Medicine in the Industrial era (1750 – 1900) 5 facts

1. Science and technology improved the ability to diagnose and treat illness.
2. Many moved to towns and cities looking for work.
3. The health of many of these people was often poor because: There was poor ventilation (no fresh air) in
factories. Factories were often dangerous.
4. Housing was of poor quality and often damp. Living conditions were cramped. Sewers ran into rivers, where
people collected their ‘clean’ water. There was less access to fresh food.
5. Lots of killer diseases such as cholera, diphtheria, smallpox, tuberculosis and typhoid broke out because of
these conditions.

What did people believe caused diseases in the Industrial era?

1. Bad air/miasma – they saw food etc., rotting in the streets and assumed they spread disease.
2. The latest theory – spontaneous generation. This was the idea that tiny particles were generated by rotting
food etc., and it was this that spread disease.
3. Superstition, God + the 4 humours were all still believed until around 1860

Key breakthroughs in this era

Vaccination and Edward Jenner 1798
1) Jenner observed milkmaids and realised cowpox could prevent smallpox. Made compulsory 1852, only
enforced in 1872.
2) Louis Pasteur – Germ Theory 1861- he carried out experiments that proved that germs made milk and beer
go bad and also caused diseases.
3) Robert Koch 1870s – identified germs that caused specific diseases. In the 1870s Koch and his team found
the specific bacteria causing Tuberculosis. It was important as cures and vaccinations could now be found to
prevent these diseases. These discoveries were incredibly important as it encouraged others to investigate
and enquire.

Training of Doctors
A scientific approach to medicine was encouraged. Improvements:

1) Teaching hospitals where students could observe doctors at work were set up.
2) Many students dissected bodies to understand human anatomy.
3) Following Pasteur’s Germ Theory, there was more emphasis on studying microbes and disease through
microscopes.
4) Training included how to use improved technology such as thermometers and stethoscopes to help diagnose
illness.
5) Most midwives were women but after forceps were introduced in the 17th century their numbers fell
because they were not allowed the training necessary to use them. Instead ‘men-midwives’ became more
common.

Florence Nightingale
1. Nightingale led a team of nurses in Scutari during the Crimean War (1854 – 56).
2. She believed miasma caused disease, so emphasised hygiene, fresh air, good supplies and training for
nurses.
3. The death rate dropped from 42% to 2% as a result she published books on nursing, hospital organisation
and set up a training school for nurses/midwives.

Hospitals
1. First cottage hospitals (small buildings were nurses gave care and GPs prescribed treatment) opened in 1859.
2. The elderly, sick or disabled poor were forced to enter workhouses. Families were expected to help nurses
look after the patients.
3. hospital cleanliness improved and nurses were better trained. Pasteur’s germ theory led to improved
hygiene. Nurses were given a more central role caring for patients and assisting doctors.
4. Public pressure led to infirmaries being set up for the poorest people. Specialist hospitals (such as asylums
for the mentally ill) were set up.
Public Health

1. Early government action 1750: the government made gin more expensive to improve the health of the poor
and try to improve the economy.
2. 1853 government made the smallpox vaccination compulsory. In 1871 this was enforced.

Industrial PH problems

1. In 1831 Cholera arrived and frightened people as it could kill within a day and people did not know how it
was spread.
2. Edwin Chadwick wrote a report on the living conditions of the poor and suggested that clean water, sewage
removal and rubbish removal should be paid for by the government.
3. After another Cholera outbreak the 1848 Public Health Act was passed, this allowed town councils to:
o Set up their own Board of Health Appoint a medical officer
o Organise rubbish removal Build sewers

Steps to change

1. John Snow used data and statistics to show that polluted water was causing cholera
2. The ‘Great Stink’ in 1858 persuaded the government to build a sewer system designed by Bazalgette in
London
3. Pasteur proved that germs caused disease in 1861
4. In 1867 most working class men in towns got the vote, and demanded that politicians pass public health laws
5. 1875 Public Health Act which said that local councils had to provide clean water, pave streets, ensure
rubbish was collected, build sewers, demolish slum housing and make sure food sold in shops was of good
quality.