modern medicine

understanding genetics

• Mendel researched pea plants and discovered hereditary units

• new tech was made like x rays and electron microscope

• watson and crick looked into the genetic codes of DNA

• 1953 franklin and wilkins worked out the double helix structure

lifestyle factors

smoking

• very popular in 1920s because it was something do do when you were young and free

• linked to cancers and heart disease

alcohol

• drinking too much can lead to liver problems as when broken down alcohol turns into toxic chemicals

diet

• fats and sugars are not good

• can lead to heart disease

improved diagnosis and tech

• labs to test skin and blood

• x-rays scans and endoscopes to see inside of the body with more clarity

• microscopes

• prosthetic limbs

• MRI, CT and ultrasound

• pacemakers

• insulin pumps

magic bullets

Paul Ehrlich searched for a magic bullet (chemical compound that would attack and kill a specific microbe)

they tested many of which all failed but when Dr Hata joined in 1909 he found one that worked (that they had rejected). the 606th. it cured Syphilis

1932 another magic bullet was discovered that cured some types of blood poisoning

antibiotics

they destroy bacteria and prevent its growth. the first to be discovered was penicillin

it was found in a mould sample by Fleming in 1928

Florey and Chain turned this mould into a usable treatment in 1940

another was found that cured TB which was so powerful and harmful it was thought to be incurable

keyhole and microsurgery

tiny cameras and surgical instruments so doctors can do smaller incisions instead of large cuts

this reduces the patient’s recovery time and make it possible to do smaller jobs such as reattach nerves and blood vessels

some surgery is even carried out by robots so it is more controlled and precise

NHS

created in 1948 so that everyone could access healthcare, not just those who could afford it. however, when first set up the quality of NHS hospitals was unequal in terms of doctors and standards.

over time the NHS made some vaccinations compulsory for example in 2008 the HPV, and in 1988 MMR (measles, mumps and rubella)

included with the NHS came

• seeing a GP

• hospital are and operations

• ambulances and emergency treatment

• health care for the elderly

government

taken more action since 1948 to prevent people getting ill

they have funded vaccinations, improved sewage and rubbish systems, lowered pollution, banned cigarette advertising (2005), and banned smoking in public places (2007)

they have also raised awareness through lifestyle campaigns such as Stoptober got people to stop smoking for a month. Change4life encouraged people to eat healthily and do exercise

Penicillin

Fleming discovered a mould in a Petri dish that was killing a bacteria in 1928. he tested it more and discovered that it made for an excellent antibiotic

he published his findings in 1929 but thought this antibiotic would not work on living people

years later in 1940, Florey and Chain continued research on Fleming’s penicillin. it proved effective on mice and so was used on humans. it worked!

however, growing penicillin took a lot of time and space so it was not mass produced. Florey asked UK drug companies to help produce it but they were busy with the war. He then asked US companies who agreed to do it but only on a small scale.

After they realised how good it was they got 21 companies to mass produce it in 1942

Lung cancer

caused by smoking or inhaling smoke from a smoker. can also be developed for no reason

symptoms include a persistent cough, bloody cough, breathlessness, tiredness, weight loss and chest infections

most people are diagnosed after having a CT scan

it can be treated by…

surgery to remove the tumour, Radiotherapy to shrink the tumour or prevent its growth, Chemotherapy to shrink it and stop it returning

the UK government has tried to reduce the numbers by…

• banning advertising cigarettes in 1965

• banning smoking in public places in 2007

• changing the legal age to buy tobacco to 18

• educate people about its risks

• banning shops from advertising tobacco

• changing cigarette packaging in 2016