Medicine in 18th and 19th Century Britain Flashcards
What did Van Leeuwenhoek discover in the 1600s?
Tiny creatures called ‘animalcules’
What did people think about Van Leeuwenhoek’s discovery?
Nobody thought these could cause disease
Who was Louis Pasteur?
A french scientist
Louis Pasteur’s theory was called the ‘____ Theory’
Germ
What did Louis Pasteur find out?
Found out that if he heated liquids it would kill germs
What kind of liquids did Louis Pasteur heat?
Alcoholic drinks and milk
What did Louis Pasteur’s process of heating liquids become known as?
Pasteurisation
What did Louis Pasteur prove about silkworms?
They were killed by a disease spread by germs in the air
True/False: ‘Germ Theory’ was not very important
False, it was the biggest turning-point in the history of understanding the causes of disease
Was everyone’s attitude towards Louis Pasteur’s ‘Germ Theory’ positive?
No, some people thought it was crazy
What was Robert Koch inspired by?
Pasteur’s ‘Germ Theory’
What did Koch discover?
Bacteria that caused specific diseases such as anthrax, tuberculosis (TB) and cholera
True/False: Koch’s discoveries prompted Pasteur to retire
False, they prompted Pasteur to do more experiments
What did Louis Pasteur discover vaccines for after Koch’s discovery?
Chicken cholera and rabies
What did Koch and Pasteur’s discoveries lead to?
Other scientists discovering the germs that caused many diseases (typhus, tetanus, meningitis, plague)
How important were Pasteur and Koch for scientific knowledge and understanding?
They were incredibly important to scientific knowledge and understanding - the effect of their discoveries and their influence was even more significant in the 20th Century
True/False: John Hunter and Thomas Sydenham’s impact on physician’s training was only short term and ended before the 18th century
False, physician’s training continued to improve after the Renaissance
What did aspiring physicians have to join?
A royal college
Give an example of one of the Royal Colleges
The Royal College of Surgeons
What did training physicians have to do in the 1800s?
Sit an examination to gain their medical certificate
What was the General Medical Council?
Somethin gthat was set up to register all doctors
When was the General Medical Council set up?
1858
Give examples of the things doctors would do in their training during the 18th and 19th century
Go to university, learn anatomy, read medical books and do work experience in hospitals
True/False: Doctors’ treatment for patients did not improve during the 18th and 19th century
True, it was still very similar to the treatments of the Medieval and Renaissance times
Who were ‘quacks’?
Salesmen who falsely claimed their medicines could cure all sorts of illneses
What did ‘quacks’ sell?
‘Patent medicines’ and ‘cure-alls’
What were ‘patent medicines’ and ‘cure-alls’ made from?
Lard, wax, soap, turpentine and spices
True/False: ‘patent medicines’ and ‘cure-alls’ had major medical benefits
False, had no medical benefit whatsoever
‘patent medicines’ and ‘cure-alls’ were very popular/unpopular
popular
True/False: During the 18th and 19th century, hospitals transitioned to being used more for medical treatment rather than being religious/spiritual places
True
Who developed one of the first anaesthetics?
James Simpson
What was one of the first anaesthetics called?
Chloroform
What did James Simpson discover chloroform would do?
Help ‘knock out’ patients
Who was chloroform often used by?
Wealthy pregnant women
Who famously used chloroform?
Queen Victoria
True/False: Chloroform was used for minor operations
True, operations such as toe-nail removal and tooth extraction used chloroform
Was the attitude towards chloroform all positive?
No - some patients died and some said God intended women to suffer pain when giving birth
What were small cottage hospitals?
Hospitals where doctors treated patients
What were voluntary hospitals?
Where doctors would provide free treatment
How many voluntary hospitals were in london in the 18th and 19th century?
18
Would poor people be treated at voluntary hospitals?
Only if they were lucky
Who were private hospitals for?
The wealthy
Where did most rich people go to get treated?
Nowhere - they would mostly be treated at home
What was the Poor Law?
A law that stated that poor people who couldn’t support themselves had to go to the local workhouse
Did poor people receive much treatment before the 1860s?
No, they received little or no treatment
What happened in 1860 which changed the attitude towards the poor?
London had its first Poor Law Union hospital for the poor
Who was the Poor Law Union hospital paid for by?
Rate-payers
What were built in the 1860s to help people with mental health issues?
Asylums
True/False: By 1900, ideas of better treatment towards the poor and building asylums were spread so that lots of cities had similar help for the poor
True
When did Hospitals/Nursing start drastically improving?
The second half of the 19th century
When did Florence Nightingale develop her nursing skills?
During the Crimean War in the 1850s
What was Florence Nightingale’s nickname?
‘Lady of the Lamp’
What did Florence Nightingale believe about the cause of disease?
Believed that disease was caused by dirty conditions because they created miasma
Florence Nightingale sent an ___ page report to ___ __________
800, the government
What did Florence Nightingale demand in her report?
Changes to hospitals in Britain
What was Florence Nightingale’s book called?
‘Notes on Nursing’
What did Florence Nightingale’s book say about training for nurses?
Said nurses should have medical training
What did Florence Nightingale set up in London?
Set up a nurse training school at London hospital
Florence Nightingale said hospitals should be _____ with lots of _____ air
clean, fresh
Why did Florence Nightingale say hospitals should be clean with lots of fresh air?
To prevent bad smells
Did Florence Nightingale have a major impact on the design of hospitals?
Yes - this changed the design of hospitals
Florence Nightingale’s influence didn’t just improve treatment but also helped prevent _______
disease
Who developed antiseptic?
Joseph Lister
How did Joseph Lister start developing antiseptic?
Started using carbolic acid in a pump
When did Lister start using carbolic acid in a pump?
1867
Why did Lister start using carbolic acid in a pump?
To spray onto the patient, surgeon’s hands and tools
What did the use of carbolic acid result in?
Fewer infections and fewer deaths
True/False: Only minor operations were possible by the end of the 1800s
False, successful operations inside the body such as an appendectomy could occur
When were rubber gloves worn for the first time during operations?
By the end of the 1800s
What did inoculation involve in the 18th and 19th century?
Smallpox pus being spread on skin
Was inoculation always successful in the 18th and 19th century?
No - some people died and an inoculated person could spread disease
Who was Edward Jenner?
A doctor from Gloucestershire
What did Edward Jenner discover?
The first vaccine
How did Edward Jenner discover the first vaccine?
He found that if someone was given pus from cowpox sores in a cut in their arm they would develop cowpox but recover - he cut patients’ arms and rubbed pus from deadly smallpox sores and found the patients were immune
What did Jenner’s research lead him to realise about cowpox and smallpox’s relationship?
Realised that cowpox helped prevent smallpox
Why could Edward Jenner not give a full scientific explanation to what he had discovered?
Because Pasteur’s Germ Theory wasn’t published until 1861
Why did Jenner call it a vaccination?
The Latin word for cow is ‘vacca’
What happened to towns and cities during the Industrial Revolution in terms of population?
They grew rapidly and this led to overcrowding and epidemics of deadly diseases due to filthy conditions
What were built during the Industrial Revolution in the 1800s because of outbreaks of cholera that killed thousands of people all over Britain?
Sewers and clean drinking water was provided
What was sewers being built and clean drinking water being provided important for?
Development of public health
How were sewers and clean drinking water paid for?
Taxes - this was made compulsory by the Parliament
When was the Public Health Act?
1875
Why was the Public Health Act so important?
It was a huge change in the prevention of disease
