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Period: 460 BCE to 377 BCE
Hippocrates
One of the first people in Western medicine to question the accepted idea of supernatural causes to disease was Hippocrates. He concluded that air, soil, water and food causes diseases in humans and animals. -
Period: 131 BCE to 201 BCE
Claudius Galen
Hippocrates's work was followed by Claudius Galen who was a doctor to the gladiators. She used animal dissections to explore anatomy. -
Period: 1478 to 1553
Girolamo Fracastoro
Girolamo Fracastoro was an Italian astronomer and doctor. He was one of the first to suggest that disease can be transmitted from person to person via small invisible particles. He theorized disease could spread by these particles traveling through the air, via contaminated clothing or direct contact with the sick person. -
The Invention Of The Microscope
Zacharias Janssen is credited with inventing the microscope. The invention of the microscope allowed for the germ theory to be developed with the assistance of microscopes. -
The Germ Theory
The germ Theory was developed and proved by Louis Pasteur and Robert Koch. In 1861, Louis Pasteur published his germ theory which proved that bacteria caused diseases. The germ theory states that many diseases are caused by the presence and actions of microorganisms called pathogens. Pathogens are an agent such as bacteria or viruses that interfere with the natural functioning of our body and cause diseases. -
Pasteurization discovered
Louis Pasteur discovered that microorganisms in milk can be killed with heat. This process is called pasteurization and is still used to this day to achieve preservation and food safety. -
Koch's Postulates part 1
Robert Koch developed Koch's postulates which is the 4 criteria that was designed to asses and determine whether a microorganism has caused the infectious disease. -
Koch's Postulates part 2
The criteria of Koch's Postulates is as follows...
1. The microorganism or other pathogen must be present in all cases of the disease.
2. The pathogen can be isolated from the diseased host and grown in the laboratory.
3. The pathogen from a pure culture must cause the disease when introduced into a healthy susceptible laboratory animal.
4. The pathogen must be re-isolated from the new host and shown to be the same as the originally introduced pathogen. -
The Discovery of Penicillin
After returning from a holiday Alexander Fleming discovered some Petri dishes, he had left open on the bench were growing a mould similar to that found on bread (penicillium). After he performed some tests, he discovered that the penicillin mould was releasing a chemical that killed bacteria. Penicillin is now used to treat an abundance of infections & has saved many lives. Australian scientist Howard Florey then figured out how to develop penicillin into a form that could be mass produced. -
Research On Stomach Ulcers
Australian scientists Barry Marshall & Robin Warren followed Koch's Postulates when researching stomach Ulcers. During their investigation they discovered that a bacterium (Helicobacter pylori) was found in all patients with stomach ulcers. They then isolated the bacteria and injected the disease into mice. Unfortunately, many doctors still did not believe their research so Barry Marshal swallowed a culture of the bacteria to cause the disease in himself to provide further evidence. -
Barry Marshal & Robin Warren awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine