During the 19th century, several chemists/biologists contributed a great deal to the advancement of modern day medicine. The basis for the advancement of medicine lies primarily in the discovery of the causation of disease. The contagion theory stipulated that disease spread through contact and was largely active in dense populations. Similarly to most nascent theories, the contagion theory had very little to no support of its stipulation. In A History of Public Health, Rosen states that the first discovery of support of the Contagion theory involved silkworms.
Agostiono Bassi and his work involving silkworms truthfully demonstrated the cause of the silkworm disease. He was able to successfully identify a fungus as the disease -causing agent. This discovery further bolstered the validity of the Contagion theory. Bassi was able to make significant conclusions in the causations of smallpox, cholera, and other deadly diseases. There were many other experiments that involved the presence of microorganisms and deadly diseases. One of these cases involved anthrax and animals. One of the leading figures in this discovery was Casimir Davine. It was through his insistence and experiments that the cause of anthrax was focused on to rod- shaped bodies, bacteria.
At the same time, the germ theory was not a widely accepted hypothesis. The theory could not explain the origin of many known diseases and was thus seen as a dead hypothesis. Discoveries made by Louis Pasteur concerning fermentation and spontaneous generation served as an impetus for the recrudescence of the germ theory. Louis Pasteur was able to disprove spontaneous generation through his studies of rotten meats and fermentation. He was able to show that the presence of certain organisms could account for the disruption of proper fermentation processes. Pasteur demonstrated that organisms did not spontaneously arise from the air but from other organisms as seedlings.
Robert Koch was another important contributor to the development and acceptance of the germ theory. His experiments with anthrax and the blood of sick cattle proved the transmissibility of the disease. Furthermore, he was able to observe the growth and development of the bacteria in infected organisms.
Along with these epidemiologists, Ignaz Semmelweis made important contributions to the development of modern day medicine. Semmelweis studied childbed fever. His interest in childbed fever was due to inexplicable patterns he observed in two different maternity hospitals. One of the two clinics had a much higher death rate then the other clinic. There were several hypothesized causes of this but all were disproved because these factors were present in both clinics. Semmelweis noted important facts surrounding childbed fever. He was able to point out that women who delivered on streets were less likely to die from childbed fever than those who delivered in the clinics. It was through the death of an influential figure in Semmelweis’ life that he was able to pin point the direct cause of childbed fever. Semmelweis realized that the cause of childbed fever was due to the presence of cadaverous particles on examiner’s hands. The disease would be transmitted during examination of a women’s genital area. He was able to eradicate these particles by requiring the examiners to wash their hands with a chlorinated solution. This would prevent the transmission of the particles to the women during examinations. Semmelweis was also able to explain differences in mortality rates of women who entered the clinic after giving birth, and those who were in labor. The discrepancy in the mortality rate is caused by the lack of examinations of women who already went through labor.
Ultimately, many epidemiologists can be accredited for the rise of the germ theory and the revision of the contagion theory. Bacteriology provided the means of improving the understanding of disease and its causation. This enhancement led to the development of modern day medicine.
10 Responses to The Road to Modern Day Medicine