Modern medicine

• Factors that have influenced medicine in 20th century and beyond

  • Lifestyle factors
  • Government
  • Advances in science
  • Developments in technology
• Lifestyle factors

  • Poor diet
  • Lack of exercise
  • Smoking
  • Drinking alcohol
  • Stress
• Lifestyle factors

  Can lead to cancers, heart disease and mental health problems
• Government's role in medicine

  • Fund medical research & treatment
  • Pass legislation to help prevent disease and illness
  • Educate people about dangers to their health
• Throughout 20th century, government's role in medicine changed from a laissez-faire approach to increased involvement
• Legislation banning smoking in public places

  • 2006 - Scotland
  • 2007 - England, Wales, Northern Ireland
• Advances in science (e.g. discovery of DNA) have led to a greater understanding of the causes of disease
• By the end of the 20th century, it was accepted that some diseases are hereditary
• Developments in technology

  • Rapid development in diagnosis & treatment
  • Machines became more commonly used in hospitals (e.g. x-rays, CT scans, heart rate monitors)
• Magic bullet

  A chemical treatment that kills specific bacteria inside the body without harming the body
• Magic bullets

  • Salvarsan 606
  • Prontosil
• Discovery of penicillin


  1. Fleming studying wounds and infections

  2. Penicillin mould landing on dishes

  3. Fleming noticing penicillin mould killing bacteria

  4. Experiments showing penicillin could kill bacteria without harming other cells

  5. Fleming writing about his findings in 1929
• Development of penicillin

  1. Florey and Chain reading Fleming's article

  2. Securing government funding

  3. Discovering penicillin could cure infections in mice

  4. Needing to make large quantities of pure penicillin

  5. American government funding production during WWII
• Factors that contributed to the development of penicillin

  • Chance
  • Government funding
  • Communication
  • War
  • Technology
  • Science
• National Insurance Act 1911

  Enabled workers to access medical care, with workers, employers and government paying into a fund
• The National Insurance Act 1911 did not support families of the workers
• National Health Service (NHS)

  Established in 1948, providing free healthcare for everyone, paid for from taxes
• There was some opposition to the NHS from doctors who had previously worked privately and didn't want to lose income, but this was overcome by allowing them to also work privately
• Services provided by the NHS

  • Hospitals
  • Ambulance
  • Specialists
  • Health visiting
  • Home nursing
  • Blood transfusions
  • Vaccinations
  • Health centres
  • General practices
• Mass vaccination programmes

  • Diphtheria 1942
  • Polio 1930
  • Tetanus 1961
  • Measles 1968
  • COVID-19 2020
• Government lifestyle campaigns

  Promoting healthy lifestyle, including advertising campaigns against smoking, binge drinking and unprotected sex, and encouraging healthy eating and exercise
• Improvements in diagnosing illness

  • Advances in technology (e.g. x-rays, CT scans, blood tests, endoscopes)
  • Enabling doctors to understand and diagnose illness more accurately
  • Sometimes removing the need for surgery
  • Making the process quicker and more comfortable for patients
• Improvements in medical and surgical treatment

  • High-tech treatments in hospitals (e.g. radiotherapy, prosthetic limbs, keyhole surgery)
  • Small machines used in treatment and surgery
• The discovery of DNA in 1953 by Francis Crick, James Watson and Rosalind Franklin allowed scientists to understand genetic diseases
• The Human Genome Project, completed in 2003, allowed scientists to identify differences in DNA that indicate genetic diseases
• Lung cancer

  The most common cancer in Britain, often caused by smoking (including passive smoking)
• Diagnosing and preventing lung cancer

  1. Difficulty diagnosing in early stages

  2. Advanced lung cancer detected using CT scans

  3. Government educating public about dangers of smoking

  4. Anti-smoking campaigns and legislation (e.g. graphic warnings, banning advertising, raising legal age)
• Lung cancer treatments

  • Chemotherapy
  • Radiotherapy
  • Immunotherapy
  • Lung transplant