Biology Enriched Extra Credit Better: A Surgeon’s Notes on Performance Chapter 1: On Washing Hands 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
Although most disease struck the poorest, the upper class was not fully immune. Because people wanted to move to cities to make their lives better, they were forced to live around these diseases without proper means for prevention, protection, and recovery. Once contracting the disease, they would either die within hours or suffer from uncontrollable diarrhea and pain. In addition, scientific knowledge on disease was not as developed as it fortunately is today. Doctors had not yet learned the concept of a germ theory and instead associated the disease with the “bad air” that surrounded toxic, polluted cities. This “bad air” was known as miasa and was incorrectly used to explain the spread of cholera in major cities during the mid 1800s. After studies and research, doctors noticed that there was a heavy concentration of miasmata near certain rivers, but they still connected it to a lack of air quality in bustling cities such as Manchester, London, and Paris. Although air pollution and coal emissions did play a role in certain illnesses, they were not the main cause for diseases such as cholera. Poor ventilation, dirty homes, malnourishment, and no access to clean water made people easily susceptible to a ruthless disease like cholera. Moreover, causes of cholera were investigated more thoroughly after John Snow’s theory claimed that cholera was spread through the water John Snow was an English physician who is today considered one of the fathers of modern epidemiology, the branch of medicine that deals with the distribution and control of diseases relating to health. Finally, doctors could see cholera in a new light and were able to find better means of protection and prevention for its victims. Today, doctors recognize the germ theory of disease which states that some diseases are caused by microorganisms, and not just by “bad
(Barry & Yuill p 25; Giddens p 392; Nettleton pp: 3-4). Disease is regarded as a failure within the body that changes it from its usual healthy self. In keeping with the germ theory the disease can be identified as a micro-organism and the cause of the disease isolated then treated to restore the body to full health. This technological imperative places great emphasis on surgical procedures and pharmacological
Dr. John Snow was known as an intelligent physician who had a background with anesthesia advancements. He believed that cholera was a waterborne disease and that it was contaminated by the sewage. Snow’s goal was to convince others about the issue and stop it from spreading. His theory about the intestinal disease, in which was published in 1849 in an article, was laughed at and many doctors believed that his idea was “wrong” and they continued to believe that it was airborne. He wanted to prove many wrong and begin to further research and experiment the disease.
Before the 18th century, medicine had not advanced beyond the practices of bloodletting and balancing the four humors of the body. These medical practices were not effective and did more harm than good. It was not until the Scientific Revolution that physicians slowly started to learn more about the human
I. The setting and how it hinders Ethan Frome’s early life A: Early foreshadowing of a bad ending B. How unexpected events force Ethan to stay in Starkfield Ethan meets Zeena when she serves as a nurse to his dying mother. Though he does not know her very well, Ethan decides to propose to her, out of the fear of loneliness and desperation, caused by the effects of an undesired life in Starkfield. At first, Zeena and Ethan seem happy, but eventually, Zeena develops into a harsh woman. Ethan does nothing but complain about her. She does not want to move to the city, since she has no hope of being the center-of-attention there. So, Ethan has no choice, but to stay in Starkfield and make a living off of the mostly fruitless farm. In addidtion, whenever Ethan is around Mattie, the setting (weather) is “clear as a crystal.”(Wharton 49). Whenever he is around Zeena, it is nasty and stormy.
Lincoln Chafee: Rise To Presidency Lincoln Chafee was born in Providence, Rhode Island on March 26, 1953. The Chaffee family was among the earliest settlers of Hingham, Massachusetts. He attended the Montana State University horseshoeing school in Bozeman. Before Chafee became a democratic he was a Republican. His religious background is Episcopalian. Lincoln Chafee is also
John Rolfe is an exemplary piece of history in the world today. Throughout his life, John accomplished many great things and his actions were known by most everyone. A quick example of his extraordinary work was the first successful cultivation of the crop tobacco. This was an export crop in Virginia.
In the 1970’s, doctors were receiving patients who were having odd symptoms. The symptoms were swollen knees, paralysis, skin rashes, headaches, and severe chronic fatigue (“History of Lyme Disease”). In the 1980’s a doctor named Willy Burgdorfer was
Although doctors were supposed to be considered medical experts, they were not taken seriously due to the fact that a patient had less than a fifty percent chance of benefiting from a doctor’s visit (“The 1920s: Medicine and Health: Overview”, n.p.). Doctors struggled to diagnose and fix medical problems due to inexperience and lack of tools (“The 1920s: Medicine and Health: Overview”, n.p.). As a result of the substandard medical community, maternal deaths and child deaths were commonplace, while simple sicknesses often turned into fatal infections (“The 1920s: Medicine and Health: Overview”, n.p.). When the first wave of the influenza pandemic struck in the spring of 1918, the medical community was taken aback by the pandemic’s unpredicted wrath (Peters, 13). The typically mellow influenza virus, characterized by familiar symptoms of fever, headache, fatigue, cough, sore throat, congestion, and body aches, claimed victims within hours (Peters, ix, 1-5). This was a sickness like no other, and it left the medical community baffled. Doctors nor medical experts knew what the sickness was, why it was spreading, what was causing it, or how to fix it (Peters, 1-5). All branches of the medical field practically shut down: researchers found no potential
+Thomas Ussher Yeah I certainly would be embarrassed too if my name was apparently Thomas Ussher since you did say that you and myself were the same person.
The symptoms of streptococcus pyogenes have been recorded by scientists and historian for many years. Hippocrates (known as the father of medicine), was the first to records symptoms of scarlet fever and “the flesh-eating bacteria; two infections that group A Strep are now known to be involved in. Pasteur was the first to isolate the chain-forming bacteria and Rosenbach named it.
One of the primary physicians who influenced modern-day medicine is Aulus Cornelius Celsus. Celsus believed that everything medical revolved around a person's diet. If a person had a fever, he would give them "cold foods" (e.g., lettuce, cucumber, cherries, and
While others, were only effected by direct contact. It was thought to have been sustainable by even touching clothing or other such items of the infected. Conditions of the fourteenth century were also a contributing factor. Famine had been an arising issue due to the number of overpopulation. Because of this, their immune systems began to weaken. “Europeans were susceptible to disease because many people lived in crowded surroundings in an era when personal hygiene was not considered important” (Dowling). The cities were unsanitary and littered with germs, making it easier to sustain such diseases. Unhealthy habits were conducted and medical advances had not yet been made. Doctors themselves had not known what to advise. No prescriptions had worked. There was no cure to what was happening. Most were not even aware of what was impending upon them. Anything that could would be tried, in hopes of living. People were becoming desperate.
Pieter Brueghel was a Netherland painter whose paintings focused on humans and nature. Many of his paintings were scenes of humans, generally peasants, living life, with back dropped by beautifully detailed landscapes. Pieter was not just an extremely talented artist; his perception of humans and their environment was an amazing contribution to all art, but especially landscape painting. His painting The Harvesters is an example of his supreme skill, and shows how much his work impacted landscapes. Four contributions that can be seen in this painting are: