Medicine through time

The black death
1. England is struck by the black death in 1348.
2. Almost 40% of the population is wiped out by it.
3. They tried to prevent it by using superstitious methods such as whipping themselves, praying and carrying an amulet round their necks. They also tried to cure it by bleeding and purging.
4. They believed that it was caused by God punishing them, bad smells (miasma), an inbalance of the four humours and the planets.
Key individuals
1. Vesalius
  1. He published his book 'Fabric of the human body' in 1543'.
  2. He was a Flemish dwarf, who at night, went out and stole human bodies whom he then went and dissected. This meant that he improved his knowledge of the human body and the bones, muscles and organs inside.
  3. Vesalius's work meant that other individuals could work on what he found out to make other discoveries.
  4. He proved Galen wrong by finding out that the jaw bone was in two pieces, not the once that Galen had previously stated. He also proved that the septum, (the wall in the heart) didn't have holes in, as previously thought.
  5. Factors that helped him were :
    1. Technology. Having the printing press invented meant that instead of his work having to be hand written out each time, he could have more copies printed so more people would know of his findings.
2. Harvey
  1. In 1628 he published 'An Anatomical account of the motion of the heart and blood in animals.'
  2. He discovered that the heart pumps the blood round the body. He also said that the blood would be pumped around the body by blood vessels, however he couldn't prove this as the microscopes at the time weren't powerful enough.
  3. He proved Galen wrong by proving that the blood in our bodies is constantly being pumped round our bodies, rather than being remade in the liver and burnt up in the body.
  4. He improved the understanding of how the body works.
  5. Factors that helped him were:
    1. Technology. By looking at the water pump, Harvey was given the idea that blood was pumped around the body like the water was pumped around the pump.
3. Pasteur
  1. In 1861 he published his findings on germ theory and in 1879 published his findings on the chicken cholera vaccine.
  2. He came up with the idea that germs were responsible for causing decay. He also discovered that the microbes in the air were not the cause of rotting matter.
  3. Pasteur's findings were a key turning point in medicine because we now know what causes disease so we can go about preventing it. He also discovered how vaccines work, so diseases could be easily prevented in large numbers.
  4. Factors that helped him were:
    1. The Government. They helped to fund him for his research which enabled him to carry out the things he did and gain the results he did.
    2. Team. He worked with others which lead to him being given ideas for his work.
4. Koch
  1. In 1875 he identified the microbe that caused Anthrax. In 1882 Koch identified the microbe that caused TB and in 1883 he identified the microbe that caused Cholera.
  2. He proved that Pasteur's Germ theory was correct and that microbes did in fact cause human illnesses. He also identified the different microbes that cause particular illnesses, which made vaccines more possible.
  3. He helped to develop medicine because once the individual germs are identified, cures and preventions can be developed. Before development was limited.
    1. Specific techniques of testing can also be developed. E.g staining the bacteria using chemical dyes.
  4. Factors that helped him were:
    1. Industry. This meant that he could use the dyes to develop his work further.
    2. Communication. He read Pasteur's work which inspired him to work on identifying the microbes.
    3. War. There was competition between countries on who would discover things first. This meant that he worked harder in order to beat other countries.
5. Edward Jenner
  1. In 1798 Jenner published his ideas on Smallpox.
  2. He listened to the milkmaids who said they were immune to smallpox because they had had cowpox. He then got a young boy whom he then injected with cowpox. He then exposed him to Smallpox. The boy was fine.
  3. At first his work was limited a few people believed him and the royal society refused to publish his work. However he paid for the publishing himself and made leaflets for doctors.
  4. In 1802 the government finally recognised him and they funded money for his work. However most people still didn't accept his work. In 1852 in was made compulsory for you to have the vaccine but it was only in 1872 that small cases dropped dramatically.

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Medicine through time

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	Created by bluelagoon971 about 10 years ago