History > HTP Part 4 The Twentieth Century (1900-today) Modern Medicine

How did treatment of disease change in the 20th century

there was a shift from traditional herbal remedies to mass produced, chemically engineered drugs

Salvarsan 606

Magic Bullet discovered by Paul Ehrlich in 1909 as a cure for syphilis

Prontosil

Magic bullet discovered by Gerhard Domagk in 1932 as a cure for blood poisining

Magic Bullets

Microbes could now be killed inside the body without harming human tissue

Alexander Fleming

1928 > discovered PENICILLIN mould by accident when it killed bacteria in petri dishes he had left when he went on holiday. He published his findings but couldn’t extract enough to treat humans

Florey and Chain

1938 > purified penicillin and tested it successfully on a human patient

How did WW2 affect the distribution of Penicillin

US Government funded mass production for allied soldiers, this provided viability of mass antibiotics

Antibiotic Resistance

overuse led to resistant bacteria such as MRSA

X - Rays

1895 Wilhelm Rontgen

• allowed doctors to locate bullets and shrapnel without invasive surgery

Blood Transfusions

1901 Karl Landesteiner discovered different blood groups

WW1 > Blood Banks

Plastic Surgery

WW1 Harold Gillies, WW2 Archibald McIndoe
- skin grafting techniques rebuilt facial structures of soldiers

Transplant Surgery

1967 Christian Barnard performed first heart transplant

• breakthrough in organ preservation

Modern Surgical Methods

Lasers, Radiation, Keyhole Surgery

• minimally invasive, faster recovery times, precise treatments

Charles Booth

1889 > showed 30% of Londoners lived in Poverty

Seebohm Rowntree

1901> found people need 21 shillings a week to survive (poverty line)

The Boer War and Public Health

(1899-1902) 40% of recruits were physically unfit for army service, raising fear for national security

When were the liberal reforms

1906 - 1914, they marked the start of the modern welfare shift

What policy did the liberal reforms move AWAY from

Laissez - Faire policies (leave it alone)

Acts the Liberal Reforms implemented

1906 > free school meals

1907> school medical inspections

1908> old age pensions act

1911> National Insurance Act (sick pay/leave for insured workers)

Impact of WW2 on Public health

Evacuating Children from Urban areas to the countryside exposed the middle class and wealthy to the poverty in cities

Sir William Beveridge

1942> The Beveridge Report

• Identified 5 giants tackling society (want, disease, ignorance, squalor, idleness)

NHS

1948> founded by Aneurin Bevan

21st Century Healthcare Issues

• Increasing elderly population

• Rising costs of medical equipment