Louis Pasteur & Robert Koch Flashcards
When was germ theory first considered?
In Ancient Rome, Marcus Terentius Varro, thought that tiny creatures cause disease but he could not prove it without a microscope
What was germ theory?
That tiny creatures (microorganisms) cause disease
Before germ theory, what did people think caused disease?
God or Miasma
When were germs discovered?
1677 they were also called animalcules
Before germ theory, what did people think the role of germs were?
People believed germs were created by disease (spontaneous generation)
Who discovered ‘germ theory’?
Louis Pasteur
When did Pasteur discover pasteurisation?
1857
How did Pasteur discover pasteurisation?
He was asked to find out what was turning a companies beet root alcohol turn sour
He believed it was germs and killed them by heating the mixture gently
How did Pasteur prove it was germs causing the problems rather than causing the problems?
He moulded a glass tube so that it was bent so that germs could not get in and left one glass straight
He found the liquid in the bent glass did not go sour as the germs couldn’t get to it
In what year did Pasteur prove spontaneous generation wrong?
1864
The year that he discovered germ theory!
Did this make people believe germs caused illness to humans?
No- Pasteur was only a chemist and could only prove germs caused harm to liquids
What pushed Pasteur in making a flurry of discoveries
His rivalry with Robert Koch
Why was there such a great rivalry between Pasteur & Koch?
There was a recent war between France & Germany
They both wanted to be the better scientist
What vaccinations did Pasteur make?
Anthrax, chicken cholera & rabies
How did Pasteur know how to find vaccinations?
Jenner’s methods
Who was Robert Koch?
A German doctor who was fascinated by Pasteur’s discoveries
How did Robert Koch start looking at germs?
His wife brought him a microscope
What did Robert Koch believe about germs?
He believed that germs caused illness in humans
How did Robert Koch prove that germs caused illness in humans?
He found a way of staining a germ he believed caused anthrax
He injected this germ into mice
The mice died of anthrax
What other germs did Koch discover?
The germs for TB & cholera
How was Koch rewarded for his discoveries?
He won the Nobel prize
What long term effect did Pasteur & Koch have on the development of medicine?
They encouraged a generation of doctors and scientists to find the germs & vaccinations of many diseases
They allowed medics to know how to treat wounds & to know what they’re looking for
