Medicine

Question 1

What was the significance of Edwin Chadwick’s 1842 report?

Answer 1

Linked poverty and disease to poor sanitation. Led to Public Health Act of 1848 (non-compulsory).

Question 2

What did John Snow discover during the 1854 cholera outbreak?

Answer 2

He linked cholera to contaminated water, proving it wasn’t airborne. He removed the Broad Street pump handle.

Question 3

What impact did Florence Nightingale have during the Crimean War (1854–56)?

Answer 3

Improved hygiene at Scutari Hospital — death rates fell from 42% to 2%. She reformed nursing standards post-war.

Question 4

What was Pasteur’s Germ Theory (1861)?

Answer 4

Proved that germs cause disease. This challenged the idea of spontaneous generation and revolutionized medicine.

Question 5

What did Joseph Lister achieve in 1865?

Answer 5

Introduced carbolic acid as an antiseptic in surgery. Death rates from infection dropped from 46% to 15%.

Question 6

What was the Public Health Act of 1875?

Answer 6

Made clean water, sewage systems, and street cleaning compulsory for local authorities.

Question 7

What was Koch’s major contribution (1882)?

Answer 7

Identified the bacteria causing TB and cholera. Developed techniques like staining to study microbes.

Question 8

What was the first “magic bullet” drug?

Answer 8

Salvarsan 606, developed by Paul Ehrlich in 1909, cured syphilis without harming the patient.

Question 9

How did WWI advance medicine?

Answer 9

Innovations in plastic surgery (Harold Gillies), blood transfusion, and better wound treatment under battlefield pressure.

Question 10

Why was the NHS created in 1948?

Answer 10

Based on the Beveridge Report (1942). Provided free healthcare to all UK citizens, funded by taxation.