The History of Germs Flashcards
Robert Hooke
described the structures of mold in 1665
Antoni van Leeuwenhoek
is credited with the discovery of bacteria in 1676 used very primitive microscope
tuberculosis
In the early 1800’s, tuberculosis (then known as consumption) was widespread and a common cause of death. It was killing 1 in 7 people that ever lived.
symptoms of TB?
Hacking, blood coughs, debilitating pain in their lungs and fatigue
Bacterias view when it was first discovered?
People didn’t understand what caused the disease. Even though bacteria had already been discovered, it was thought of as harmless and something that just appeared spontaneously
What country was Ignaz Semelweiss born in? Where does he work
Budapest, Hungary
Works in austria
Midwives
Midwives would deliver babies; less women dying
obstetrician
obstetrician would deliver babies; more women dying
physicians do what that midwives dont do?
Autopsies ; check how a person died from cutting them opened
What test did Semmelweis conduct? Results?
scrubbing/washing the hands before delivering babies in a strong acid solution. Less deaths of women during child birth 10% → less than 3%
How did Semmelweis end up dying?
He went to an asylum and was beaten and got sepsis
how many years did it take for people to take Semmelweis advice
12 years
Who was Louis Pasteur
A French chemist and microbiologist who is known as the “Father of microbiology”. Pasteur’s experiments led to the development of the germ theory of disease, which states that microbes cause disease
Who was Joseph Lister?
Lister used Pasteur’s germ theory to develop antiseptic techniques that reduced the risk of infection during surgery.
made people wash all their tools in a strong acid which is when sterilization became a thing
Pasteurized
heating up something to kill all microbes
What happened that was significant in 1882?
Robert Koch was the first to isolate tubercle bacillus, the bacteria that causes tuberculosis and explain how the disease was spread.
What was the ‘fresh air cure’ back then?
TB bacteria can live for longer in damp and dusty rooms where there is no fresh air. If it’s dark the bacteria cant get killed by sunlight
in the year 1900 the prevailing three causes of death were…
influenza/pneumonia, tuberculosis, gastroenteritis (stomach flu)
In the year 2000 the prevailing causes of death were…
Heart disease cancer and stroke
