Unit 3 - Medicine in 18th and 19th century Britain c.1750-c.1900

Question 1

What does the term Spontaneous generation mean?

Answer 1

A belief that decay causes germs to appear.

Question 2

What does the term aseptic mean?

Answer 2

A germ free environment.

Question 3

What does the term antiseptic mean?

Answer 3

Kills germs on a wound.

Question 4

What does the term Lassez-faire mean?

Answer 4

Governments who do not get involved in the lives of their people.

Question 5

When did Robert Koch discover the bacteria for tuberculosis?

Answer 5

1882.

Question 6

What year did Koch discover the bacteria which caused cholera?

Answer 6

1883.

Question 7

What did John Tyndall believe?

Answer 7

John Tyndall was a scientist who discovered particles in the air and linked his discovery with Pasteur’s germ theory and Lister’s work on wound infection.
He believed that that dust particles carried germs.
Because he was a scientist people did not trust him.

Question 8

What year did Joseph Lister start using carbolic acid? How did he use it and who did he use it on?

Answer 8

1865. He operated on a patient with a broken leg and used bandages soaked in carbolic acid to cover the wound.

Question 9

What infection was common and killed many patients after operations due to infection?

Answer 9

Gangrene.

Question 10

In what year did Hannah Greener die? Why was this?

Answer 10

In 1848, 14-year-old Hannah Greener died from an overdose after having an infected toenail removed.

Question 11

Why was there a black period in surgery?

Answer 11

When chloroform began to be used as an anaesthetic surgeons began to operate deeper into the body, and due to this more people died as blood loss and infection became much bigger problems.

Question 12

Where did Joseph Lister publish his results?

Answer 12

In the medical journal, The Lancet, which showed that through using carbolic spray infections were reduced by 30%.

Question 13

In what year, did surgeons begin sterilising all medical equipment before surgery? Whose work was this due to?

Answer 13

1887.

Question 14

What year were sterilised gloves introduced in order to reduce the risk of infection during surgery?

Answer 14

1894.

Question 15

What is sepsis?

Answer 15

(Septicaemia). Also known as blood poisoning. The body becomes overwhelmed with infection and can often cause death.

Question 16

When was the germ theory published? How long did it take before the theory to be applied to surgery?

Answer 16

The germ theory was published in 1861 but it took 6 years before the theory was eventually applied to surgery.

Question 17

What are the three key names in association with the smallpox vaccination?

Answer 17

Edward Jenner, Sarah Nelmes and James Phipps.

Question 18

What did Louis Pasteur’s germ theory state?

Answer 18

The germ theory said that food went off because of contamination which was due to microbes in the air.

Question 19

What is pasteurisation used for?

Answer 19

To keep food and drink free of disease.

Question 20

What was the problem with the 1848 public health act?

Answer 20

It wasn’t compulsory

Question 21

How did the second public health act stop another cholera epidemic?

Answer 21

It stated that clean water must be provided.

Question 22

What was spontaneous generation?

Answer 22

Spontaneous generation was new idea by scientists in the early 18th century. It was simply the idea that microbes were the product of decay and they cause disease.

Question 23

What did Pasteur’s theory claim?

Answer 23

1) Microbes cause decay and also disease.
2) The air is full of microbes
3) Microbes can be killed by heating them (Pasteurisation)

Question 24

Why did Pasteur’s work have little impact?

Answer 24

Some doctors refused to accept that bacteria could make people ill, so they continued to believe spontaneous generation.

Question 25

Why did Koch’s work impact medicine?

Answer 25

He inspired other scientists to discover the bacteria of other diseases.