Please enable JavaScript.
Coggle requires JavaScript to display documents.
Major Surgical Discoveries of the Industrial Revolution - Coggle Diagram
Major Surgical Discoveries of the Industrial Revolution
Problem of Pain
in the 1800s (the renaissance), surgery was rare because surgeons could not stop or control pain during an operation. Imagine having your leg amputated, and being conscious!
there were some age-old pain deadening substances: hashish, mandrake and opium are some examples. these substances often didn't work or killed the patient, as it was difficult to get the dosage right.
sometimes alcohol was used, but it actually stimulated the heart and so caused heavy bleeding, often killing the patient.
all of this resulted in surgeons working quickly (therefore making mistakes) and they wouldn't attempt complicated internal surgery.
early ideas about infection
surgery carried a high risk of infection
surgeons tried to keep the patient healthy and the wound clean. if it became infected they cauterised the affected tissues
surgeons believed that chemicals in the wound cause infection, but were confused why some deep wounds healed quickly, and some surface scratches proved fatal.
using microscopes, scientists saw microbes
they thought they were produced by decay (spontaneous generation)
they thought all microbes were the same.
Germ theory in surgery
reactions to listers work
the public health debate focused on chemical causes of infection
spontaneous generation was supported by very famous well known doctors, and listers use of biology was strange and unfamiliar to british doctors
his ideas were criticized
opposition to antiseptic surgery
in the late 1860s, antiseptic chemicals had actually been used, with not astounding results, listers results were not revolutionary.
carbolic acid was very annoying to work with, it dried skin and irritated lungs
doctors at the time did not accept pasteur's germ theory or the role of microbes in wound infection.
joseph listers work
lister said microbes in the air caused infection
lister used carbolic acid as an antiseptic. this worked very well, as he literally soaked everything in it
Louis Pasteur proved that spontaneous generation was wrong and that germs caused infection and decay.
Anaesthetics
opposition to anaesthetics
some people thought that not putting up with pain made you weak
surgeons were used to operating quickly on a conscious patient.
in the early days of using chloroform, many patients died from an overdose, as doctors dint understand about dose sizes
the were religious objections. for example, it was thought that pain in childbirth was Gods will.
New anaesthetics
chloroform: a safe and effective anaesthetic, discovered by james simpson.
nitrous oxide: humphrey davis in the 1800s described its pain dulling effects. however, it wasn't used until 1844 when an american dentist used it to remove teeth.
Ether: this was difficult to inhale, caused vomiting, and was extremely flammable.
Aseptic surgery
by the 1800s british doctors had accepted germ theory and its role in explaining infection.
by the 1890s, surgeons in europe and north america went beyond lister's antiseptic methods and developed aseptic surgery.
aseptic surgery: doctors and nurses scrubbed the room before using, wore gowns and new flexible gloves - aiming to remove microbes from a room before surgery rather than kill them as the surgery progressed.
facemasks, rubber gloves, surgical gowns (and replacing huge public operating theatres with smaller rooms for surgery) dramatically reduced infections.