Industrial

• Many different methods have been tried to mask or dull the awful pain a patient would have to suffer during surgery, opium, hypnotism, alcohol or even a blow to the head had all been tried but were not reliable.
• By 1830, a microscope had been invented that could magnify up to a 1000 times. Finally, scientists could see microorganisms clearly, though they still had no real idea what they were.
• The main theory of the time was spontaneous generation. This suggested that microorganisms were created when something decayed.
• The main cause of disease was still attributed to miasma, or a foul smelling infectious mist.