Lecture 2 Flashcards
Micrographia was published in ____ by _____.
1665
Robert Hooke
What did Robert Hooke observe under a microscope?
Boxes, cells, reported seeing microbes (moulds)
What is cell theory?
All living things are composed of cells
What is the name of the first person to observe living microorganisms?
Antoni Van Leewenhoek
What did Antoni Van Leewenhoek describe seeing under a microscope?
Animalcules, seen in rainwater and tooth-scrapings, amongst other things
What is the theory of spontaneous generation?
The process by which an organism arises spontaneously from non-living matter
Who first demonstrated that maggots do not arise spontaneously? In which year?
Francesco Redi in 1668
What did antagonists to Redi claim explained the results of his experiments?
Air is needed
Who claimed that microbes develop spontaneously in fluids using nutrient broth?
John Needham, in 1745
How did John Needham support his theory that microbes develop spontaneously?
He heated nutrient broth and placed it in a sealed flask. He then observed nutrient broth.
Who challenged the theory of spontaneous generation and John Needham’s experiments?
Lazzaro Spallanzani (1765)
How did Spallanzani disprove Needham’s experiments?
He heated the nutrient broth in the flask and then sealed it, there was no microbe growth.
What did proponents to Spallanzani’s nutrient broth experiments claim?
The vital force had been destroyed by the heat, and couldn’t enter the flask because of the seal.
Who came up with the theory of biogenesis?
Rudolf Virchow, in 1853
What is the theory of biogenesis?
Living cells can only arise from preexisting cells
Who addressed the objection that air is needed for vital force?
Louis Pasteur (1861)
What did Louis Pasteur demonstrate?
- Microorganisms are in the air and can cause contamination
How did Louis Pasteur disprove spontaneous generation?
The broth was placed in an open-ended long neck flask and then curved the neck into an S-shape before boiling
Why was Pasteur’s flask a good design?
S-shape allows air to pass into the flask
The curved neck traps airborne contaminants.
What was the first link between microorganism activity and the physical and chemical changes of organic matter?
Pasteur’s discovery that yeats are critical in fermentation
What did the idea that microorganisms can change organic matter lead to?
The germ theory of disease
What is the name of childbed fever?
Puerperal fever
Who introduced strict handwashing rules into an obstetrics clinic?
Ignaz Semmelweiss (1840s)
Why did Ignaz Semmelweiss introduce handwashing into clinics?
Clinic with trainee doctors had higher mortality rate then midwife clinic. Medical students came from autopsy room, bringing infection with them
