modern

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

  • Improvements in technology
  • Better access to care
  • Advances in science
  • Developments in technology
• Magic bullets


  Chemical treatments that kill specific bacteria inside the body without harming the body
• Antibiotics


  Substances that control the spread of bacteria in the body by killing them or stopping them reproducing
• 1. rays


  High frequency electromagnetic radiation, used for medical imaging
• CT scans


  Computerised tomography scans that use X-rays and a computer to create detailed images of the inside of the body
• Lifestyle factors like poor diet, lack of exercise, smoking, drinking alcohol, and stress can lead to some forms of cancer, heart disease and mental health problems
• By c.1900, the British government no longer had a laissez-faire approach to health
• Throughout the 20th century, the government increased its involvement in funding medical research and treatment, passing legislation to help prevent disease and illness, and educating people about dangers to their health
• Scotland was the first of the four UK nations to ban smoking in public places, through legislation passed in 2006. England, Northern Ireland and Wales followed in 2007
• Advances in science, such as the discovery of DNA, have led to a greater understanding of the causes of disease
• By the end of the 20th century, it was understood that some diseases, conditions or disorders are hereditary - which means they are passed from parents to children in genes
• Rapid developments in technology led to huge advances in the diagnosis and treatment of disease and illness after c.1900
• Magic bullet


  A chemical treatment that kills specific bacteria inside the body without harming the body
• Paul Ehrlich


  • Worked with Robert Koch in Germany
  • Put forward the concept of a magic bullet in 1900
  • Argued that a chemical could deliberately target bacteria in the human body and kill those bacteria
• Arsenic


  A form of poison
• Compound

  A substance formed by the chemical union (involving bond formation) of two or more elements
• Syphilis


  A sexually transmitted disease which causes degeneration to the brain and body if untreated
• Salvarsan 606


  • First magic bullet
  • Discovered by Japanese scientist Sahachiro Hata in 1909
  • 606th compound of Salvarsan (a drug containing arsenic)
  • Able to kill the bacteria that cause syphilis
• Prontosil


  • Second magic bullet
  • Discovered by Gerhard Domagk in the 1930s
  • Killed the bacteria that cause blood poisoning
  • Used to cure Domagk's daughter's blood poisoning, the first human cured by a magic bullet
• Scientists realised that Salvarsan 606 and Prontosil contained sulphonamide
• Following the discovery of sulphonamide, drug companies developed sulphonamide cures for diseases such as pneumonia and scarlet fever
• Antibiotics


  Substance that controls the spread of bacteria in the body by killing them or stopping them reproducing
• Death from an infection could be prevented if people were treated with antibiotics quickly
• The first antibiotic, penicillin, was discovered


  1928
• Alexander Fleming


  • Scientist who was studying the wounds of soldiers and infections caused by the staphylococci bacteria in his laboratory in London
  • Left some dishes on the windowsill containing the bacteria and went on holiday
  • On his return, noticed that the penicillin mould had killed the staphylococci bacteria underneath
  • Experimented and successfully used penicillin to treat a friend's eye infection
• Fleming's discovery of penicillin


  1. Studying wounds and infections

  2. Leaving dishes with bacteria on windowsill

  3. Noticing penicillin mould had killed bacteria

  4. Experimenting with penicillin

  5. Successfully treating eye infection
• Howard Florey and Ernst Chain


  • Read Fleming's article on penicillin in 1938
  • Secured funding from the British government and America to carry out more research
  • Discovered penicillin could cure infections in mice
  • Built a home penicillin factory to create pure penicillin
  • Tested penicillin on a human, a policeman called Albert Alexander, which worked but they ran out of penicillin after a week
• Florey and Chain's development of penicillin

  1. Reading Fleming's article

  2. Securing funding

  3. Researching penicillin

  4. Building a penicillin factory

  5. Testing penicillin on a human
• In 1941, America entered World War Two and the American government realised the potential importance of penicillin for treating wounded soldiers and funded its mass production
• By D-Day in 1944, the Allies had produced 2.3 million doses of penicillin with which to treat the wounded
• Medicine in modern Britain has seen great advances in the 20th and 21st centuries as technology developed and the government became more involved in the health of the British people
• Factors that have influenced medicine in the 20th century and beyond


  • Improvements in technology
  • Better access to care
• Magic bullets


  Improvements in technology
• Diagnosing and treating illness


  Improvements in technology
• Better access to care

  Government involvement in medicine increased throughout the 20th century
• In 1900, most sick people were still cared for at home, generally by women as it was traditionally viewed as their role to look after members of the family
• Doctors were too expensive for most families in 1900
• Government's role in medicine

  1. Funding treatment

  2. Encouraging mass vaccination

  3. Leading education programmes
• National Insurance Act 1911


  Enabled workers to access medical care, paid for by workers, employers and the government
• The National Insurance Act did not include the families of workers