Modern Medicine Flashcards
C1900-Present
Genetic causes of diease
Mapping the human genome so scientists looked for mistakes or mismatches in the DNA of people suffering from hereditary diseases. For example, scientists discovered a gene which causes breast cancer and as a result, people have chosen to have a mastectomy to prevent people catching illness and disease
Lifestyle factors and influence on health
-Smoking can cause various cancers such as lung and mouth cancer.
-Having a diet consisting of too much fat can lead to heart disease.
-Tanning can lead to skin cancer.
-Drinking too much alcohol can cause liver disease and kidney problems.
-Too much sugar can lead to type 2 diabetes.
-Sharing bodily fluids can spread disease
-Children who are exposed to second-hand smoke are more likely to develop asthma
Improvements in diagnosis
BLOOD TESTS:
-1930s
-Blood samples are used to test for lots of conditions
SCANS:
-X-rays to see inside the body
-MRI scans- uses magnets and radio waves to create an internal image of the body. Used to diagnose soft tissue injuries
-CT scans- more advanced for of x-rays. Used to diagnose tumours and growths
-Ultrasound- use sound waves to build a picture inside of the body. Used to diagnose gall stones and kidney stones.
-Endoscopes- use a camera on a flexible tube to see inside the human body.
MONITORS:
-Blood pressure monitors- used to diagnose low and high blood pressure
-Blood sugar monitoring- allows diabetes sufferers to check blood sugar level
Impact of the NHS: improved access to care
-Before 1948, medical care was available to workers earning a certain amount through the 1911 National Insurance Act. However, this did not extend to women who were at home raising their families.
-NHS is the Nation Health Service who’s aim was to provide medical care for the entire population of Britain. It was funded from wages in the same way as taxes. 3 parts of the NHS were: Hospitals, GP’s and addition services. There were 1143 voluntary hospitals and 1545 city hospitals.
-The NHS weren’t able to fund the modernisation of GPs and hospitals to make them satisfactory. They also didn’t have enough money to spend on medical care. Not evenly spread across the UK.
-The NHS overcame problems when the Government implied changes to improve the NHS as well as the Government managing the NHS rather than just funding it. Made a GP charter to keep up with medical developments. made sure hospitals were spread across the UK.
Magic Bullets
Arsenic Compounds that used a chemical cure that kills microbes in the body without harming the body.
First magic bullet= Salvarsan 606 (1909)
Other magic bullets= Prontosil and M+693
Antibiotics
Biological cure that attacked microbes in the body (E.g. Penicillin and Streptomycin)
High-tech medical and surgical treatment in hospitals
ASEPTIC SURGERY:
-No bacteria could get into the operating theatre. This improved the safety of surgery as it meant that the chances of catching infection whilst being operated on was virtually impossible. This meant people were less likely to die or become ill as a result of surgery.
TECHNOLOGY IN SURGERY:
-More complex surgery could take place
-Treating medical conditions that previously couldn’t be treated or may have lead to death.
-Less chance of blood loss
BLOOD TRANSFUSIONS:
-No rejection of blood if found matching blood group.
-Reduces blood loss and death.
-Blood lasted longer out the body because of sodium citrate.
-Allowed deeper, more complex surgery
Mass vaccination
-1942- diphtheria vaccine was created. During WWII, the government put a national campaign to encourage vaccination
-Polio Vaccine was introduced in 1962
-Rubella vaccine protects unborn babies
-HPV vaccine protects against STD which can cause cervical cancer
Vaccination reduced millions of deaths and protects future generations from illness
Government Lifestyle Campaigns
-Government aims to help people prevent disease themselves by promoting healthier lifestyles.
-Advertising campaigns, events and initiatives spread the message to live healthier.
-Traffic light colours on food
-Less people are dying from drug and alcohol addictions
-Prevents diabetes and obesity
Fleming, Florey and Chain’s development of Penicillin
ALEXANDER FLEMING:
-1928, Fleming notices something unusual about a dirty petri dish, one of them had developed some mould.
-The mould appeared to have killed off the harmful STAPHYLOCOCCUS BACTERIA that had been growing in the dish.
-Fleming tested the mould and identified it as PENICILLIN
-Unfortunately, Fleming din not believe that penicillin could work to kill bacteria in living people.
HOWARD FLOREY AND ERNST CHAIN:
-Florey and Chain were conducting research in the field of antibiotics.
-They came across Fleming’s findings and decided that the mould should be tested further.
-Chain grew the mould in his lab and used extracts of it in tests.
-1940, they tested their extracted penicillin on an infected rat and it looked as though the penicillin killed the infection.
-Unfortunately, Penicillin was hard to produce in large quantities.
-Penicillin had been proven to be effective in fighting infection in the human body
-21 pharmaceutical companies began to mass produce it.
Crowfoot Hodgkin
Identified the chemical structure for penicillin in 1945
John C. Sheeham
Created a chemical copy of penicillin in 1957
The Fight against Lung Cancer in the 21st century
2005- smoking advertising was banned completely
2007-Smoking was banned in the work place
2007- Government raised the legal age to buy tobacco form 16 to 18
2015- Ban was extended to cars carrying children under the age of 18 because evidence pf second-hand smoke having negative impacts on health
Diagnosis of Lung Cancer
-CT scans
-PET-CT
-Bronchoscopy
Treatment of Lung Cancer
-Chemotherapy
-Radiation
-Tumour removal
-Transplant
-Genetic research
