Medicine Through Time

www.SchoolHistory.co.uk

By Miss Norton

What are factors?

Factors are the causes that have made things happen in the history of medicine. They are different influences on the development of medicine. Each factor plays an important role in medicines changes over time. Factors can help or hinder change.

How do factors work?

Almost always the factors work together to produce or prevent development in medicine. Although we will examine them separately remember that it would be very unusual for a single factor to alter the history of medicine.

How do we examine factors?

Identify the factors - see how they worked together - examine which was most important, if any. For example - Penicillin
Individuals - Fleming, Florey and Chain Second World War The need for an antibiotic

Chance - the discovery of mould!

So what factors play a part in Medicine?

Warfare Governments Religion Chance Individuals

Warfare
War increased the need for medicine - without effective medicine there would be no army to fight!
Roman army hospitals Pars ointment and ligatures

Nightingale and the conditions in hospitals

Penicillin X-rays & Skin grafts

Governments
A government needs to get involved in medicine if it wants to stay in power. Public Health means health for all, controlled by the government.
Romans - aqueducts, baths 19th Century - Public Health act Mass vaccinations

Medieval towns Plague

Industrial Cities cholera, typhoid, high death rates

1948 Start of NHS

Religion

It spread ideas and education Provided care for the needy Kept the ideas of Galen Some helped as they were called by God

Prevented dissection
Prevented new ideas as Galens fitted the Churches teachings

Dissection allowed around 1400 Protestantism began

Chance
Chance has played a large role in medicine What if Pare had not run out of oil? Pasteurs work on Chicken cholera was an accident. What if Fleming had not seen the mould? Or what if he had cleaned up?

Individuals
Hippocrates - father of modern medicine Galen - Roman creator of medicine for 1500 years. Vesalius, Pare, Harvey - the new men of the Renaissance

Individuals
Nightingale, Simpson, Lister - nursing, anaesthetic and antiseptic Koch and Pasteur - where does disease come from? Fleming, Florey and Chain - penicillin

Other Factors
Communications - new methods of sharing ideas, and of stopping ideas! Science and Technology - new poor technology prevents advances, new machines, such as microscopes help it Conservatism - the desire for no change can stop good ideas from spreading

Factors
Factors are essential - without them nothing would happen. All the factors play a role in medicine, helping and hindering. In groups examine the following questions Which factor do you consider the most important and why? Which factor advanced medicine the most and why? Which factor held medicine back and why?