Medicine Through Time

Página 1

The Development of Penicillin - Florey and Chain.

DISCOVERY AND DEVELOPMENT:

Howard Florey and Ernest Chain read Fleming's report on penicillin in 1939 and took the discovery further, something Fleming never did - they gathered a team and asked the government for money to fund the research.

Step 1: firstly, they grew penicillin and slowly gathered a few grams of it.

Step 2: next, they did trials: 8 mice were injected with harmful microbes then 4 were injected with penicillin; these 4 were fine whilst the other 4 died.

Step 3: they then conducted a human trial: they treated a policeman with blood poisoning and he quickly recovered until they ran out of penicillin, then he fell ill again and died. New batches were produced and 2 more patients were successfully treated.

Florey and Chain could see penicillin worked as an antibiotic but didn't have a way to mass produce it.

MASS PRODUCTION:

Florey travelled to the USA to interest drug companies into developing penicillin. They weren't interested into in 1942 the USA joined World War 2 and masses of wounded soldiers needed protection from diseases.

The US government then gave $80 million for it to be mass produced.

By 1944, there was enough penicillin to treat all the soldiers injured in the D-Day invasions.

In 1942, Fleming obtained some penicillin and successfully treated his friend of meningitis.

By 1945, it was available for civilian use and was called an antibiotic.

FACTORS:

Chance: coincidence that the mould was on Fleming's petri dishes.

Scientific Investigation: Florey and Chain's trials on animals and humans.

War: injured US soldiers prompted the government to begin mass production.

Individual Genius: Florey and Chain realised the importance of Fleming's report on penicillin.

Página 2

Florence Nightingale and Mary Seacole.

IMPROVING HOSPITALS AND NURSING:

FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE:

Background: from a rich English family - opposed her being a nurse.

Training: trained as a nurse in Germany.

Experience: superintendent of a woman's hospital in London.

How She Ended Up In Crimea: volunteered to help - government agreed; she had powerful friends in the government due to family.

Actions in Crimea: believed in sanitary conditions and miasma theory; saw the wards were dirty.

After Crimea:

MARY SEACOLE:

Background: Jamaican.

Training: knowledge of herbal remedies from her mother.

Experience: treated cholera in Jamaica.

How She Ended Up In Crimea: volunteered to be part of Nightingale's team but was refused due to lack of experience so travelled to Crimea using her own expenses.

Actions in Crimea:

After Crimea: