The Treatment Of Penicillin During World War II

To begin, Penicillin became a widely used medicine for many reasons. One reason it became widely used was because how it was discovered. It was discovered by Alexander Fleming. Alexander went on a month long vacation, and came back to his lab cultures being covered in mold. One particular culture looked different, he noticed that the mold on that culture killed all the bacteria in it. Alexander did a bunch of experiments and discovered that the mold could kill bacteria and that could benefit humans. According to the text “It seemed that as it had grown, the mold killed the bacteria in the culture.” This quote means that if the mold could kill the bacteria in the culture than it could kill the bacteria in a human.

Why was the invention of penicillin so important in the context of WWII? What were some other advances in medicine that were

In this reading there was many very interesting facts about penicillin. Penicillin was a breakthrough in the medical field in the 20th century. The scientist Alexander Fleming had accidentally spilled a vile of bacteria on to a plate of bacteria to his benefit he found that is had stopped the growth of bacteria. This accidental discover has benefited everyone in the world because we have to get these shots if we are infected, plus it saved many life’s in world war II. However, Penicillin is considered an antibiotic chemical that is created by living organism to stop the growth of bacteria and prevent an illness if people were to come into contact with this problem. Since the discovery and massive stock piling of this cure it has become less

During any war, medical advancements are commonly made in response to the atrocities that take place during these bloody and gruesome times. World War II is no exception. During World War II, medical advances simply had to be made to keep soldiers alive. With all the victims of bullet wounds and diseases spreading around, treatments had to be invented or advanced. I chose this topic because science and medicine is very fascinating to me and I want to become a doctor when I grow up. During the war, penicillin, sulfanilamide, atabrine, plasma, and morphine were used in abundance and saved a countless number of lives.

Penicillin is a type of antibiotics. It fights nasty bacteria in a human body. Penicillin is used to help many different infections caused by bacteria. Penicillin was made for the soldiers in world war one, it was to help bullet wound infections and infections caused by lost limbs. Penicillin is made from extracting it from mould.

Fleming in 1928. Penicillin helped to treat some common infections: step throat, boils, it would heal wounds quicker, as well as treat more serious infections such as meningitis and pneumonia. Antibiotics usually kill only weak bacteria and after some years of antibiotic usage stronger bacteria have not only survived but also became resistant to the old cure. “Doctors have started to prescribe antibiotics to cure conditions such as ear infections, sinusitis, bronchitis, non-specific upper respiratory tract infections and even common colds and flu… According to the Director of Antimicrobial Resistance, Dr. Richard Besser, each year US physicians write $50 million worth of prescriptions that are ineffectual and unnecessary.” (Elisa Bussey). The more doctors were prescribing antibiotics, the bigger the number of people who become resistant to them. Most of the European countries prescribe antibiotics to kill bacteria only in cases of life threatening conditions. Patients in the US have become accustomed to receiving antibiotics for almost any health concerns and with time, patients have started to expect such prescriptions as a norm.

As the text stated “ In the war, penicillin proved its mettle throughout history, the major killer in wars had been infection on rather than battle injuries. In World War I, the death rate from bacterial pneumonia was 18 percent; in World War II, it fell, to less than 1 percent.”(The Real Story Behind Penicillin). This proves that when U.S. was entering world War II this medicine was very useful to cure many soldiers. After penicillin arrived , we can see how different it was before,and after penicillin. In fact penicillin also helped England during world war II. In “Lax, Eric” it says “they performed their work on a minuscule budget with makeshift equipment during the most perilous time for England in world war II”(page 3). Clearly, penicillin helped many during world war II. This determines that penicillin had a huge impact in the United

     World War II turning points are much more important than penicillin. If there were not any breaks for the American troops, then there would have been many more lives lost in the war than needed. Possibly, there would be more lives lost in the fighting than saved by penicillin in its fist two decades of public use.

Penicillin was a very important drug used in World War 2. During the war companies were forced to find a way to make penicillin on an industrial scale. This means that Penicillin was mass

Penicillin made a huge difference in the amount of deaths and amputations that occurred, saving an estimated 12%-15% of the Allied force’s lives. The wait time for an injured soldier to see a doctor was roughly 14 hours for the Allied Forces. This prolonged period of an open wound without treatment put many soldiers at risk of infection, increasing the chance that an amputation would be required. However, penicillin helped addressed the problem, as administering the drug to a wound would drastically reduce the chance of an infection. Another medical issue addressed by penicillin is septicaemia, or blood poisoning. This condition occurred when patients were operated on with improperly sterilized equipment, or if bacteria were to spread from one patient to another. By attacking open wounds with penicillin army doctors were able to revitalize troops in a swifter manner at the same time minimizing the spread of bacteria. Lastly, penicillin was extremely effective against gangrene, the decomposition of body tissues caused by bacterial infection, which helped to further reduce the casualties. By improving medical procedures, penicillin helped save many lives, and allowed more soldiers to return

Without the medical treatment created during World War I, the nine million casualties of war could have doubled. The army’s Nurse Corps and doctors saved millions of lives by both creating an operative path of treatment and by inventing new cures. Organizations like the Red Cross and the Nurse Corps and first created a an series of medical stations to ensure that all soldiers would get the best care possible. Captain Oswald H. Robertson created the first blood bank as well as anticoagulants and the the syringe blood transfusion technique. Antiseptics were also put into use for the first time during World War I. One of the most widespread treatments created was therapy, which was made to cure those affected with shell shock.

It had the same curing properties as “M+B” (it cured infectious diseases), the only difference being that it also treated wounded soldiers. It greatly increased the survival rate of wounds and infectious diseases, and in my opinion, without Penicillin the death rate would have probably doubled or tripled! Like “M+B” the demand for Penicillin boomed during World War Two, and the mass production of the drug increased greatly.

One of the medical improvements during World War Il was penicillin. We also had a

World War II was a historical turning point not only for the basis of political power and war tactics, but also for drugs and medical advances. Between 1939 and 1945, new medical techniques were developed as a direct response to new weaponry. One of the more profound advances was penicillin, discovered in 1928 by Scottish scientist Sir Alexander Fleming. During the war, the drug helped reduce the overall number of amputations and

Medicine is closely intertwined with warfare. World War II was the impetus for the industrial production of penicillin. Although the chemical was discovered in 1928, wartime governments desired its antibiotic properties to heal soldiers. Penicillin was an upgrade to previously used antibiotics, its manufacturing process was revolutionary, and it caused implications in patent rights.