Modern Medicine (1900-Present) Flashcards
Who was Paul Ehrlich?
Paul Ehrlich was a German doctor who joined Robert Koch’s research team in 1890.
He was fascinated by the way that the body produced antibodies (white blood cells) to fight off infectiom.
Why did Paul Ehrlich call white blood cells ‘magic bullets’?
Ehrlich called them ‘magic bullets’ because they targeted germs but did not kill other cells in the body
In 1889, what did Paul Ehrlich set out to find?
In 1889, Paul Ehrlich set out to find chemicals that could act as synthetic antibodies.
What bacterium was identified in 1905?
In 1905, the bacterium that causes the sexually transmitted disease syphilis was identified.
Ehrlich discovered dyes. What could these dyes do?
Ehrlich discovered dyes that could kill the malaria and sleeping sickness germs.
What did Ehrlich and his team try to search for? What did they hope it would do?
Ehrlich and his team decided to search for an arsenic compound that was a magic bullet for syphilis.
They hoped it would target the bacteria without poisoning the rest of the body.
How many magic bullet compounds did Ehrlich and his team try?
Over 600 compounds were tried, but none seemed to work.
Who joined Ehrlich’s team in 1909, what did he discover?
In 1909, Sahachiro Hata joined the team.
He retested the compounds and saw that compound number 606 actually appeared to work. Ehrlich called the new drug Salvarson 606.
When was Salvarson 606 first used on a human?
Salvarson 606 was first used on a human in 1911
In 1912, what did surgeon James McDonagh publish? What did it say about Salvarson 606?
In 1912, surgeon James McDonagh published a book about it, highlighting the immunity some may develop towards Salvarsan 606 and the effects on the body.
Why were some doctors not keen to use Salvarson 606?
Some doctors were not keen to use the new drug; it was not very soluble and was difficult and painful to inject into veins.
Some doctors believed that people would become promiscuous now that they knew syphilis could be cured.
Despite Ehrlich’s rigorous testing, there were many doctors who didn’t like the idea of giving their patient arsenic, in any form.
What did Gerhard Domagk discover in 1932?
Gerhard Domagk discovered that a red dye called prontosil, killed some blood poisoning germs in mice.
Who did Gerhard Domagk test Prontosil on? What happened?
In 1935, Domagk tested it on his own daughter when she pricked herself on an infected needle. Prontosil cured her.
What was the problem with sulphonamides?
Sulphonamides could still only kill a narrow range of germs.
Serious side-effects of sulphonamide drugs were discovered. What were the side effects?
Sulphonamide drugs can damage the liver and kidneys.
What did Alexander Fleming see many soldiers die from? When?
Alexander Fleming saw many soldiers die of septic wounds eased by staphylococcal bacteria when he was working in an army hospital during the First World War.
Searching for a cure for staphylococcal bacteria, what did Fleming find in 1922? What was the problem with it?
Searching for a cure, he identified the antiseptic substance in tears, lysozyme, in 1922 - but this only worked on some germs.
Describe how Fleming discovered penicillin
1) One day in 1928 he came to clean up some old culture dishes on which he had been growing staphylococci for his experiments.
By chance, a fungal spore had landed and grown on one of the dishes.
2) What caught Fleming’s eye was that the colonies of staphylococci around the mould had stopped growing.
The fungus was identified as Penicillium notatum.
It produced a substance that killed bacteria. This substance was given the name penicillin.
Why could Fleming not take his work on penicillin further?
Nobody was willing to fund further research, so Fleming was unable to take his work on penicillin further
In 1940, what was discovered about penicillin?
Penicillin was effective on mice
In 1939, who continued Fleming’s research on penicillin?
In 1939, Howard Florey, Ernst Chain and their team continued Fleming’s research on penicillin.
Why does penicillin need to be purified?
Penicillin needs to be purified because it is a natural product
What technique did Ernst Chain devise?
Ernst Chain devised the freeze-drying technique, which was an important part of the purification process
How did Florey and Chain make penicillin for their first chemical trial?
They made penicillin for their first clinical trial by growing penicillium notatum in every container they could find in their lab.
What happened to the first patient who used penicillin?
The patient began to recover, however because of Florey and Chain’s short supply, they ran out and the patient died
Why did Florey go to America to mass produce penicillin?
Florey went to America to mass produce penicillin because British chemical firms were too busy making explosives
Originally, American firms were not keen to produce penicillin. How did this change?
American firms were also not keen to help — until America joined the war in 1941.
In December 1941, the US government began to give out grants to businesses that manufactured penicillin.
After the war, what happened to the cost of penicillin?
After the war, the cost of penicillin fell, making it more accessible for general use.
What were Fleming, Florey, and Chain awarded?
Fleming, Florey and Chain were awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1945.
By 1943, what had British businesses began to do?
By 1943, British businesses had also started mass-producing penicillin.
Mass production was sufficient for the needs of the military medics by 1944.
Why did Alexander Fleming abandon work on penicillin?
Alexander Fleming abdandoned work on penicillin because he thought that it would never work on living tissue
Give one group of people, who used mould to heal people
Greeks, Chinese and Aboriginals all used mould to heal people.
What animal was penicillin first tested on?
Penicillin was first tested on mice
Where did Florey and Chain make penicillin? Why?
Florey and Chain made penicillin at Oxford University, because factories were being used to make things for war
How much did the Medical Research Council give Florey and Chain? How much did Florey and Chain ask for?
The Medical Research Council gave Florey and Chain £25.
They asked for £600, but only got £25
Who was the first human that penicillin was tested on?
The first human penicillin was tested on Albert Alexander
How many lives did penicillin save, by the end of World War Two?
Penicillin saved 300,000 lives by the end of World War Two
How did Alexander Fleming trick Florey and Chain?
Alexander Fleming tricked Florey and Chain and took the credit for penicillin himself by:
Pretending a friend was ill, taking a large supply of penicillin away and then telling the press that he had created it himself
Who was James Watson?
James Watson was an American biologist
Who was Francis Crick?
Francis Crick was an English physicist
Where did Watson and Crick work, in 1953?
James Watson and Francis Crick worked at Cambridge University in 1953.
What did Crick and Watson build their model of DNA based on?
Crick and Watson saw the x-rays provided by Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins.
They built their model based off the photographs of DNA.
How did Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins help with the model of DNA?
Franklin made some corrections and Wilkins provided clearer photographs that they had taken of DNA.
What did Watson and Crick suggest the shape of DNA was?
Watson and Crick suggested the shape of DNA was a double helix, which could ‘unzip’ itself to make copies.
Who was the Human Genome Project originally led by? What did it aim to do?
In 1990, the Human Genome Project, originally led by Watson, aimed to decode and map the human genome - The complete set of DNA that makes up humans
What is the human genome?
The human genome is the complete set of DNA that makes up humans
When was the Human Genome Project completed? How many genomes were mapped?
The Human Genome Project was completed in 2003
More than 3 billion genomes were mapped
What did the completion of the human genome mean for scientists?
Scientists now understand what each part of the genome is for and where hereditary diseases are in our DNA.
Scientists are able to identify the gene that is present in some breast cancer patients which has helped with prevention
Give 3 factors that contributed to Watson and Crick’s discovery
Watson and Crick were great scientists - they weren’t afraid to try out new ideas that hadn’t been tried before
Watson and Crick had the best equipment such as improved microscopes that allowed them to see DNA clearly
Watson and Crick did not work alone - they had a team of scientists with different skills and knowledge
Although their research was expensive, most of it was funded by the government
Watson and Crick built on new knowledge in other types of science
Rosalind Franklin, who worked with Watson and Crick, was able to photograph a single strand of DNA
Watson and Crick were able to use new X-ray photography to build their DNA model
What did Watson, Crick, and their team win?
Watson and Crick, along with their team, won the Nobel Prize in medicine in 1962
What are genes?
Genes are the chemical instructions’ that plan out human characteristics, like sex and hair colour. They are stored in cells as DNA.
Because of the discovery of DNA, what can scientists now produce?
Because of the discovery of DNA, scientists can now produce a synthetic protein to replicate the work of a faulty gene and treat inherited conditions using techniques like gene therapy.
Give 4 improvements in medical diagnosis
Blood tests (1930s)
Blood sugar monitoring (1960s)
X-rays (1890s)
Blood pressure monitors (1880s)
MRI scans (1970s)
CT scans (1970s)
Endoscopes (1900s)
ECGs (1900s)
Ultrasounds (1940s)
How did blood tests improve diagnosis?
Blood tests (1930s) - using blood samples to test for a large number of conditions without the need for invasive diagnosis methods
How did blood sugar monitoring improve diagnosis?
Blood sugar monitoring (1960s) - allows people who suffer from diabetes to check their blood sugar regularly to ensure they manage their condition
How did x-rays improve diagnosis?
X-Rays (1890s) - helps to see inside the human body without cutting into it - diagnose problems such as a broken bone
How did blood pressure monitors improve diagnosis?
Blood pressure monitors (1880s) - helped diagnose high and low blood pressure
How did MRI scans improve diagnosis?
MRI Scans (1970s) - using magnets and radio waves to create an internal image of the body - helped diagnose soft tissue injuries
How did CT scans improve diagnosis?
CT Scans (1970s) - more advanced form of x-rays. They can be used to diagnose tumours and other growths in the body.
How did endoscopes improve diagnosis?
Endoscopes (1900s) - small camera on the end of a flexible tube to help see inside the human body and can be used to assist surgery
What did ECGs do?
ECGs (1900s) used electrical impulses to track heart activity
How did ultrasounds improve diagnosis?
Ultrasounds (1940s) - soundwaves able to picture inside the body - helpful for diagnosing things such as kidney stones
How has radiotherapy and chemotherapy improved treatment?
Doctors can now use x-rays to target and shrink tumours growing inside the body
It is an effective treatment for many types of cancer
How has laparoscopy (keyhole surgery) improved treatment?
Laparoscopy is using tiny cameras and narrow surgical instruments, surgeons can now operate inside the body through tiny incisions
Allows for quicker healing and less trauma to the body
How did dialysis machines improve treatment?
The blood of patients with kidney failure is ‘washed’ by a machine.
Machines have become more widely available, smaller and more portable.
How did prosthetic limbs improve treatment?
Better prosthetic limbs were now produced. Partly in response to the number of soldiers surviving attacks in recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan
People could have a limb replaced instead of permanently removed
How did transplants improve treatment?
Transplants were made possible due to improved surgical techniques, microsurgery, used to re-attach tiny nerve endings and blood vessels
People could get vital organs transplanted - life saving
How did robotic surgery improve treatment?
Surgeons can now use computers to control instruments inside the body
Allowed for more precise surgery with smaller cuts
Why were blood tests introduced?
Blood tests were introduced to test blood groups, before blood transfusions
Give one thing that blood tests can check/show
Blood tests can be used to check a patient’s cholesterol level. This can help diagnose their chance of suffering a heart attack or stroke.
Blood tests can be used to check a patient’s DNA. This can help diagnose a genetic condition, like haemophilia or cystic fibrosis.
Some blood tests can be used to show whether a patient has a certain type of cancer, including ovarian cancer, prostate cancer and breast cancer.
