Medicine history

• Edward Jenner


  Discovered inoculation

  1. Took puss from a milkmaid with cowpox

  2. Rubbed it into scratches on James Phipps' arm

  3. James was ill with cowpox, but recovered

  4. 6 weeks later, Jenner gave James smallpox

  5. James was ill with smallpox but survived
• Louis Pasteur


  Discovered germ theory

  Proved that bacteria caused diseases

  To prevent disease, bacteria needed to be killed

  Bacteria could be killed with heat
• Robert Koch


  Identified that specific bacteria caused specific diseases

  Made bacteriology possible

  Antibodies could help destroy bacteria and build immunity

  Each antibody only works on one bacteria
• Joseph Lister


  Used carbolic acid to kill germs

  Mortality rates decreased significantly

  Became known as "the father of antiseptic surgery"

  Influenced the current concept of surgical methods
• James Simpson


  Used chloroform as an anaesthetic

  Chloroform- induced dizziness, sleepiness and unconsciousness and needed to be administered carefully

  Chloroform was the most effective anaesthetic at the time
• Marie Curie


  Pioneer in medicine with radioactive material

  Created an x-ray machine which she took onto the battlefield in WW1 to diagnose injured soldiers

  Discovered radiology
• Alexander Fleming


  Discovered penicillin

  Left a petri dish full of bacteria and came back to find a mould growing which killed the bacteria
• Florey and Chain


  Developed Fleming's discovery

  Made pure penicillin which could be used as a medicine
• Christian Barnard


  First kidney transplant in South Africa in 1959

  First successful human heart transplant (Dec 3rd 1967)

  Turning point in medicine

  Influenced more transplants
• Andreas Vesalius


  Performed dissections and made discoveries

  Expert on anatomy

  Taught people how the body worked

  Influenced other doctors and scientists

  Challenged Galen's medical theories
• Ambroise Pare


  French barber-surgeon

  Tied arteries together to stop bleeding

  Used ligatures to tie off wounds after amputation to avoid cauterisation

  Helped develop artificial limbs
• William Harvey


  Discovered blood circulated around the body

  Found the function of the heart

  Challenged old theories (blood-letting was a cure, blood was made in the liver)

  Proved veins had valves to ensure one way flow
• Paul Ehrlich


  Developed salvarson 606 as a treatment for syphilis

  Created "magic bullets" (targets specific bacteria without harming the rest of the body)
• J.W Power (Welsh example)


  Medical officer of health in Ebbw Vale

  Started a campaign to teach medical officers of health about bacteriology

  Courses in Cardiff
• Hugh Owen Thomas (Welsh example)

  Created the "Thomas splint"

  Used to stabilise femur fractures

  Reduced the number of amputations

  Used on injured soldiers in WW1
• Wilhelm Rontgen


  Discovered x-rays

  Found that radiation can pass through the body at different rates

  Very effective in WW1
• Crick, Watson and Franklin


  Created a paper on DNA

  Starting point for modern research into human genetics
• Martin Evans


  Developed the technique of gene targeting

  Used stem cells

  Helped drive developments for human illnesses
• Florence Nightingale


  Introduced hygiene into hospitals

  Decreased deaths of British soldiers in the Crimean war

  Opened a school of nursing

  Set out the training that nurses should receive

  Nursing was recognised as a profession
• Mary Seacole


  Opened the "British Hospital" to treat wounded and sick soldiers

  Raised awareness of nursing during the Crimean War
• Betsi Cadwaladr (Welsh example)


  Helped save lives during the Crimean War

  Clashed with Florence Nightingale (more concerned with patient wellbeing instead of hospital management)
• David Lloyd George


  Introduced the National Insurance Act (1911)

  Provided sickness benefits and medical care
• William Beveridge


  Wrote the Beveridge Report (targeted to fight the 5 giants)

  "Disease" was implemented with the NHS
• Aneurin Bevan


  Oversaw the establishment of the NHS

  Argued that healthcare should be available for everyone
• Sir Henry De La Beche (Welsh example)


  Published a report on public health which identified issues that needed to be addressed
• Edwin Chadwick


  Investigated the link between poor living conditions and disease

  Published a report to improve public health (led to the Public Health Act 1848)
• John Snow


  Believed cholera was spread by water and not miasma

  Made a map and proved that people died by the water pump

  Removed the handle on the pump so people couldn't use it

  Cholera deaths decreased

  Correct that cholera spread through water, but didn't know it was the bacteria
• Dr Henry James Paine (Welsh example)

  Medical officer for Cardiff

  Introduced public health improvements based on the Rammell Report (1850)