Medicine Revision Guide PDF
Medicine Revision Guide PDF
Revision Guide
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History of medicine Contents
Key Topic 1: c1250–c1500: Medicine in medieval England Revised? Confident?
Key Topic 1.1 Ideas about the causes of disease and illness
Knowledge Check 1.1 Causes of Disease c1250-1500
Key Topic 1.2 Approaches to prevention and treatment
Knowledge Check 1.2 Treatment of disease c1250-1500
Key Topic 1.3 Dealing with the Black Death, 1348-49
Knowledge Check 1.3 Dealing with the Black Death, 1448-9
Key Topic 2: c1500–c1700: The Medical Renaissance in England
Key Topic 2.1 Ideas about the causes of disease and illness in the Medical Renaissance
Knowledge Check 2.1 Causes of disease in the Medical Renaissance
Key Topic 2.2 Approaches to prevention and treatment in the Medical Renaissance.
Knowledge Check 2.2 Approaches to prevention and treatment in the Medical Renaissance.
Key Topic 2.3a William Harvey and the Discovery of the Circulation of Blood
Knowledge Check 2.3a William Harvey and the Discovery of the Circulation of Blood
Key Topic 2.3b Dealing with the Great Plague in London, 1665.
Key Topic 2.3b Dealing with the Great Plague in London, 1665.
Key Topic 3: c1700–c1900: Medicine in eighteenth and nineteenth century Britain
Key Topic 3.1 Ideas about the causes of disease and illness c1700-1900
Knowledge Check 3.1 Ideas about the causes of disease and illness c1700-1900
Key Topic 3.2 Approaches to prevention and treatment
Knowledge Check 3.2a Approaches to prevention and treatment (hospitals)
Key Topic 3.2b Approaches to prevention and treatment (Anaesthetics and Antiseptics)
Knowledge Check 3.2b Approaches to prevention and treatment (Anaesthetics and Antiseptics)
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Key Topic 1: c1250–c1500: Medicine in Medieval England
Key Topic 1.1 Ideas about the causes of disease and illness
People believed that God caused disease – eg. the Black Death in 1348 was believed to
Monasteries preserved old writings by Roman and Greeks so ancient texts (eg. Galen’s
Some people believed diseases such as the Black Death were caused by position of
planets (doctors believed stars and planets affected people’s bodies as many from same
Some even though illnesses caused by arrows fired by elves! E.g. chicken-pox
Natural/rational explanations
Hippocrates (a Greek) developed the idea of the Four humours: blood, yellow bile, phlegm and
black bile. It was suggested that any imbalance eg. too much phlegm, was the
cause of illness.
Galen was a Greek who was a doctor during the Roman Empire. Galen
opposites.
People believed Galen had covered everything so his books had all the answers. They were used for medical
training.
Also, Galens ideas fitted in with Christian church which controlled education in Europe in Middle
Ages. Galen said the body was created by one god, who had made all parts of the body fit
Some linked it to bad smells from toilets, standing water or rotting items. First suggestions of miasma
theory.
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People had no idea that the Black Death of 1348 carried by rats and spread by fleas due to lack of scientific
understanding. The Black Death was the name for the bubonic and pneumonic plagues. Symptoms include blisters,
1. What idea about the cause of disease did Hippocrates come up with?
5. List three things that people though caused disease in the Middle Ages.
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Key Topic 1.2 Approaches to prevention and treatment
People in the Middle Ages purged themselves to balance their humours. They used bleeding charts to
People bled regularly to avoid illness – monks bled between seven and twelve times a year.
Some used leeches to suck out blood. Also did enema (mixture of water and other items) squirted into
Urology was the study of urine, this was common. The physician would match the patient’s urine against the colours,
smell and density on chart. Use of herbal remedies – new books developed such as Bald’s Leechbook which was a
Decided on best time to carry out treatments using Zodiac man. Believed parts of
body linked to signs of Zodiac and planets. Showed doctor when to avoid treating
Some people prayed to God for forgiveness. During Black Death King Edward III
ordered services and processions. 6 foot candles lit as offerings to God. (Religion-
Hindering)
People prayed to God to be merciful and went on pilgrimages to locations such as Canterbury Cathedral
(Religion-Hindering)
Flagellants whipped themselves to get forgiveness for their sins from God (Religion-Hindering)
In England the Royal College of Physicians was created in In 1518, by Henry VIII
However, there fewer than 100 physicians in England and only the rich could afford them.
Surgeons trained by observing others. They improved their skills through practise. They did basic surgery such as
Apothecaries (chemists) – these people had no medical training, but sold medicines and groceries
Quacks – these were travelling barbers surgeons and tooth-pullers. They sold medicines which were supposed to
cure everything
Many people turned to wise women, neighbours and local 'witches’ to cure disease
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Women could be midwives but had to have licences after qualifying through an apprenticeship. However, women
could not be doctors because they were not allowed to go to university to study medicine.
Mothers and family members treated most illnesses. Grew herbs for medicine.
Priests said prayers to help sick and protect from illness. They ran the hospitals and
Hospitals mostly cared for older people who could not look after themselves.
Hospitals were run by monks and nuns who provided food, warmth and prayers. Hospitals rarely admitted the sick
Some hospitals were created for guild members (organisations of wealthy tradespeople) for example shoemakers
1. Give one example of how ill people might try to balance their humours
4. If you couldn’t afford a doctor, who or what could you turn to for help?
9. What is a flagellant?
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Key Topic 1.3 Dealing with the Black Death, 1348-49
In 1348 the Black Death reached England. At the time, people did not understand
what caused the disease, and they did not know how to stop its spread or cure it. There
were both supernatural and natural explanations for it, for example, some people said
that God had sent it as a punishment, others that the planets were in the wrong
conjunction, or that it was caused by ‘foul air'. Sometimes groups of people such as the Jews or
nobility were said to be responsible. Even now historians are not sure what caused the Black
Death if it was the bubonic plague it would have actually spread when fleas bite an infected
rat and then pas the disease onto other rats and humans.
The victims of Black Death suffered a high temperature, headache and vomiting, followed by lumps (buboes) in the
armpit or groin. These then went black and spread all over the body, would lead to unconsciousness and death.
There were no effective cures or treatments. People relied on prayer or ‘magical cures’
against ‘foul air’. They also ate cool things, cut open the buboes and draining the pus,
lighting a fire in the room, tidying the rubbish from the streets and not letting people
from other places enter the town. Black Death Impact Between one‐third to a half of the
population died.
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Knowledge Check 1.3 The Black Death
2. Give four explanations for what people at the time thought caused the Black Death
6. Identify three methods that people tried to use to cure the Black Death?
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Key Topic 2: c1500–c1700: The Medical Renaissance in England
Renaissance means ‘rebirth’ or ‘revival of learning’. People at this time focused on ideas of Greek and Romans again
and wanted to learn. (Attitudes-Helping). They looked carefully of ideas of Galen as they were worried that in the
Middle Ages people may have translated them wrong. New editions of Galen’s books were published.
People in the Renaissance loved enquiry and began challenging old ideas. Doctors began to realise Galen had made
mistakes. (Attitudes-Helping). However, not everyone agreed with these new ideas and continued to believe the old
ones. (Attitudes-Hindering)
Key Topic 2.1 Ideas about the causes of disease and illness in the Medical Renaissance
Continuity - What ideas about the cause of disease stayed the same?
Some began to link the fact that dirty places led to more deaths. They believed
The scientific revolution meant that scientists had changing attitudes and now challenged old ideas. They used
The Royal Society was founded in 1660. They sponsored scientists to research and print
findings about physics, botany, astronomy and medicine. The Royal society helped to spread
new ideas.
The printing press was invented in the 1450s, by 1500 they were all over Europe and spread
new ideas.
Thomas Sydenham was a doctor who championed the idea of observation. He believed that each disease was
different and it was important to identify the exact disease so that the correct
standard medical textbook for the next two centuries and include detailed
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Paracelsus was a doctor who was willing to speak out at a time when could have been killed for it. He said that
the Theory of Four humours wrong and illnesses caused by chemicals and should be treated with chemicals. He still
believed religion had an impact and said God had sent secret messages about how world works. However most
people though he was mad and universities did not teach his ideas. (Individual Genius – Helping)/Attitudes-
Hindering)
2. What did doctors realise about the work of Galen during the Renaissance?
3. Give two ideas about the cause of disease that stayed the same during the Renaissance?
4. How did doctors during the scientific revolution challenge old ideas?
10. Why was the printing press useful in the development of medicine?
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Key Topic 2.2 Approaches to prevention and treatment in the Medical Renaissance.
Continuity – what ideas about the prevention and treatment of disease stayed the same?
God and King would cure disease – Between 1660 and 1682 over 92,000 people
visited the King’s court believing that if Charles II touched them they would be cured of
Still prayed and wore charms. Many wore Abracadabra charms during Great Plague. (Religion-Hindering)
Herbal remedies with many written down e.g. Culpeper’s The Complete Herbal was a famous book. New
ingredients used as European travels to America and Asia. Rhubarb from Asia used to purge
bowels and make people vomit. Opium imported from Turkey and used as an anaesthetic.
Many medieval hospitals were part of monasteries so they closed when Henry VIII closed the
Some free hospitals were set up and these were staffed by physicians rather than monks.
Some hospitals were taken over by town councils and looked after the elderly poor.
There were still University trained physicians who accepted the ideas of Hippocrates, Galen and
Arab doctors. Some were still reluctant to accept Galen could have been wrong. (Attitudes-
Hindering)
‘Quack doctors’ still made their living through going around towns selling treatments.
People still visited apothecaries but the apothecary sold and mixed medicines prescribed by
physicians.
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Women worked as midwives BUT Women less important from 1620 as Peter Chamberlain invented forceps – these
were used to free baby from womb during a difficult birth. After this male physicians said only men should use
Doctors studied the work of Vesalius on anatomy and Harvey on physiology alongside
the books of Galen and Hippocrates. This was because their training emphasised the
Vesalius trained at Louvain, Paris and Padua universities, and ransacked cemeteries for
Vesalius realised that Galen was wrong, when he discovered that the great man was
mistaken about there being two bones in the jaw, and about how muscles were attached
to the bone.
Vesalius said that medical students should perform dissections for themselves, stating that:"... our true book of the
Vesalius published 'Fabric of the Human Body' (with high-quality annotated illustrations)Surgeons trained by
watching other surgeons and given licenses to do so but still looked down on as not university trained.
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Knowledge Check 2.2 Approaches to prevention and treatment in the Medical Renaissance.
1. Give three treatments that stayed between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.
4. Why some of the new free hospitals better for sick people than the old religious hospitals?
9. Which famous doctor did Vesalius criticise? What did Vesalius prove him wrong about?
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Key Topic 2.3a William Harvey and the Discovery of the Circulation of Blood
Helping)
Challenged Galen’s idea that blood manufactured in liver to replace burned up blood and that blood passed
from one side of the heart to the other through invisible holes.
Harvey proved the heart acts a pump, pumping blood around the body by:
1. dissecting live cold-blooded animals who hearts beat slowly so he could see the movement of each muscle
in the heart
3. proved the body was a one-way system by trying to pump liquid past valves and failing to do so
4. calculating that the amount of blood going into arteries each hour was three times a man’s weight which
(Individual Genius/Attitudes-Helping)
Big impact on future as laid groundwork for future investigations, improved a vital area and showed the
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Harvey’s ideas were only gradually accepted. Many thought he was mad and ignored his theory as he
Also, was still a lot more to discover about the blood (e.g. blood groups) and his discovery did not make
anyone better.
Knowledge Check 2.3a William Harvey and the Discovery of the Circulation of Blood
1. What did William Harvey describe in his book published in 1628?
4. Give two ways that Harvey proved that the heart acts as a pump?
8. Did his discovery actually help make anyone get better in this period?
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Key Topic 2.3b Dealing with the Great Plague in London, 1665.
Plague had not disappeared after the Black Death in 1348. In 1665 Plague returned to
Explanations for the Plague had not changed since the Black Death and people still
believed that God, an imbalance of humours, bad air (miasma) or the movement of the planets
could be to blame.
in a cart
Treatments were very similar to those used against the Black Death. People prayed for the sick, wore religious
charms, purged themselves by cutting open buboes. Some people used herbal medicines too.
These were linked to ideas about causes. People held strong smelling bunches of herbs such as lavender or
sage under their noses. These were also hug in doorways to stop bad smells entering the house. People
stayed at home to avoid contact with others. Some people soaked coins in vinegar when they had to buy
Bills of Mortality were published, to publicise the course of the disease and how many people were buried.
'Examiners' and 'searchers' were appointed, who established whether members of a household had contracted
the plague. If so, they then shut up the house for a month, and its inhabitants had to stay indoors.
Constables were appointed, who made sure no one left such houses.
Bodies were buried at night in huge pits, and mourners were not allowed to attend.
Householders were ordered to collect all waste, which was then removed by 'rakers'.
These measures unfortunately did not stop the spread of the plague, which only ended when the
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Key Topic 2.3b Dealing with the Great Plague in London, 1665.
2. Give three explanations of why people believed the Plague spread in 1665?
4. Give two methods that people used to avoid catching the plague
5. Give two ways in which the government tried to present the spread of the plague
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Medieval/Renaissance Mini Mock
1. Explain one way in which treatments were similar between the 14th Century and the 17th Century (4)
• Galen
3. “The Royal Society demonstrated a change in attitude towards medicine” How far do you agree?
• Royal Society
• William Harvey
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Key Topic 3: c1700–c1900: Medicine in 18th and 19th century Britain
Key Topic 3.1 Ideas about the causes of disease and illness c1700-1900
In early 1800s people still believed that bad air caused diseases.
Anthony van Leeuwenhoek made a microscope in 1600 and this was improved
by Joseph Lister senior who developed a microscope that could magnify things
Theory of spontaneous generation developed by Felix Pouchet – scientists used new microscopes to study germs
Pasteur worked in alcohol industry in Lille. Realised that bacteria made alcohol
sour. Suggested that heating liquids (pasteurisation) would kill bacteria and make them safe to drink.
Pasteur was convinced that germs caused disease but he was mocked by those who believed in spontaneous
generation.
The French government supported Pasteur and paid for his research assistants and a new laboratory to carry
out his experiments with specially designed equipment (e.g. swan neck flasks. (Government/Technology-
Helping)
Took sterile flasks into streets of Paris and sealed them – bacteria
Proved disease being spread in air and causing disease in animals. Then began to research human diseases but
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Robert Koch’s ideas about the cause of disease
Robert Koch, a doctor from Germany, began to study bacteria himself. He was
Koch investigated anthrax and discovered specific bacterium that caused anthrax.
First time specific germ that caused an individual disease been discovered. Proved germ theory.
He then developed a method of proving which bacteria caused disease. He improved methods of studying
bacteria. He developed ways of staining bacteria so they could be photographed using a new high-quality
ideas. Quickly reported in newspapers and fast boat and train travel
ideas (Communication-Helping)
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Knowledge Check 3.1 Ideas about the causes of disease and illness c1700-1900
1. Identify two ideas about the cause of disease that remained but started to fade in this period?
2. Who was the first person to suggest that microorganisms were the cause of disease. What was
3. Before Pasteur, scientists thought that micro-organisms didn’t cause disease but appeared
because of death or disease. What was this theory called? Explain it in your own words
4. Which scientist first linked diseases to the microbes that caused them?
5. What was the first human disease identified by Koch? How did he do this?
6. Which technological development helped both Pasteur and Koch? How did it help them?
7. Which factors/groups helped to spread the ideas of Koch and Pasteur rapidly?
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Key Topic 3.2 Approaches to Prevention and Treatment in the 18th and 19th Centuries
Continuities
Many illnesses still treated at home – food, warmth and herbal remedies.
Some also visited ‘quack doctors’ or bought remedies that claimed to cure everything.
Made little or no contributed to improvement in health but were cheaper. Were not controlled
by government and although they did not work – people got rich from them.
Changes
Doctors were using new technology like stethoscope and used drugs and herbal remedies to treat.
Dispensaries appearing to give medicines to doctors. Provide poor with cheap medicine. Many people got
From 1880s government introduced laws to control making of medicines and by 1900
Until 1700s women could qualify as surgeons and midwives. However, not allowed to become physicians as
In 1852 a law required doctors to belong to a College of Surgeons, Physicians or Apothecaries (person who
Women allowed to be nurses as seen with Florence Nightingale and Mary Seacole in 1854.
Elizabeth Garrett Anderson first woman to qualify as a doctor in Britain. During 1860s she worked as a nurse
and attended lectures at Middlesex Hospital. Male students at the Hospital protested against her attending.
Elizabeth Garrett passed all the exams to qualify as a doctor but the Colleges of Surgeons and Physicians
would not allow her to join. She took the College of Apothecaries to Court which then accepted her as a
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Key Topic 3.2a Nightingale and hospital care
Nightingale brought discipline and professionalism to a job that had a bad reputation at the time.
From a wealthy background, she became a nurse despite the opposition of her family.
Went out to the Crimean War to sort out nursing care in the English camp.
She made huge improvements in the death rate, due to improvements in ward hygiene.
She focussed on sanitation in hospitals, ventilation in hospitals (she believed in miasma!) and ensuring that all
When she returned home, she wrote a book ‘Notes on Nursing’ and sets up a hospital in
London.
Her nursing schools concentrated on teaching nurses practical skills but she did not let doctors
teach about germ theory because she believed nurses needed to just keep wards clean.
1. Identify three ideas about the treatment of disease continued into this period
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Key Topic 3.2b Approaches to prevention and treatment (Anaesthetics and Antiseptics)
No anaesthetics so patients held down – focus on speed in surgery which led to accidents.
antiseptics. Big problems with infections – in hospitals death rates between 25% and 50%
Development of anaesthetics
1. Laughing gas/nitrous oxide discovered by Humphry Davy 1799. This reduced pain but did not make patients
unconscious.
2. Ether used from 1847 which was first used by J. R. Liston. However, ether irritated eyes
and lungs – causing coughing and sickness. It could also catch flame and smelt bad.
with different chemicals to see effect s as an anaesthetic – realised chloroform was very
effective. Other surgeons started to use it. However, did lead to sickness and bad taste.
4. Controlling dosage of chloroform was helped by John Snow when he invented an inhaler to control the dosage
Development of antiseptics
Had previously used liquids such as wine and vinegar to keep wounds clean as before Germ
Theory had no idea what was causing infection in open wounds. Did not wash hands, reused
bandages, did not sterilise equipment and wore dirty clothes (Science-Hindering)
Joseph Lister
He used the ideas of Pasteur and Germ Theory which helped to spark his
discovery.
Came up with idea by noticing that carbolic acid had an effect on sewage
people who had fractures where bone broken through skin. Applied
carbolic acid to the wound and used bandages soaked in carbolic to help
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the wounds heal. Death rates dropped from 45.7% to 15%.
People began washing hands with carbolic acid and a carbolic spray to kill germs in the air was placed around the
operating table.
1880 he started the use of antiseptic ligatures in surgery made from catgut.
In long term other doctors built on ideas as hospitals became cleaner places and longer and more complicated
surgery.
Knowledge Check 3.2b Approaches to prevention and treatment (Anaesthethics and Anstiseptics)
2. Who urged the use of a special spray to keep operating spaces completely clean?
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Key Topic 3.2c Approaches to prevention and treatment (Public Health)
Public Health Problems in the Early 1800s
During the late 1700s and the first half of C19th, houses were built as
close together as possible as more people crowded into factory towns
to work.
In these squalid conditions, diseases spread easily and rapidly.
Some thought that the government should force local councils to clean up their towns.
But, many believed that the government shouldn’t interfere – this attitude is called laissez-faire.
Edwin Chadwick
In 1842 he was asked by the government to report on the living conditions and health
of the poor.
Chadwick concluded that poverty was caused by ill health which was caused by the
terrible conditions in which people lived.
In his “Report on the Sanitary Conditions of the Labouring
Population” he said industrial towns should:
1. Organise drainage and refuse collection
2. Provide a pure water supply
3. Appoint a Medical Officer of Health
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1858 Great Stink
For years human waste made its way from the latrines in London into the
River Thames.
In 1858 the hot weather caused a ‘great stink’. The bad smell was right
under Parliament’s nose.
Parliament considered moving and had to coat their curtains with a
deodorant to get rid of the smell.
The Great Stink prompted Parliament to sort out London’s sewage and
drainage system and to clean up the River Thames. Within a year Sir
Joseph Bazalgette had begun to build an extensive system of sewers
and drains that are still in operation today.
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Knowledge Check 3.2c Approaches to prevention and treatment (Public Health)
1. Many people belied that the government shouldn't interfere with public health. What
was this attitude called?
3. What did Edwin Chadwick conclude that poverty was caused by?
4. Why did the government pass the 1848 Public Health Act?
6. Why did parliament start to take notice of dirty water and poor conditions in 1858?
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Key Topic 3.3a Jenner and the development of vaccination
Smallpox killed more children they any other disease and survivors left scarred.
To stop people catching it inoculation used in China and other parts of Asia. This
involved spreading pus from a smallpox pustule into a cut in the skin of a healthy
person. Lady Mary Wortley Montague brought this idea back from Turkey in 1721 where her husband was British
ambassador.
Inoculation became big business in Britain with doctors charging up to £20 per patient for
thousands of inoculations.
However, very risky as if got too strong a dose they could die. (2/3 out of every 100
died) Could also be spread by inoculated person. People could not afford them.
Vaccinations
up resistance.
In 1796 he took a small boy called James Phipps and injected him with pus from the sores of a milkmaid with
cowpox. Jenner then injected the boy with smallpox. James Phipps developed cowpox but not smallpox and was
In 1798 published book, An Enquiry into the Causes and Effects of Variola Vaccinae, known by the Name of
By 1803 vaccination was being used in the USA and in 1805 Napoleon had the whole
Government helped to spread his idea s – in 1802 and 1807 Parliament gave Jenner
£30,000 to develop his work. In 1852 vaccinations were made compulsory in Britain and
were strictly enforced until 1887. Led to drop in deaths from smallpox. (Government-
Helping)
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Opposition to Vaccination
formed. Some believed it was unnatural to give diseases from animals and
against God’s wishes. The Royal Society of Science refused to published his
book and said his ideas were too revolutionary. Other people had not heard
up vaccines and others used infected needles. Some did not like the
attitude. (Attitudes-Hindering)
Also, government could not decide how much to force people and from 1887 vaccinations were not compulsory.
(Government-Hindering)
Furthermore, Jenner did not know that germs cause disease and could not explain how the vaccination worked.
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Knowledge Check 3.3a Jenner and the development of vaccination
1. What idea did Lady Mary Wortley Montague bring bak from Turkey in 1721?
7. What disease could James Phipp not catch after the vaccination?
10. What was the name of the group that opposed vaccination?
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Key Topic 3.3b Fighting Cholera in London, 1854
Cholera broke out in 1854 in London. Cholera killed victims in less than a day.
People tried to prevent cholera by burning barrels of tar or vinegar, smoking cigars as protection against bad
air, praying or wearing lucky charms, clearing house and burning the clothing and bedding
of victims.
In 1849 John Snow published a book saying that people caught cholera from water not 'bad
In 1854 John Snow proved that there was a link between cholera and water supply. He used
research, observation and door-to-door interviews to build a detailed map of a cholera epidemic in Broad
Street.
Nearly all the deaths had taken place within a short distance of
Near to the pump, there was a brewery and none of the people
there had cholera. The brewery had its own water pump, and the
men had been given free beer. They didn’t use the Broad Street
Pump at all.
After collecting evidence, John Snow removed the handle from the Broad Street pump.
There were no more deaths. It later came to light that a cesspool near to the pump had a cracked lining which
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Knowledge Check 3.3b Fighting Cholera in London
2. What was the name of the man who claimed that Cholera was spread through bad
water not bad air?
3. What was the name of the street where the epidemic was centred around?
4. What was strange about all the people who worked in the local brewery?
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Industrial Revolution Mini Mock
1. Explain one way in which people’s attitudes to scientific discovery were similar in the
2. Explain why there was progress in surgery during the 19th Century (12)
• John Snow
• Joseph Lister
3. “The position of the working class was much better by the end of the 19th Century
thanks to government intervention” How far do you agree? Explain your answer
(16 + 4)
• Edwin Chadwick
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Key Topic 4: c1900 - Present. Medicine in Modern Britain
Key Topic 4.1 Ideas about the causes of disease and illness
The advances after 1900 proved that there is not just one cause of disease. In addition to bacteria we now know there
are viral infections, genetic mutations and lifestyle causes that led to disease.
Understanding of disease
People at this time Understood germ theory and continued to identify specific bacteria and developed methods
However viruses were too small to be seen under a microscope and were not discovered
Watson and Crick discovered DNA in 1953. This helped people to understand that some
diseases were genetic. (Down’s syndrome, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Cystic
1990 The Human Genome Project, led by Watson, set out to map the location of
every single one of the 30,000 genes in the 23 chromosomes of every cell in the
body. The project involved 18 teams of scientists and the first draft was produced in 2000.
Scientists have now been able to develop certain genes that pass on hereditary
conditions. As a result, there are new techniques for skin grafts, better production of
conditions,
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Developments in Diagnosis
Blood tests were first introduced to test blood groups. Blood tests were used to diagnose a range of
diseases such a cholesterol levels, whether patient has cancer or to check a patients DNA etc. They
The use of medical scans began in 1895 when Wilhelm Röntgen discovered X-rays.
Advances in computers led to ultrasound scanning using high frequency sound waves.
CT scans were invented in 1972 and MRI scans were invented in the 1970s. They use powerful radio
Patients can also now monitor their own body with inventions such as the blood pressure monitor and
Knowledge Check 4.1. Ideas about the causes of disease and illness
1. Identify two other factors as well as bacteria that could lead to disease
6. Name two types of monitors that patients can use to monitor their own healt
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Key Topic 4.2 Approaches to prevention and treatment c1900-present.
National Health Service
At the start of the 20th century access to healthcare was
limited. Poor people could afford to go to the doctor to buy
medicine.
In 1901 there were 140 infant deaths for every 1000
births - but today it is less than 5.
The NHS was introduced in 1948 after WW2. It is a nationalised healthcare
system in the United Kingdom. It comprises of free at the point of access
medical care in Hospitals, Accident and Emergency units, via General
Practitioners (GP's) and via health visitors.
Patients do not pay for emergency treatments, medical advice, periods in
hospital or medical tests.
The main problem that the NHS has encountered is its own size. The costs of the NHS has proven to be
an issue of great concern ever since the services was introduced.
Other problems have arisen in terms of staffing and availability of beds for patients, along with
arguments about the cost of new drugs and treatments and waiting times.
Magic Bullets In this period scientists developed first cures for people who
have already become sick with diseases. Vaccines only prevent people
getting them. Magic bullets attacked the bacteria developing in the body
– made from chemicals and called sulphonamide drugs.
1909 Paul Ehrlich (who had been part of Koch’s research team) developed the first chemical
Salvarsan 606 which destroyed the harmful bacteria that caused syphilis. It took a number of
attempts to find the magic bullet (over 606) and in the end it was lucky it was retested by Dr Hata as
they hadn’t notice Salvarsan 606 worked the first time. (Individual
Genius/Chance-Helping)
In 1932 Gerhard Domagk developed Prontosil, the second chemical
‘Magic Bullets’ to cure blood poisoning or septicaemia. Scientists then
discovered that the important chemicals in these cures was sulphonamide
and drug companies produced more magic bullets for diseases such as
pneumonia (Individual Genius-Helping)
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Antibiotics (bacteria which kill other bacteria) for more detail see Key Topic 4.3a
Magic bullets could not kill staphyloccus germs which caused major infections and
often killed the victims. This became a cause for particular concern due to the
number suffering from it in World War I and World War II (War – Helping)
The first antibiotic was called penicillin and was used to treat bacterial diseases.
Recent treatments
Mass production of many drugs as treatments. (However, drugs have led to some
problems such as thalidomide which was given to reduce morning sickness during pregnancy – led to
children being born with severely deformed limbs)
Development of customised drugs to cure one person’s health problem
Gene therapy – using genes from healthy people to cure the sick.
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Key Topic 4.3a Key Individuals: Fleming, Florey and Chains development of penicillin
Magic bullets could not kill staphyloccus germs which caused major infections and often killed
the victims. This became a cause for particular concern due to the number suffering from it in
1872 Joseph Lister noticed mould of bacteria called penicillin killed other bacteria. Used this
mould to treat a nurse with an infected wound but did not use it again.
Alexander Fleming was a doctor who accidentally discovered a mould on a set of culture dishes, which
were being used to grow the staphylococci germ (which turns wounds
septic). Fleming noticed that where there was mould the germs had stopped
developing.
It was one of Fleming's colleagues who identified the mould as penicillin. Fleming subsequently tested
the penicillin on animals, with no ill effects, and also used it to cure a colleague's eye infection.
After his initial discovery, Fleming did little more than keep a supply of the mould and return to his
routine work. It was the scientists Howard Florey and Ernst Chain, who developed penicillin further.
Florey and Chain were chiefly responsible for the research which led to its success as a drug, although
Fleming took most of the credit for the discovery and its subsequent development.
Fleming had discovered the first antibiotic. However, it was not until the research
work of Florey and Chain that penicillin could be produced as a drug. At first
supplies of penicillin were very limited, but by World War II it was being mass-
produced by the American drugs industry, and given to all soldiers before active
service.
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Knowledge Check 4.3a Key Individuals: Fleming, Florey and Chains development of penicillin
3. What did Alexander Fleming notice about the mould in his culture dishes?
6. Who takes most of the credit for the devilment of the drug Penicillin? Why?
7. In which war did mass production of Penicillin help soldiers? How did it help them?
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Key Topic 4.3b Lung Cancer Depth Study (1900-present day)
Lung cancer has become more common since 1900 with over 40,000 new cases a
year. It had become the second most common cancer and the leading cancer
amongst women today. The rise of lung cancer deaths has also risen, peaking at
26,000 deaths in 1973
The link between In 1950, the British Medical Research Council proved
Lung Cancer and that lung cancer was directly linked to smoking, indeed
smoking 85% of those get cancer are people who do or have
smoked.
How diagnosis have improved in the modern age
2. What did the British Medical research Council prove about lung cancer in 1950?
6. Why did the NHS decide to intervene in the prevention of Lung Cancer?
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20/21st Century Mini Mock
1. Explain one way that hospital treatment was different in the 19th Century and 20th
Century (4)
2. Explain why the life expectancy of the population increased so dramatically in the 20 th
Century (4)
• Liberal Reforms
• NHS
3. “The discovery of penicillin was a major breakthrough in the treatment of disease” How
• World War 2
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