Role of Individuals

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Individuals

Individuals and their discoveries also drove advances during this period.

Claudius Galen (born 129 AD)

Galen built on the medical ideas of Hippocrates. He thought that imbalances in the four humours of the body caused diseases.
He encouraged doctors to use urine samples and monitor pulses to reach diagnoses.
Conclusion: As he believed in one God, the Christian Church supported his ideas. This made his ideas influential for over 1400 years.

Louis Pasteur (1822-1895)

Pasteur argued that germs in the air could cause chemical reactions and disease.
His findings led him to discover the possibility of vaccinations, including anthrax and rabies.
Conclusion: Pasteur changed the way people thought about disease through Germ Theory.

Paul Ehrlich (1854-1915)

Paul Ehrlich built on the work of Robert Koch.
His theory of 'magic bullets' formed the basis for chemotherapy.
Conclusion: Ehrlich's work is an important example of a scientist building on someone else's work to advance scientific understanding. This was the only way for major new discoveries to occur.

Andreas Vesalius (1514-1564)

Vesalius used dissections to counteract Galen's understanding of the human body.
His work inspired anatomists including Fabricus and Fallopius.
Conclusion: Vesalius is a good example of one scientist disproving another's theory to bring about progress.

William Harvey (1578-1657)

Harvey challenged Galen's understanding of blood. He argued (correctly) that blood circulated around the body.
He did not understand yet why blood needed to circulate around the body or its full function.
Conclusion: Harvey was a good example of an interim discovery. He had not fully understood the issue but he advanced scientific thinking.

John Snow (1813-1858)

After the 1854 cholera outbreak in London, Snow discovered a link between contaminated water and the disease.
He used William Farr's medical statistics to support his conclusions.
Conclusion: Snow is a good example of a scientist during the period observing real-world problems and working to solve them.

Alexander Fleming (1881-1955)

Through his accidental findings in 1928, Fleming was able to discover Penicillin (a fungus).
It was not until Florey and Chain read his work and ran more experiments that Fleming's results were confirmed.
Conclusion: Penicillin only went into widespread use when the government justified funding it because of the war.

1Medicine Stands Still

1.1Ancient Egyptian Approaches to Medicine

1.1.1Ancient Egyptian Medicine

1.2Ancient Greek Medicine

1.2.1Hippocrates

1.2.2Galen & Ancient Rome

1.2.3End of Topic Test - Ideas About Disease

1.3Medieval Medicine

1.3.1The Fall of Rome

1.3.2The Medieval 'Doctor'

1.4Religion & Medicine

1.4.1Christianity & Medicine

1.4.2Islam & Medicine

1.4.3Medieval Surgery

1.5Public Health in the Middle Ages

1.5.1Towns & Monasteries

1.5.2The Black Death

1.5.3End of Topic Test - Medieval Medicine

1.5.4Grade 9 Medieval Medicine

2The Beginnings of Change

2.1The Impact of the Renaissance on Britain

2.1.1The Renaissance & Vesalius

2.1.2Paré & Harvey

2.1.3Institutions & Technology in the Renaissance

2.2Treating Illnesses in the Renaissance

2.2.1The Great Plague

2.2.2Physicians, Surgeons & Hospitals

2.2.3End of Topic Test - The Beginnings of Change

2.2.4Grade 9 - The Beginnings of Change

2.2.5Exam-Style Questions - Source Utility

2.3Prevention of Disease

2.3.1Vaccination & the Spread of Disease

2.3.2Was There Progress in Renaissance Medicine?

2.3.3Exam-Style Questions - Societal Attitudes

3A Revolution in Medicine

3.1The Development of Germ Theory & its Impact

3.1.1Germ Theory, Pasteur & Koch

3.1.2Magic Bullets & the Impact of Germ Theory

3.2A Revolution in Surgery

3.2.1Anaesthetics & Antiseptics

3.3Improvements in Public Health

3.3.1Public Health & Cholera

3.3.2C19 Improvements in Public Health

3.3.3End of Topic Test - Revolution in Medicine

3.3.4Grade 9 - Revolution in Medicine

4Modern Medicine

4.1Modern Treatment of Disease

4.1.1WW1, Pharmaceuticals & Penicillin

4.1.2Exam-Style Questions - Penicillin

4.1.3The Impact of War on Medicine

4.2New Diseases & Treatments in the 20th Century

4.2.120th Century Diseases & Treatments

4.2.2Alternative Treatments & Transplants

4.3Modern Public Health

4.3.1Booth, Rowntree & the Liberals

4.3.2The Welfare State

4.3.3The NHS

4.3.4End of Topic Test - New Diseases & Treatments

4.3.5Grade 9 - Modern Medicine

5Themes in Public Health

5.1Themes in Public Health over the Period

5.1.1War

5.1.2Exam-Style Questions - War

5.1.3Religion & Superstition

5.1.4Chance

5.1.5Government

5.1.6Communication

5.1.7Science & Technology

5.1.8Role of Individuals

5.1.9End of Topic Test - Themes in Public Health

5.1.10Grade 9 - Themes in Public Health

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