Pasteur And The Chemist In The Academy Of Medicine In Paris

Mr. Gawande starts his literature on washing hands. He introduces two friends a microbiologist and an infectious disease specialist. Both work hard and diligently against the spread of diseases just like Semmelweis who is mentioned in the chapter. Something I learned, that not many realize, is that each year two million people acquire an infection while they are in the hospital. Mainly because the clinicians only wash their hands one-third to one-half as many times as they should. Semmelweis, mentioned earlier, concluded in 1847 that doctors themselves were to blame for childbed fever, which was the leading cause of

In the midst of the Industrial Revolution, the son of leather tanners provided the clarity needed to understand the behavior of microbes and applied this understanding to improve people’s daily life. This man, Louis Pasteur, succeeded in his medical investigations and continued to pursue his interest, despite objections given to him by his peers. The timeless work of Louis Pasteur in the areas of chemistry and microbiology provided the necessary foundation for the scientific study of immunology and stressed the importance of possessing a thorough understanding of the procedures involved in medical treatment.

Louis Pasteur was magnificently a genius. His life was an example of hard work and persistence. He was called “The father of modern hygiene, public health and much of modern medicine, as well as the father of microbiology and immunology.” As a scientist, he made many discoveries and experimentations that are benefits to human and animals. Although sometimes his claims raised controversies, Louis Pasteur investigated, revised deeper and deeper his claims to bring up more evidences that lead him to more and more discoveries. Today, because of his claims; we know the correlation or causation between putrefaction and fermentation. We know what makes the milk spoiled, and how to prevent people to overuse it by putting an expiring date on the gallon.

“Louis Pasteur – Germ Theory of Disease” Inventors About. Com. 2014. Retrieved on January 13 2014 from Biography.com: http://inventors.about.com/od/pstartinventors/a/Louis_Pasteur.htm

The Black Death ushered in a need for practical medicine. Understanding the cycle of germs, the need of controlling human contact, and the lessons of sanitation and proper handling of disease and materials would prove valuable lessons of the plague. Guy De Chauliac, the

Lister “believed that sepsis was caused by a pollen like dust” (Cartwright) and his goal was to try to eliminate contact from the pollen like dust from surgery procedures. He learned from Louis Pasteur that this pollen like dust was micro-organisms and that they caused infections in patients. Lister decided that he was going to “eliminate contact of micro-organisms by exposing them to strong chemicals” (Cartwright). He ended up “finding a chemical called carbolic acid, which had been used to clean sewers and now was being used as a wound dressing to cover the wound and reduce the rate of infection” (Wilson). “In 1865, he tried the carbolic acid by putting it on a serious wound of a young boy, and in six weeks, he was completely healed because there was no infection” (The Famous People). This result led to Lister instructing other surgeons to wash their hands and instruments with carbolic acid to promote cleanliness and prevent infection. Due to this practice, “from 1865 to 1869, surgical mortality fell from 45 to 15 percent” (Cartwright and Biography.com Editors). This statistic clearly indicates that the carbolic acid helps prevent infection and mortality and that Lister was correct in his instructing of others to wash their hands and instruments frequently. Before Lister came up with this discovery, people believed that “infection was spread from bad air in the environment” (Hagy). Because people believed that infection was spread

The 19th century in the United States is marked as one of the most revolutionary periods in medical history. This is due to the fact that science and statistical analysis were integrated in proving the cause of urban plagues such as typhus, yellow fever, and cholera. Louis-René Villermé and other hygienists came onto the scene in the 1830-1840’s to investigate the epidemiology of the 19th century diseases, and concluded that there was a significant correlation between disease and poverty; epidemics such as cholera, nearly always caused more deaths in the poor population than the rich. This had to do with the rich having more resources to practice hygiene and thus able to live in sanitary conditions. Villermé, a French public health advocate,

Louis Pasteur's discovery of the relationship between germ and disease was only the beginning to developping a permanent solution. The theory led to the realization that handwashing helps prevent the spread of disease and disinfection can eliminate germs. Disinfection and handwashing affected humanity because the rates of infectious disease began to decline and epidemics lasted for a shorter time spand and overall mortality decreased as a result. The introduction of the theory affected how humanity viewed the human body. People began to believe that dirt contained microorganisms and could cause an infection, which lead to bathing frequently. Alongside his discovery were his inventions, for example the machine used to screen and detect silkworm eggs which saved the European silk industry and helped prevent silkworm

Louis Pasteur discovered how to vaccinate against infectious disease, but it was a long process before he got to that point. He first studied the process of fermentation, which is when sugars are turned into alcohol. When a vinegar manufacturer wanted to know why his vinegar was spoiling, Pasteur found that it was because yeast (a microscopic fungus) had come in contact with the juice. He found that by heating the beet juice to a controlled temperature, the yeast was killed, and the fermentation process was stopped. Today this process is known as pasteurization, and it is applied to all kinds of food such as milk and cheese. He took what he had learned and eventually isolated the organism that was causing silk worm eggs to be infected with disease and developed a method to prevent the eggs from becoming

The layout and content written by the author appeared to be orientated towards these readers by stating facts that would otherwise be known to someone who had studied microbiology such as “there are more bacteria in your gut than there are stars in our galaxy” [1]. These statements were boldly highlighted to try and capture curiosity. The author spoke to the general public; thus I predict the impact is seen in their actions towards bacteria. Some may have developed a false understanding about medical sterilization due to the reference to reducing such practises in hospitals and made applications in their life accordingly. Those who understood the importance of a diverse home environment may have made subtle changes in their lives and developed a healthier relationship with microbes. As well the increased knowledge on bacterial resistance may have resulted in more cautious actions with

Louis Pasteur graduated in 1847 with a doctorate degree in chemistry and physics. He was asked to study the question, “could contamination that occurred during the fermentation, possibly prevent the development of good alcohol?” Louis visited factories where alcohol was made, took samples, and did studies. The conclusion he found was the yeast used in the fermentation process was a living organism and could cause the alcohol to turn bad. Through this discovery Louis found that germs are in living things. He helped solve many problems, including a disease that was found in Silk worms, chicken cholera, and rabies. Louis was involved in many studies involving germ theory that helped explain all infectious diseases. He was introduced to Joseph

Louis Pasteur was motivated by the desire of explaining the cause of infection by comparing the cause to what causes fermentation. Louis Pasteur's research based on spontaneous generation and fermentation inevitably triggered the study of infectious diseases. He successfully demonstrated that if fungi from the environment can be prevented from being deposited on grapes, there will not be fermentation of grape juice.

The final vaccination I will be discussing is the Anthrax Spore Vaccine. Anthrax is a disease that can infect Cattle. It affects the skin and lungs. This disease can be transmitted to humans which can cause skin ulceration and pneumonia.

Throughout history chemistry has had a large impact on the field of medicine. Things such as

In the Franco-German War Pasteur made an spectacular finding! He theorized, as he saw the wounds on the soldiers and the unsterilized instruments that were used, that the “diseases and infections were caused by microbes” (Notable Biographies, 2008). He proposed to heat the sterilize the instruments by