which caused disease and linked this to the work of Joseph Lister, a surgeon who employed germ theory in his practice.
2) Robert Koch began methodising how to identify germs linked to specific diseases in the 1880s. Many germs were discovered around this time as a result. By 1900, scientists were using Koch’s work to search for cures that targeted specific germs.
3) 1915: Dr. Bastien died.
Give 4 examples of the discovery of specific germs discovered in the 19th century.
1882: TB germ (Koch)
1883: cholera germ (Koch)
1884: meningitis
1894: plague germ (yersinia pestis)
How did diagnosis develop from the Renaissance to the Industrial Revolution?
Following the germ theory and Koch’s work on specific germs, the general understanding of the causes of disease improved greatly. This new attitude allowed room for more accurate and considered diagnoses, whereas, in the Renaissance, diagnosis still relied on the 4 Humours and astrology.
How did preventions develop from the Renaissance to the 18th century?
The idea of prevention, and protection against something invisible, became more important, largely due to the progress that was beginning to be made with understanding microbes.
Inoculation became popular in the 1720s, and vaccinations started to take over after Jenner’s first successful smallpox vaccination in 1796.
How did cures of disease develop from the Renaissance to the Industrial Revolution?
Herbal remedies continued to be popular, until the 20th century, when successful cures began to be developed.
