Chapter 1: Progress in the Mid -19th Century (1848-1860)

What were some Barriers to medical progress

The belief in Miasma, Four Humors and the Theory of opposites

What consequence did prevailing beliefs have

Limited understanding of disease, lack of effective prevention methods

What effect did Florence nightingale have

Crimea war —> improved cleanliness, hygiene, and ventilation in the hospital she was working at

Published notes on nursing which influenced other hospitals back in Britain to follow her lead

Founded the first ever nursing school

What were dangers in surgery

High risk of pain, infection and excessive bleeding

Who founded chloroform and ether as anaesthesia?

1846 - John Snow & James Simpson

What did Sampson’s discovery of chloroform mean?

Surgery could be longer and more precise

What were some downsides of chloroform and ether

Skin irritation, chest irritation, not proper dosages could be fatal

Who published a Report on The Sanitary Conditions, and when?

Edwin Chadwick - 1842

Pushed for government health reform

What was the public health act and when was it published?

1848 - introduced local boards of health, but enforcement was voluntary

John snow and Cholera

Linked cholera to contained water - pioneering epidemiology