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Industrial Medicine 1700-1900 - Coggle Diagram
Industrial Medicine 1700-1900
Germ theory and microbes
most people still believed miasma to be the root of disease and may scientists came to believe germs were the cause of disease BUT assumed germs were produced by decaying matter
in the late 1800s the work of Louis Pasteur and Robert Koch proved that germs were the cause of disease and that decay was caused by micro-organisms in the air
Louis Pasteur and Robert Koch
in 1861 Pasteur published his germ theory
koch read his work and began to study microbes and proved that pasteur's theory was correct and he also identified the specific microbes that caused TB in 1882 and the ones in cholera in 1883
koch also developed an easier way of growing bacteria on agar jelly, which other scientists used to identify microbes that caused other diseases
influence of their work: koch's work made more of an impact in britain than pasteur's and he inspired scientists to investigate other microbes HOWEVER, it took time for doctors and the government to except germ theory SO even though the real cause of disease had been discovered, it didn't yet have an impact on medical treatment or prevention
Microscopes
by 1700, microscopes had developed so that cloudy images of what would become known as bacteria or germs could be seen
by 1850, they had improved further and extremely tiny images could be seen clearly and this was essential in scientific breakthroughs in later years
Florence Nightingale
florence nightingale was significant in influencing improvements in hospital care
nursing wasn't seen as a respectable job for woman and there was little training
nightingale attended the first nurses' training school in germany and was asked to lead a team of nurses at a military hospital during the crimea war (1854 - 56)
she did believe in miasma
she emphasised the importance of hygiene, fresh air, good supplies and training for nurses - her approach improved conditions in hospitals
she published her book 'notes on nursing' in 1859
british newspapers reported on her while she was in crimea
Changes in hospital care
due to work done by people like florence nightingale, hospital cleanliness and organisation improved and nurses' were trained better
pasteur's germ theory led to improving hygiene
nurses were given more central role caring for patients and assisting doctors
previously, the elderly, sick or disabled were forced to enter workhouses, now infirmaries were set up for the poorest in society
specialist hospitals were opened for the mentally ill (asylums) and for people with infectious diseases (fever houses)
Anaesthetics and antiseptics
the 3 main problems that made surgery so dangerous was blood loss, pain and infection
throughout the 1800s people had searched for a successful anaesthetic to reduce the pain of surgery
in 1847, james simpson discovered that chloroform kept people unconscious through-out surgery with few side-effects
joseph lister's development of antiseptics
1864 - lister reads germ theory and learns that carbolic acid kills parasites in sewage
1865 - lister soaks bandages in carbolic acid to avoid wounds getting infected
1866 - uses carbolic acid to clean wounds and equipment and invents spray to kill germs on the air
1867 - Lister publishes his ideas when his wards have been sepsis-free for 9 months
opposition
people worried about the long term effect of anaesthetics and though that because the patient was unconscious they were more likely to die.
the victorians were very religious and though that god inflicted pain for a reason, so it was wrong to interfere with pain
the impact
surgery became pain free and patients didn't struggle, so surgeons could take more time and be more careful
more complex surgery became possible
the death rate decreased dramatically as infection was reduced and so was the risk of having surgery
aseptic surgery was now possible
Public health act 1875
in the 19th century, the government began to play more of a role in public health and and increased prevention rates by reducing the conditions that fostered disease
the government originally had a 'laisses-faire' policy and didn't believe it was its tole to improving living conditions
following the publication of germ theory and the outbreak of cholera and other epidemics, the government was forced to get involved so parliament passed the public health act to ensure city councils cleaned up their cities and towns to stop the spread of disease
the public health act stipulated that city authorities had to provide clean water, sewers and public toilets, street lighting and public parks
the authorities were also responsible for inspecting and controlling the quality of living conditions and food sold in shops, and had to employ a public officer of health to monitor outbreaks of disease
Development of vaccinations and Edward Jenner
the eradication of small pox
jenner would regularly treat people for cowpox and he notices that these people never caught small pox
in the 1790s he jenner infected local people with cowpox and then tried to infect them with smallpox, and none of them caught it
in 1798, the royal society refused to publish his ideas so he paid to print them himself and included detailed instructions so that people could carry out the vaccination
by 1800, around 100,000 people had been vaccinated worldwide, HOWEVER this practise took time to become popular in britain
in 1840, vaccinations were free of charge and were made compulsory in 1853 and in 1979, smallpox had been wiped out
edward jenner was the first to make a discovery that successfully prevented people from catching the disease smallpox
jenner's importance
in the 18th century smallpox killed more children than any other disease and even if you survived you were left with terrible scars
jenner's work proved that scientific methods could lead to a disease being wiped out
development of vaccinations
pasteur carried out experiments to observe microbes and published his results in 1861: germ theory
pasteur's team of scientists discovered that a weakened version of a disease-carrying microbe could create immunity towards the disease
pasteur also admired jenner's work and called his new discovery 'vaccination' as a tribute to jenner
pasteur developed vaccines against things like rabies in humans and cholera for animals
pasteur's work inspired other scientists to develop vaccines for human diseases
Cholera in 1854 and John Snow
the first cholera epidemic in britian (1831) was followed by another (1848-9) and another (1854) and a london doctor called john snow fund what was causing the disease
broad street pump
snow was a popular and well-respected doctor and surgeon and had observed the cholera epidemic in 1848-49 and began work on his theory that it was spread through contaminated drinking water, not by miasma
when cholera broke out again in 1854 in soho where he lived, snow mapped all the deaths and found a strong link to a water pump on board street
he removed the pump from the handle so people couldn't collect water from it and the deaths fell dramatically
later, it was discovered that a cesspit close was leaking waste into the well
in 1855, snow presented his findings to the government
significance of john snow's work
many cholera death in soho were prevented
HOWEVER many didn't believe his theory as he had no scientific evidence to prove that cholera transmitted through water as germ theory wouldn't emerge until 1861 and because of this the government didn't act upon his suggestion of building a new sewer system for london
snow's work combined with other evidence (e.g the great stink 1858) proved that action was required, so a new london sewer system was made in 1875
snow's work also helped to make the link between dirty water and disease which lead to the public health act in 1875