ALEXANDER

FLEMING

THE DISCOVERER
OF PENICILLIN
 BIOGRAPHICAL DATA
ALEXANDER FLEMING WAS BORN ON AUGUST 6, 1881 IN THE SCOTTISH VILLAGE
OF LOCHFIELD. HIS PARENTS, GRACE MORTON AND HUGH FLEMING, WERE
FARMERS AND NOT WEALTHY PEOPLE.
FLEMING COMPLETED HIS STUDIES WITH OUTSTANDING RESULTS IN 1906, AND
TWO YEARS LATER OBTAINED THE CHEADLEY MEDAL FOR HIS WORK ACUTE
BACTERIAL INFECTION. IN 1909 HE RECEIVED THE DIPLOMA OF SPECIALIST
SURGEON.
ALEXANDER FLEMING WAS HIGHLY REGARDED IN ENGLAND UNTIL THE END OF
HIS LIFE FOR HIS DISCOVERY. IN 1944, FLEMING WAS AWARDED THE RANK OF SIR,
AND A YEAR LATER HE BECAME A MEMBER OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY.
FLEMING DIED ON MARCH 11, 1955, FROM A SEVERE COLD, REFUSING SPECIALIZED
MEDICAL HELP. HIGH FEVER AND WEAKENING OF THE BODY CAUSED HIS DEATH.
HE WAS BURIED WITH LORD NELSON IN ST. JOHN'S CATHEDRAL. PAUL'S.
 THE
DISCOVERY OF
PENICILLIN
IN 1928 HE DISCOVERED PENICILLIN PRODUCED BY
THE MOLD PENICILLIUM NOTATUM. THE RESEARCH
WAS RESUMED IN 1939 BY AN OXFORD TEAM. IN
1940, FLEMING, TWO ENGLISH BIOCHEMISTS -
ERNEST BORIS CHAIN AND NORMAN GEORGE
HEATLEY - AND AN AUSTRALIAN PHYSICIAN -
HOWARD WALTER FLOREY - ISOLATED AND
PREPARED IN A PURIFIED AND CONCENTRATED
STATE PENICILLIN, ONE OF THE GREAT
ACHIEVEMENTS OF MANKIND. HE HAS WORKED ON
LYSOZYME AS A BACTERIOLYTIC ELEMENT
PRESENT IN TISSUES AND SECRETIONS.
 PENICILLIN
PENICILLIN - IS CONSIDERED THE GREATEST DISCOVERY, ABSOLUTELY ACCIDENTAL,
WITH A HUGE APPLICABILITY IN MEDICINE. THE DISCOVERY OF THIS ANTIBIOTIC IS
ATTRIBUTED TO THE SCOTTISH SCIENTIST, SIR ALEXANDER FLEMING, WINNER OF THE
NOBEL PRIZE.

THE BEST KNOWN EXAMPLES ARE NATURAL

PENICILLINS: BENZYLPENICILLIN (PENICILLIN G) AND
PHENOXYMETHYLPENICILLIN (PENICILLIN V).
THIS CLASS OF DRUGS HAS HAD A STRONG IMPACT ON
MEDICINE. UNTIL THE DISCOVERY OF ANTIBIOTICS,
INFECTIONS CAUSED BY WOUNDS AND DISEASES SUCH AS
SYPHILIS WERE ALMOST ALWAYS FATAL.
IN LESS THAN A CENTURY SINCE PENICILLIN WAS
DISCOVERED, ANTIBIOTICS HAVE SAVED MORE THAN 200
MILLION LIVES. WORLD WAR II PROVIDED MORE THAN
ENOUGH CASES TO TEST THE DRUG'S EFFECTIVENESS,
AND IN ENGLAND AND THE UNITED STATES IT BEGAN TO
BE PRODUCED ON AN INDUSTRIAL SCALE.
CONCLUSION
I WANT TO MENTION THAT
PENICILLIN HAS BROUGHT A HUGE
CONTRIBUTION IN MEDICINE,
WHICH IS USED ON A WIDE SCALE
AND IN OUR DAYS.
WITH THE HELP OF PENICILLIN,
THE NUMBER OF VICTIMS AFTER
THE SECOND MODIAL WAR WAS
SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED, AND IN
THE TREATMENT OF INFECTIONS
WITH BANAL MICROORGANISMS
WHICH WERE FATAL UNTIL THE
DISCOVERY OF PENICILLIN.
CONTEMPORARY MEDICINE THANKS PENICILLIN
FOUNDER ALEXANDR FLEMING