Early Modern

• Lots of new ideas – like in the Renaissance
• Not much progress until after 1850!
• Important developments in the Early Modern Era


  • Germ Theory
  • Queen Victoria uses Chloroform during childbirth
  • The second Public Health Act
  • John Snow finds the cause of cholera
  • Joseph Lister uses carbolic acid as antiseptic
  • The Crimean War
  • The first Public Health Act
  • Jenner discovers vaccination against Smallpox
• There were several outbreaks of smallpox in the eighteenth century – the worst being in 1796

  
• Edward Jenner


  A country doctor who noticed dairy maids never caught smallpox but they did have similar looking warts on their hands
• Cowpox


  Jenner concluded that cowpox prevented them from catching smallpox
• In 1796 Jenner infected a boy named James Phipps with cowpox. Six weeks later he gave him a deadly dose of smallpox but the boy survived
• Inoculations


  Made illegal in 1840 but then in the same year the government began vaccinating children against smallpox

  
• Smallpox vaccination


  Made compulsory in 1852
• Jenner's work


  • Prevented smallpox, saved millions of lives, eventually eradicated
  • Napoleon and Jefferson encouraged vaccinations in their own countries, made vaccinations acceptable
• Vaccination


  Jenner invented the concept, key method of prevention in 20th century
• Pamphlets


  Jenner used them to inform the public about the benefits of vaccination
• By the eighteenth century most people had stopped believing in the Four Humours
• Spontaneous generation


  The belief that things naturally began to rot and this produced microbes
• Microscopes were poor quality and could only see larger microbes once things had started to rot
• Louis Pasteur


  In 1861 he came up with the germ theory, using a more powerful lens he could see the smaller microbes (germs) which caused matter to rot in the first place
• Although a major breakthrough, many people ignored Pasteur's findings on germ theory
• Pasteur's work


  • Not a doctor, focused on decay and rotting food not disease
  • Proved spontaneous generation wrong
  • Joseph Lister linked it to infection problems in surgery
  • Some doctors couldn't identify microbes under microscope
  • Inspired other scientists like Robert Koch
  • Allowed doctors to study disease rather than symptoms
  • Rejected by British government in 1880s
• Robert Koch


  Developed Pasteur's work, showed different germs caused different diseases, used petri dish and agar jelly to grow bacteria, discoveries led to many vaccines
• John Snow and Cholera


  1. Mapped out deaths, found most were near water pump

  2. Discovered cesspit leaking into drinking water

  3. Removed pump handle so no one could get water

  4. 500 people died in 10 days
• Jenner invented the first vaccination but couldn't explain why it worked
• Pasteur showed germs caused disease but thought all germs were the same
• Koch showed different germs caused different diseases, leading to modern day vaccines
• Florence Nightingale's work


  • Improved hygiene and nutrition in hospitals
  • Reduced death rates in hospitals
  • Trained nurses to high standards
• Simpson and Lister's work


  • Simpson showed chloroform was a safer anaesthetic
  • Lister used carbolic acid to kill germs in hospitals, reduced infection rates from 50% to 0%
  • Allowed longer, more complex operations
• Progress in the Early Modern Era


  Some areas showed progress, some areas lacked progress