Industrial medicine

• What ideas about disease stopped?

  • The theory of the four humours
  • Supernatural/Astrology
  • God
• What ideas about disease continued?

  Miasma
• What new ideas were introduced in the 18th and 19th century?

  • Spontaneous generation
  • Germ theory
• What was spontaneous generation?

  Microbes were the product of decay and caused disease, (the idea that something scientific caused disease).
• Who came up with the Germ theory?

  Louis Pasteur
• What did Pasteur's theory claim?

  • Microbes caused decay and disease
  • The air is full of microbes
  • Microbes can be killed by heating them (Pasteurisation)
• How did Pasteur prove germs were all around us?

  experiments of milk, bear and animals
• What did Pasteur prove?

  Germs were all around us and some were harmful which could cause disease
• Why did Pasteur and the germ theory have little impact?

  Doctors refused to accept microbes like bacteria could make people ill so they continued to believe spontaneous generation
• Who developed the germ theory?

  Robert Koch
• What did Robert Koch discover?

  Specific bacteria caused a specific disease
• What bacteria did Robert Koch discover?

  Tuberculosis and Cholera
• What method did Koch use to identify disease causing bacteria?

  He grew bacteria and stained it making it easier to identify
• What was a huge turning point from Koch's discovery?

  Doctors began to find treatments for microbes that cause disease rather than just the symptoms
• What were the dangers of surgery up until the 19th Century?

  • Pain
  • Infection
  • Blood loss
  • Shock
• In the 1840s a new anaesthetic was used Ether. This could make a patient unconscious, but if too much was used it could kill a patient!
• Who were against Anaesthetics?

  Religious leaders. They thought Childbirth was made painful as a punishment for man kind after Adam and eve ate the forbidden fruit.
• Who supported Anaesthetics?

  Her majesty the Queen (Victoria) gave it her blessing, she even took part in the use of chloroform for the birth of her son and daughter.
• Who discovered chloroform?

  James Simpson
• What effect could chloroform have on patients during surgery?

  It could make patients unconscious
• Who blessed James Simpson for his work with chloroform?

  Queen Victoria
• What did chloroform allow doctors to perform?

  Deeper and complex surgeries
• What was a significant risk associated with the Surgery Black Period?

  Many patients died during surgeries
• What did Joseph Lister develop based on his studies?

  Carbolic Acid Spray
• How did antiseptics affect death rates in amputations by 1870?

  Reduced deaths by 15%
• What did Lister publish regarding his results?

  He published 11 cases
• What was the reaction of many doctors to the Germ Theory?

  Many did not believe in it
• What was the perception of carbolic acid among some doctors?

  It was seen as poisonous
• How did Lister's antiseptic methods affect surgery practices?

  Surgeons initially resisted changing practices
• What change occurred in attitudes towards antiseptics over time?

  Attitudes began to change towards acceptance
• What did the movement towards aseptic surgery signify?

  A shift towards preventing infection
• What are the key contributions of James Simpson and Joseph Lister to surgery?

  • James Simpson discovered chloroform for anesthesia.
  • Queen Victoria endorsed chloroform use.
  • Joseph Lister studied Germ Theory.
  • Lister developed carbolic acid spray as an antiseptic.
  • Antiseptics reduced death rates in surgeries.
• How did the introduction of antiseptics change surgical practices?

  • Reduced infection rates.
  • Shifted focus to aseptic techniques.
  • Required training for surgeons in new methods.
• How were nurses before Florence Nightingale?

  • Wards were rarely properly cleaned
  • Hospitals were cramped which resulted to disease spreading quickly
  • Nurses were not trained
  • Toilet facilities were bad, this helped disease to be spread
• What is the primary function of sewer systems?

  Remove waste and supply water
• Who was Edwin Chadwick?

  An important figure in public health
• What was the government's approach to public health in the early 1800s?

  They followed a 'Laissez Faire' approach
• What was a consequence of poor living conditions in the 1800s?

  Frequent outbreaks of epidemics like cholera
• When was the Public Health Act enacted?

  1848
• What were the main provisions of the 1848 Public Health Act?

  • National Board of Health established
  • Government could force town councils to improve water/sewerage
  • Local councils to collect taxes for public health
  • Councils could appoint medical officers