Medicine in Modern Britain Flashcards
what was there progress of medicine in the 20th century?
- understanding causes of genetic disease
- focus on illness prevention
- development of treatments
what lifestyle factors affect health?
- poor diet
- lack of exercise
- smoking
- drinking alcohol
- stress
how did the government attitude change?
- they no longer had a laissez-faire attituded and were more involved
what is the governments role in medicine?
- fund medical research and treatment
- pass legislation to prevent disease and illness
- educate people about dangers to their health
what is a magic bullet?
- a chemical treatment that kills specific bacteria inside the body without harming the body
describe the development of Salvarsan 606:
- Paul Ehrlic worked with Robert Koch
- in 1900, Ehrlic presented the concept of a magic bullet
- Ehrlic tested arsenic compounds to find a cure for syphilis
- in 1909, Sahachiro Hata retested all of the compounds and discovered the first bullet, Salvarsan 606
- it was able to kill the bacteria causing syphilis
describe the development of Prontosil:
- it was the second magic bullet
- in the 1930s, Gerhard Domagk used experiments on mice to find out Prontosil killed the bacteria causing blood poisoning
- when his daughter got blood poisoning, she became the first human to use Prontosil and was cured
- after many experiments, scientists discovered it contained sulphonamide
- after this, many drug companies went on to develop sulphonamide cures for diseases like pneumonia and scarlet fever
what and when was the first antibiotic discovered?
- penicillin in 1928
describe the primary development of penicillin:
- in 1928, Fleming was studying soldier wounds and infections
- he left some dishes on the windowsill containing staphylococci
- above his lab, someone was working with penicillin mould
- some mould landed on the dishes
- when he came back, he noticed the penicillin killed the bacteria
- used penicillin to treat a friend’s eye infection
- however it did not work on deep infections and it took long to produce
- in 1929, he wrote his findings up but did not continue his study
describe the secondary development of penicillin:
- in 1938, Florey and Chain read Fleming’s article and realised it could be effective
- they got some funding but with WW2, the support was limited
- instead they secured money from America
- they discovered it could cure infections in mice
- they realised they needed to mass produce to test on humans
- by 1941, enough was made to test on a human (Albert Alexander who had a bacterial infection)
- the treatment worked but they ran out and Alexander died
- this still showed penicillin effectiveness
why was penicillin mass produced?
- in 1941, the USA entered WW2 and realised its importance for soldier and funded production
- British companies followed
- By D-Day 2.3 million doses were produced
what was the 1911 National Insurance Act?
- enabled workers to access medical care
- workers, employers and the government would pay into a fund from which medical care and treatment would be pad for
- ## but it did not include family members
when was the Ministry of Health set up?
- in 1919
- first government department to have an overview of health across the country
describe the William Beveridge report of 1942:
- an NHS that is free for everyone
- access to medical care and treatment that would be paid for from taxes
what was the opposition to an NHS?
- many doctors had worked privately and did not want to lose any income
- Aneurin Bevan overcame this by agreeing that doctors could continue to treat private patients
when was the NHS introduced?
- in 1948
- this marked a significant change in government involvement n medicine
- aims to provide free health care for all
- paid for by taxes
what services did the NHS provide?
- hospitals
- maternity
- transfusions
- vaccines
- ambulances
how did the government try to educate the public on disease prevention?
- through lifestyle campaigns against smoking, binge drinking
- they encouraged people to eat more healthily and exercise
why is lung cancer an issue?
- one of the most common cancers in Britain, killing thousands every year
what are the causes of lung cancer?
- active smoking
- passive smoking
why was smoking an issue?
- up until the 20th century, smoking was seen as the norm and not seen as a dangerous activity
- it was even allowed in doctors’ surgeries and medical professionals smoked
- in WW2, cigarettes were part of the rations
describe anti-smoking campaigns:
- warn people on the dangers of smoking
- use of graphic warnings on packaging
describe anti-smoking advertising campaigns:
- they highlight the symptoms of lung cancer
- they appear regularly on TV
describe smoking advertisement:
- advertisements have been banned
- previously, tobacco companies sponsored sporting events
describe anti-smoking laws:
- you have to be 18 to buy tobacco
- it is banned to smoke in public places
what is radiotherapy?
- radiation is used to attack and kill cancer cells
what is chemotherapy
- powerful chemicals are used to attack and kill cancer cells
what is immunotherapy?
- a patient’s immune system is boosted to attack and kill the cancer cells
what is a transplant?
- damaged lungs are replaced with lungs from an organ donor
what were the mass vaccination programmes?
diptheria - 1942
polio - 1950
tetanus - 1961
measles - 1968
covid 19 - 2020
when was the structure of DNA discovered?
1953
who discovered the DNA structure?
- Francis Crick
- James Watson
how was the structure of DNA discovered?
- they worked with X-ray photographs taken by Rosalind Franklin and powerful microscopes to build a model of DNA
what did they discover about DNA?
- shaped as a double helix
- stores information about a person and passes it from person to child
- allowed scientists to understand the cause of genetic diseases
what was the Human Genome Project?
- it was launched in 1990 where scientists all over the world to map the full set of hereditary info in DNA
- this was possible because of many advances in technology and computers
- finished in 2003 and used the collected data to identify differences in the DNA of different humans that indicate genetic disease
what are blood tests used for?
- test samples of blood and diagnose a range of illnesses
what is an endoscope?
- a tiny camera on the end of a flexible cable that can be swallowed and used to diagnose problems with the digestive system
who discovered X-Rays?
William Rontgen
what treatments are offered in hospitals?
- radiotherapy, shrink tumours
- prosthetic limbs, replace amputated limbs
- keyhole surgery, use tiny cameras to perform operations with just a tiny cut
