modern medicine

• Recap of medical developments

  • Anaesthetics
  • Antiseptics
  • Aseptic surgery
  • Vaccinations
• Magic bullets and penicillin


  A new type of treatment discovered from 1900 onwards that goes inside the body to kill germs and diseases
• Paul Ehrlich


  • A German doctor who initially worked for Robert Koch, and discovered the first 'magic bullet' - a chemical which would hit the specific germ, but not damage anything else in the body - called Salvarsan 606
• Other chemical cures


  • Protonsil - a chemical treatment for blood poisoning developed in 1932
• By the 1920s, one nasty germ in particular remained undefeated by any magic bullet - Staphylococcus, which causes a range of illnesses including blood and food poisoning, and had 30 different strains
• Alexander Fleming


  • Inspired to work on a cure by seeing the horrible wounds of injured soldiers during the First World War, in 1928 he discovered penicillin by chance when spores of penicillin mould floated into his lab
• Fleming published his findings but did not realise penicillin was an antibiotic, instead assuming it was an antiseptic. He did not inject it into an infected animals, so few people regarded his work as a major breakthrough
• Florey and Chain


  • Took up Flemings research in the 1930s, tested penicillin on mice and then on a human - Albert Alexander, but ran out of penicillin and he died
• The Second World War

  Was a vital factor in transforming the supply of penicillin, as the growing number of soldiers with infected wounds meant more penicillin was needed, and the US government funded mass production
• It is estimated that around 15% of wounded British and American soldiers would have died without being given penicillin
• Penicillin was classed as an antibiotic, and has gone on the save the lives of millions of people, unless you have an allergy to penicillin (around 10% of people do)
• Other antibiotics followed, with a range of uses - from treating tuberculosis to clearing up skin infections to treating cancer through chemotherapy
• Another long term impact of Florey and Chain's work is the pharmaceutical industry, worth an estimated £200-300 billion and employing nearly 80,000 people in the UK alone
• Factors that played a part in the story of penicillin

  • War
  • Individuals
  • Chance
  • Government
  • Science, tech and communication
• Our understanding of the causes of disease - and therefore the treatments needed - has been transformed since 1945
• Discovery of DNA


  • In 1953 Francis Crick and James Watson discovered the structure of human DNA and how it passes from parents to their children
  • In the 1990s the Human Genome Project began working out exactly how each part of human DNA affects the human body
• This has allowed scientists to find ways of treating specific genetic illnesses, for example predicting how cancer can evolve in individual patients. Doctors can now identify specific genetic disorders such as Down's Syndrome, Parkinson's disease, Diabetes, Cystic fibrosis and Alzheimer's disease
• Vaccinations expanded since the 1950s and 1960s

  • Diphtheria
  • Whooping cough
  • Tetanus
  • Polio
  • Measles
  • HPV (anti-cancer vaccine) developed in 2006
• Surgical advancements

  • Kidney and heart transplants
  • Drugs to prevent the body rejecting transplanted organs
  • Endoscopes allow doctors to see inside the body (keyhole surgery)
  • Microsurgery has allowed the reattachment of nerve endings
  • Robotic surgery allows more precision
  • Pacemakers allow patients to maintain a regular heartbeat
  • Skin grafts
  • Hip replacements
  • First triple transplant (heart, lung, liver) achieved in 1986
  • Bionic eyes developed
  • MRI scanning developed in 1987 to monitor brain activity and find brain tumours
  • First full face transplant in 2008
  • First human liver grown from stem cells in 2013
• Alternative medical treatments


  • Chiropractic
  • Aromatherapy
  • Hypnotherapy
  • Homeopathy
  • Acupuncture
• The effectiveness of alternative medical treatments is disputed
• Medical developments from World War One

  • X-Rays
  • Plastic surgery
  • Improved antiseptics
  • New techniques for broken bones
  • Blood transfusions and blood banks
  • Recognition of shell shock (now PTSD)
• Medical developments from World War Two

  • Plastic surgery
  • Blood transfusions
  • Heart surgery
  • Improved diet
  • Highlighting poverty and leading to the NHS
• In 1886, Charles Booth had studied poverty in East London, finding that 35% of people were experiencing poverty and bad health, and recommended an old age pension but the government ignored him
• In 1901, Seebohm Rowntree published a study of poverty in York, finding that over 25% of people were experiencing poverty and bad health, even those with jobs
• In 1906 a Liberal government was elected with a large majority, which meant they had the power to introduce the Liberal Reforms, opening the door to public health reform in the 20th century
• Liberal Reforms


  • Old age Pensions
  • Education for mothers
  • National Insurance Act
  • School meals and medical checks
• Public health was still bad in the 1930s due to the Great Depression causing more poverty
• Factors leading to the creation of the NHS

  • Shock at the poor health of 'evacuee' children during WWII
  • Free health care provided during WWII
  • People felt they deserved this to continue after risking their lives in the war
  • Beveridge Report highlighting the 'five giants' - disease, need, ignorance, idleness, squalor
• Creation of the NHS in 1948


  • Medical care to be free for all the population regardless of background
  • Doctors originally opposed it but Bevan won them over
  • Now responsible for over 2500 hospitals and GPs surgeries in the UK
  • Has helped increase life expectancy to 81 years old, 13 years longer than in 1948
  • Nurses have developed specialist skills in patient care, some can now prescribe medicine
  • Facing issues of waiting times, an aging population, and rising costs