A Brief History of the Industrial Revolution
Medicine advanced greatly during the Industrial Revolution from the discovery of disease causing microorganisms by Louis Pasteur to the use of anesthetic in surgery in 1799 by Humphrey Davy. As cities became more populated medical practices were being developed in order to adjust to this new style of life such as antiseptic surgery that helps prevent infections from medical wounds created during an operation. “In 1865 Joseph Lister (1827-1912) discovered antiseptic surgery, which enabled surgeons to perform many more complicated operations. Lister prevented infection by spraying carbolic acid over the patient during surgery. German surgeons developed a better method. The surgeons hands and clothes were sterilized before the operation and surgical instruments were sterilized with superheated steam.” (http://www.localhistories.org) Similar practices are still being used today and haven’t changed much. When microorganisms were discovered it disproved the theory of spontaneous generation where living things came from nonliving material. The supposed evidence of this theory is how if you leave a piece of meat outside maggots would begin appearing. What they didn’t realize is that these were hatched flies that had been lain while their parents ate the meat. The discovery of microorganisms was crucial in developing methods of fighting diseases because it was nearly impossible for the doctors of the time to fight infections they couldn’t understand the origin of. After Humphrey Davy discovered the use of ether as an anesthetic “James Simpson (1811-1870), who was Professor of Midwifery at Edinburgh University, began using chloroform for operations in 1847. Incredibly some people disapproved of using chloroform to relieve pain, especially if it was used to help women giving birth. Some people thought that childbirth ought to be painful! However in 1853 Queen Victoria insisted in having chloroform when she gave birth to her eight child. Afterwards most of the opposition to using chloroform ended. Nobody dared criticize the queen!” These are just a few examples of many medical practices that have greatly increased the quality and effectiveness of health care.
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11 Innovations That Changed History
Antibiotics were possibly the greatest medical invention of the 20th century. “Scientists like Louis Pasteur and Joseph Lister were the first to recognize and attempt to combat bacteria, but it was Alexander Fleming who made the first leap in antibiotics when he accidentally discovered the bacteria-inhibiting mold known as penicillin in 1928.” (http://www.localhistories.org) Pasteur and Lister used antiseptics “which killed human cells along with bacteria” Antibiotics were revolutionary because they were able to fight almost all known forms of infection “including influenza, malaria, meningitis, tuberculosis and most sexualy transmitted diseases.” Instead of treating a targeted disease they were able to treat a broader range of afflictions. This was obvious in World War II when the number of soldiers who got pneumonia and dies was reduced to 1 percent “While nearly 20 percent of soldiers who contracted bacterial pneumonia died in World War I” This was an incredible improvement that was all due to antibiotics.
11 Innovations That Changed History Highlighted |