Modern Britain (c.1900-present)

• 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
• Aspects of lifestyle that can lead to health problems and illnesses

  • Poor diet
  • Lack of exercise
  • Smoking
  • Drinking alcohol
  • Stress
• Laissez-faire


  A government policy of interfering as little as possible in social and economic policy
• What is the government's role?

  - to fund medical research and treatment

  - pass legislation to help prevent disease and illness - educate 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
• Across the UK, the administrations have supported advertising campaigns to educate the British people about the dangers of smoking
• DNA


  Deoxyribonucleic acid; the chemical that carries the genetic code of an organism and determines all the organisms characteristics
• It is now accepted that germs can cause disease and illness
• By the end of the 20th century, it was also understood that some diseases, conditions or disorders are hereditary - which means they are passed from parents to children in genes
• Diseases, conditions or disorders that are hereditary


  • Down's syndrome
  • Cystic fibrosis
  • Sickle cell anaemia
• Diagnosis


  The identification of a disease, illness or condition which is present in a patient. A diagnosis is made after looking for signs and symptoms in a patient
• Magic bullet


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


  Substance that controls the spread of bacteria in the body by killing them or stopping them reproducing
• Rays


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


  A computerised tomography scan. This uses X-rays and a computer to create detailed images of the inside of the body
• What are some examples of technology used in the 20th and 21st century medicine?

  • Microscopes
  • Incubators
  • X-rays
  • Prosthetic limbs
  • MRI, CT and ultrasound scans
  • Endoscopes
  • Pacemakers
  • Dialysis machines
  • Insulin pumps