During his life, Alexander Fleming greatly changed the world’s view and knowledge of antibiotics and antiseptics. Alexander Fleming was born on August 6, 1881, and died on March 11, 1955 of an unexpected heart attack. From 1903 to 1906, Alexander Fleming attended Saint Mary’s Hospital Medical School. While in school, Fleming received qualifications as a surgeon, but his interests later changed towards bacteriology, after he returned from World War I. Fleming served as a medical officer in the Royal Army Medical Corp., in France during World War I. While he was in France, Fleming experienced the horrors of battlefield hospitals and all of the sickness, disease and death associated with them. Fleming noticed how the methods that were being used did more harm then good, and killed the wounded rather than help them heal. After experiencing all of this, Fleming began to consider a career researching and experimenting with bacteria to help discover better medical treatment techniques. After the war ended, Fleming returned to Saint Mary’s Hospital and began experimenting with bacteria. In the next few decades, he would discover disease killers that would impact the world. Alexander Fleming revolutionized medical practice and care, saving countless lives, through his discovery and development of antibiotics and antiseptics.
While working in his lab in England, Fleming made a very important medical and scientific discovery. In 1922 while sick, Fleming decided to test if mucus, a body’s self defense against infection, had any affect on bacteria. Fleming put some mucus in a petri dish with a culture of bacteria. Over the next few weeks, the mucus dissolved the bacteria. Fleming had discovered an enzyme in the mucus that had killed the b...
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...ct of medical research because of penicillin. Penicillin and Lysozyme revolutionized medical practice and care because they were the essence of a new aspect of medical treatment and because they lowered the death percentage chance of certain diseases.
Works Cited
1. “What Is Penicillin?” Medical News Today. MediLexicon International, n.d. Web. 14 Dec. 2013.
2. “Fleming Discovers Penicillin.” PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 17 Dec. 2013.
3. “Alexander Fleming.” Homepage of the Chemical Heritage Foundation. Chemical Heritage, n.d. Web. 16 Dec. 2013.
4. "Banquet Speech." Alexander Fleming. Ed. Arne Holmber. Les Prix Nobel, 1945. Web. 17 Dec. 2013.
5. Hunter, M. I., and D. Thirkell. "Effect of Lysozyme Treatment." Journal of Bacteriology. American Society for Microbiology, 17 July 1973. Web. 12 Dec. 2013.
6. "Sir Alexander Fleming." Encyclopedia Americana. 1829. Print.
Medicine has been developed and discovered for thousands of years; however, the 1920’s was the first decade that fashioned a pathway for new developments and discoveries. Medical professionals have taken a huge hit for their fight in finding new inventions that can save patients from death’s hands. In the 1920’s, medicine has also taken a tremendous leap in controlling fatal diseases such as diabetes (Pendergast 110). Medicine in the 1920’s has altered the way medicine is shaped today; furthermore, the development and discovery of the iron lung, penicillin, and insulin were the first pertinent breakthroughs in medical history (“Iron” par. 7; Grimsley par. 15; “Banting” par. 13).
A remarkable breakthrough in medicine occurred in the late 1800s through the work of Louis Pasteur. Pasteur's experiments showed that bacteria reproduce like other living things and travel from place to place. Using the results of his findings, he developed pasteurization, which is the process of heating liquids to kill bacteria and prevent fermentation. He also produced an anthrax vaccine as well as a way to weaken the rabies virus. After studying Pasteur's work, Joseph Lister developed antisepsis, which is the process of killing disease-causing germs. In 1865 before an operation, he cleansed a leg wound first with carbolic acid, and performed the surgery with sterilized (by heat) instruments. The wound healed, and the patient survived. Prior to surgery, the patient would've needed an amputation. However, by incorporating these antiseptic procedures in all of his surgeries, he decreased postoperative deaths. The use of antiseptics eventually helped reduce bacterial infection not only in surgery but also in childbirth and in the treatment of battle wounds. Another man that made discoveries that reinforced those of Pasteur's was Robert Koch. Robert Koch isolated the germ that causes tuberculosis, identified the germ responsible for Asiatic cholera, and developed sanitary measures to prevent disease. (1)
Medical procedures and inventions are constantly being developed and made better. World War 1 was a time in which many of the procedures used today were first thought of and used. It was a time that inspired the doctors and nurses working today, not to mention the fact that it’s a topic that still affects everyone in the world today. Medical advancements made during World War 1 had a major impact on the world as evidenced by those advancements still in use today.
Penicillin is an antibiotic that kills bacteria, sufficiently treating any injuries. This drug was invented before the war, but had its major outbreak during World War II. Once scientists discovered the potential of penicillin, they aggressively started to pursue methods to mass produce the drug. The mass production of penicillin saved many American lives and led to our victory during World War II.
Most of these medical advances were a result and were an influence of World War I. Probably one of the most important medical advances was the discovery of penicillin in 1928 by a Scottish, microbiologist named Alexander Fleming, he had actually accidently discovered it, when he noticed that a bacteria culture he had been growing, had stopped, he realized that it had been contaminated by a rare form of mold called Penicillin and that it had killed the bacteria.
So one major investment in the 1920's to science was Medicine. In 1921 two Canadian scientists made a medicine called Insulin. Insulin helped people suffering from diabetes which made the world a healthier place. Then in 1928 Alexander Fleming found a mold that could kill certain types of bacteria. This mold became...
The chemist I have chosen is Antoine Laurent Lavoisier. As you might know, he was a fabulous chemist. Antoine Lavoisier is famous for formulating the theory of the chemical reactivity of oxygen. He also co-authored the modern system for the nomenclature of chemical substances. I have chosen this chemist because he is not one of those people that boast about all their accomplishments, but his achievements are crucial to science development. Antoine kept his accomplishments to himself. All of his achievements are fascinating to me. In this biography, I will be talking about his background, main accomplishments, and my opinion about his interesting story.
The decade between 1920 and 1930 was a milestone for many health breakthroughs. The work that was done in the 1920’s had a major impact in increasing overall life expectancy. Penicillin and insulin are an easy fix for sore throats and diabetes, respectively.
“But how did it come to this?” you’re probably asking yourself. Humans may have been studying antibiotics, but so were bacteria – and they’ve b...
Treatment must begin immediately with penicillin (Counteracting Major Infections 918).Penicillin, the drug used to treat this infection was discovered by Alexander Fleming in 1932 Though discovered before the war and in the aftermath of the great war penicillin only became mass produced during world war 2, especially the netherlands after the war. Researchers in the Netherlands produced penicillin using their own production methods and marketed it in 1946, which eventually increased the penicillin supply and decreased the price.(Robert Gaynes) This allowed for penicillin to be available to most people for commercial use along with prontosil ( a previously discovered antibiotic). Together, Prontosil, penicillin, and related antibacterials enabled physicians to control the major infectious diseases afflicting humanity, at least for many decades; however, an increasing problem today is the steady development by bacteria of resistance to antibiotics.(Ronald Bentley)The discovery of Sulfanilamide greatly affected the mortality rate during World War II. American soldiers were taught to immediately sprinkle sulfa powder on any open wound to prevent infection.(David Steinert)Every soldier was issued a first aid pouch that was designed to be attached to the soldier’s waist belt. The first aid pouch contained a package of sulfa powder and a bandage to dress the wound.One of the main components carried by a combat medic during World War II was sulfa powder and sulfa tablets. (David Steinert) Dramatic proof of the effectiveness of this new agent was provided during an outbreak of meningitis in the French Foreign Legion in Nigeria.While sulfanilamide was available, there was an 11% mortality rate. After the supply was exhausted, mortality climbed to 75%. Sulfanilamide and its derivatives, which soon followed, were said to have "dethroned the captain of the men of death," such was their
There is no doubt that these events have improved and advanced the science of medicine as a whole and that lives have been improved and saved through the availability of healthcare within the system that has been created. The introduction and availability of antibiotics alone has restored to good health countless individuals who in the century before would have certainly died from bacterial infection.
New technologies such as x-rays, splints, and prothesitc limbs led to less lives being lost and more people being able to go back into society. Those new technologies went hand in hand with procedures like plastic surgery, blood transfusions, and sanitation of which were just starting to be developed. The concepts of Triage and The Golden Hour strengthened the concept of patient prioritization, and in all saved many lives. All of these concepts are seen in modern medical technology, so we can thank World War One for providing the testing ground for these new medical discoveries. Without the rapid acceleration of medical concepts during WWI, it is believed that medicine today would be lacking in knowledge that we consider crucial today. For all of the solutions yet to be found in the world of medicine- like the cure for cancer- maybe all that is needed is the acceleration of medicine caused by a massive outbreak of patients. Although a war in our horizon would be a devastation to the human race, from underneath it would emerge new ideas and technologies and right now we are searching so hopelessly
At his Nobel Peace Prize speech in 1945, Alexander Fleming warned against the misuse of antibiotics and the fact that by doing this, one allows the bacteria to ‘become educated’ and therefore become resistant to the antibiotic. It is believed that the first cases of antibiotic resistance were shortly after this speech. (Fleming, 1945)
Alexander Fleming started the history of antibiotics in the 1920's with his discovery of penicillin.When penicillin was first discovered and used widely, it was touted as a wonder drug, and consequently was used as one.Though not necessarily harmful to the patient penicillin was used for much more infections than it was able to combat.Today the same practice is observed in the medical profession, however at this point it is due more to the detriment of an uneducated public.Studies have been carried out that show the huge over usage of antibiotics.In the seventies Soyka et al, concluded, "60% of physicians surveyed gave antibiotics for the treatment of the common cold."[3], and by common knowledge the common cold is a virus, something that cannot be treated by an antibiotic.Nyquist
Sir Alexander Fleming changed the world of medicine not only in his days but also in the world today. We have the medicines and antibiotics that we have today because of Alexander Fleming. His discovery was much needed in the world and I hate to think where we would be in the medicine world if he hadn’t discovered penicillin.