The Role of Individuals

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Individuals

Individuals and their discoveries drove advances in medicine 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 in Medieval England

1.1Ideas about the Cause of Disease & Illness

1.1.1Supernatural & Religious Explanations

1.1.2Hippocrates

1.1.3Galen

1.1.4End of Topic Test - Ideas About Disease

1.1.5Exam-Style Questions - Hippocrates' Contribution

1.2Approaches to Prevention & Treatment

1.2.1Medieval 'Doctors'

1.2.2Medieval Surgery

1.3Case Study

1.3.1The Black Death

1.3.2End of Topic Test - Medieval treatment

1.3.3Grade 9 - Medieval Medicine

2The Medical Renaissance in England

2.1Ideas about the Cause of Disease & Illness

2.1.1Scientific Approach & Knowledge

2.2Approaches to Prevention & Treatment

2.2.1Changing Methods of Treatment

2.2.2Institutions & Technology

2.2.3Changes for Physicians, Surgeons & Hospitals

2.2.4Dissection & Vesalius

2.3Case Studies

2.3.1William Harvey & the Great Plague

2.3.2End of Topic Test - Medical Renaissance in England

2.3.3Grade 9 - The Medical Renaissance

3Medicine in 18th & 19th Century Britain

3.1Ideas about the Cause of Disease & Illness

3.1.1Germ Theory

3.1.2Koch & Pasteur's Vaccination

3.1.3Exam-Style Questions - Pasteur & Koch

3.2Approaches to Prevention & Treatment

3.2.1Improving Public Health

3.2.2Anaesthetics & Antiseptics

3.2.3Physicians, Surgeons & Nurses

3.2.4Exam-Style Questions - Nightingale's Contribution

3.3Case Studies

3.3.1Vaccination & Edward Jenner

3.3.2Fighting Cholera in London, 1854

3.3.3End of Topic Test - 18th & 19th Century Medicine

3.3.4Grade 9 - 18th & 19th Century Medicine

4Medicine in Modern Britain

4.1Modern Understanding of Disease

4.1.1Viruses & Bacteria

4.1.2New Diseases & Treatments in 20th C

4.1.3Diagnosing Disease

4.2Approaches to Prevention & Treatment

4.2.1Antibiotics

4.2.2New Treatments in the 20th Century

4.2.3New Approaches to Surgery & Prevention

4.2.4Social Changes in the Early 20th Century

4.2.5The NHS

4.2.6The NHS 2

4.3Case Studies

4.3.1Penicillin & Lung Cancer

4.3.2End of Topic Test - Modern Britain

4.3.3Grade 9 - Medicine in Modern Britain

5Treatment in WW1

5.1Medicine in WW1

5.1.1Trench Warfare

5.1.2The Impact of WW1

5.1.3Disease in the Trenches

5.1.4End of Topic Test- Treatment in WW1

5.1.5Grade 9 - Treatment in WW1

5.1.6Exam-Style Questions - Role of War on Medicine

6Themes in Medicine

6.1Themes in Medicine over Time

6.1.1The Role of Individuals

6.1.2Institutions - Government

6.1.3Institutions - The Church

6.1.4Science & Technology

6.1.5Attitudes in Society

6.1.6End of Topic Test -Themes in Medicine

6.1.7Grade 9 - Themes in Medicine

6.1.8Exam-Style Questions - Attitudes to Illness

7Some Extra Context (Not Compulsory for Exam)

7.1Medieval Medicine

7.1.1Islamic Advances in Medieval Medicine

7.1.2End of Topic Test - Extra Content

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