History of Medicine Page 1 by Adisa Nicholson

Introduction

My extended project is about the history of medicine. Its aim is to question

how medicine has developed over the past hundreds of years, and highlight
the recent medical breakthroughs which have happened. I have decided to
choose this project as it allows me to highlight how privileged we are to have
the treatment options we have today.

In developed countries like the UK, illness is something which is out of the
ordinary and is expected to be eradicated with a quick cure. Whereas in
developing countries, illness is seen as a way of life in which having good
health is a dream. Western societies are concerned about prevention of
diseases, such as the biggest killer being heart disease by lifestyle changes,
immunisations, and health precaut ions (handling food); then comes symptoms,
then a diagnosis then a treatment.

The Health and Medical Service sector is the biggest employer and spender
in any industry.
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Commercialisation of medicines

Nowadays we have a wide range of medicines and treat ments. But these
unfortunately cost money. In more economically developed countries, you pay
for your health whilst you’re healt hy as in health insurance unless the
government provides a free healthcare service .

W hilst a person is ill, they will have to use their health insurance if necessary
in order to get their medical bills paid . If the patient are getting a free
treatment. They will still have to find a way to get their bills paid if they are
too sick to turn up to work. This is the reason why patients should have
payment protection or payment insurance on all their bills, which not everyone
can afford. If a person has no medical insurance and they suffer a fatal illness
which they have to get operated on in order to save their life, they will become
homeless and lose all their possessions due to the collateral being placed on
the house.

Medicine is very expensive and we are exceptionally lucky that we have

illnesses, and mental disorders which can be treated with a free healthcare
service which we som etimes take for granted , whether that is by drugs,
radiation, surgery or anything else.

Medicines are patented, tweaked to extend the exclusive rights and then
licensed to other companies to rebrand and resell to keep the rights to escape
the negative eff ects when the term of patent wears off. A good example of this
is when Novatris challenged the Chen nai high court over patent laws in India.

The bottom line of medicine is that the drug companies worldwide are making
millions of pounds in profit. Should th is be allowed? Should some of these
millions be used to buy free healthcare? Surely these corporations won’t mind
as a couple million won’t hurt.

But the sad fact is that without this profit, drug companies have no incentive
to spend years researching into drugs. That price you pay is the price you pay
for health. Poorer countries cannot always afford that price, so people in
those countries end up dying.
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Case Study: Novatris

A good example is when Novatris challenged the Chennai high court in India
to have exclusive rights to a medicine they invented to sell it at the price they
wanted, rather than to have other companies sell the drug at an affordable
price and have them lose millions of pounds and be below profit.

In India, the term of patent for medici nes is 2 years. So upon Novatris
inventing the drug and selling it. Novatris was “patent tweaking”, which is
when a company slightly alters their product, then applies for a patent in order
to get another term of patent, in turn extending their exclusive r ights to sell
the drug. W hen other companies sold the drug at a much lower price, which
was a benefit to the poorer Indians. The chance of Novatris ever getting a
return on investment was slipping.

Novatris lost the court case, saving millions of lives, and costing millions of
pounds. Drug companies will be reluctant to sell drugs in that country again. I
personally think that the court was biased towards its own country as it did not
take into account the potential loss for Novatris for having no return on the
millions of pounds they made investing in a drug which rival companies can
manufacture very cheaply.

If only they could have free healthcare from the state, things would be so
different.

The quest for treating illnesses

The quest for treating illnesses goes back to the Stone Age; starting with
brain surgery. In the Stone Age, this was used to treat headaches, epilepsy,
and mental illness. It was painful and did not work, although this was thought
to be successful, it carried on up to the 16th centur y in Europe. They also
used herbs and other plants in order to discover which plants had medicinal
effects.
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Commercialisation of Medicine

Through The Ages

In 2000BC, the Egyptians, who were very clever for their time, used drugs,
ointments and potions in order to treat disease. In those times, there were
also sorcerers designed to deal with spirits and the supernatural - and priests.
Some healing was done with supernatural powers as Egyptians believed in
shamen. They also had tools to aid their surgery such as bronze and copper
knives. Unfortunately, they also drilled holes in the skull to treat headaches.
Some of these practices still go on today, as in Africa, there are an estimated
200,000 witch-doctors in South Africa.

Long ago, when looking for cures for illnesses, people turned to the natural
power of medicinal properties. Foxgloves were discovered to treat dropsy,
with a small dose stimulating the heart and a large dosage being fatal.
Foxgloves are still used today as medication but now an extract of it is used.

Eucalyptus is used to treat fever and opium poppies, as morphine is an

antiseptic and fights agains t viruses, malaria and bacteria.

The role of improving health and venturing to learn about medicine, over time,
moved from the Egyptia ns, to the Greeks, to the Roman Empire.

The Greeks observed, recorded and then filed the patients, who they were,
what happened to them and the outcome of the treatment which alot of people
History of Medicine Page 5 by Adisa Nicholson

medics from. Historians now use them to see how far health has pro gressed.
A book called the Hippocratic W ritings can help out here for this history.

The Roman Empire were very smart and advanced for their time period. They
produced countless inventions which changed the world. The Romans were
the first to know that bad hygiene caused bad health, and they invested in
eradicating dirty water, human waste and marshland. They invented

 False teeth
 Toothpaste (made of salt, vinegar, honey and grounded up glass(which can
damage the stomach’s lining))
 Public Baths
 Electrotherapy (from electric rays or torpedo fish in seawater tanks)
 Cupping (placing a cup on the back to expand the skin and make it rise)
 Fine forceps (for taking out splinters)
 Probes (for exploring wounds and tissues)
 Traction hooks (for holding vessels and tissues)
 Fine boned tooth saws for amputations
 Straight roads
 The banning of burying the dead in walls
 The creation of sewers
 Officials checking if food is fresh to be sold
The public baths which the Romans had were revolutionary, not only because
they were a social place with underground heating, a sauna, and a coliseum
for entertainment nearby, but that they dramatically cut disease. However,
there were no public hospitals, just for the rich, and the lead pots, pans and
pipes which water was carried through gave alot of people lead poising and
nobody knew this.

In the Victorians were not as successful as the Romans however in combating

health despite adopting their practices. They had a theory which involved
letting cuts and wounds bleed as they thought it was beneficial. This caused
many complications and deaths. Kings or rules had a special type of gold
called a touchpiece, these touchpieces, when touched healed people of
illness, and 92,000 peop le queued, which was alot of people in those times, in
the hope of being cured of tuberculosis. One thing they were right about was
studying urine, but they didn’t have to taste it to gather results. In the
History of Medicine Page 6 by Adisa Nicholson

Victorian times, people were very superstitious. In the Middle Ages, there was
an emphasis on God, religion and prayer. People prayed for their illnesses to
be healed.

In the time of the European Renaissance, also known as the Revolution, the
telescope came out proving
that the Sun, not the Earth
is in the centre of the
universe. One thing they did
is dissect human bodies
which gave them a huge
understanding into [Link] the
body works so they could
teach anatom y to others;
this type of study is called
Mechanical Physiology.
From this, they learnt that
blood circulates through the

body from the heart. A ca r too n de pic tin g a pe rso n u nde rg oin g pa in fu l
s ur ger y w i tho ut anae sth eti c.

In those times, people believed that evil smells, air, sex, smoke, scents and
excrement caused disease.

They learnt about veins and valves and learnt that blood flows one way and
then back again round the body by pressing the wrist hard to obstruct the
blood flow and then looking at a vein.

They invented a device to stop bleeding, or blood flow for amputations. They
also used leeches to stop blood clots. They also invented the litmus test.

In 1818, they invented blood transfusions , but only in 1901, blood types were
discovered which explained the low pass rate of these operations. The AB
group was discovered in 1902 to clear confusion.

In 1775, chloroform, a laughing gas, was used as an anaesthetic. In 1846, the

first anaesthetic surfaced, which was cocaine derived from coca leaves, which
History of Medicine Page 7 by Adisa Nicholson

had to be used in small doses. In 1850 they invented the stethoscope for
hearing the heartbeat.

In 1853, Queen Victoria used chloroform, an anaesthetic for childbirth giving it

the green light to people who were sceptical believing that God only gives as
much pain naturally as a person can deal with. Chloroform also has to be
used in small doses.

In the 20th century, things started to modernise greatly. Joseph Liste r

suggested germ theory, that the reason why people get sick for seemingly no
reason is that there are germs, too small to see floating around in the air
populating around d irty areas being inhaled in by us. This theory was
dismissed as nonsense and stupid as there was no proof, and it suggested
proof in what can’t be seen; as people were more religious in those days, they
dismissed claims of weird life existing on this plane t.

One thing Joseph Lister made in order to combat this when dealing with
wounds, working in hospital was to use carbolic acid. He used this on wounds
then covered it in foil, he then used a carbolic spray which stunk and required
a gas mask or cloth cover ing the face, and he also had a cloth covered in
carbolic. The carbolic acid was also scrubbed on his hands. However, there
was a 9/11 pass rate, a pass rate not heard of in those days.

Carbolic acid kills pathogenic, not human cells making it a bacteride. The
first antiseptic was 'Carbolic acid' (phenol), introduced by Lister in
1867, and two in household use today are 'TCP' (2,4,6 -trichlorophenol)
and 'Dettol' (3,5-dimethyl-4-chlorophenol).

Cases Lived Died Mortality

W ithout
1864-66 35 19 16 45.7
antiseptic

W ith
1867-70 40 34 6 15.0
antiseptic

Source: British Medical Journal, 1867

Later, it was found that boiling, as in sterilisation was the best way to deal
with XXX in 1897. This was of great news to the rest of the medics which were
not too keen on the carbolic acid..
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Only in 1901, blood types were discovered which explained the low pass rate
of these operations. The AB group was discovered in 1902 to clear confusion

In 1920, the x ray was discovered by shooting electrons at a metal, these

electrons were absorbed by the metal, and then an x -ray, a form of energy
would be converted. As people never knew what there rays were, they were
called x-rays. W e now know that they are weak gamma rays and are the same
rays used by a microphone or to produce an x -ray at the hospital. X -Rays,
unlike gamma rays do not produce a health risk of radiation.

Mary Seacole came from another country , and noticed that Britain was going
through a crisis with panama cholera so she went to the W ar Office and taught
the country how to deal with it and she got awarded. Basically, all Britain had
to do is to ventilate, clear filth, isolate people and help soldiers out.

In 1975, there was more of an emp hasis on drugs and surgery.

IVF got discovered in 1982,

Nowadays there are so many new medical advances such as

 DNA
 Diet
 Robotics
 Immunisation
 Antibiotics
 Gene Therapy
 Stomach Pumping
 Electron Microscopes
 Body Part Transplants
 Cosmetic Surgery
 Computers
 Ambulances
 Defibrillators
 Blood Glucose Checker
 Accident and Emergency
 Carbon Dating
 Radiotherapy
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 Light Relief Hair Removal

 Endoscopes
 Fibre Optic Cable
 Ultrasound
 ECT Scans
 PCT Scans
 Modern electrotherapy
 Magnetic Therapy

Nowadays there are new illnesses which have come about due to the modern
western lifestyle which we have. Illnesses such as STIs, Heart Disease,
Cancer, increased mental illness are now things which we have to tackle, by
fighting the illnesses and educatin g the country on how they can prevent
themselves from getting these illnesses in the future such as exercising and
having a healthy diet as Heart Disease is the number one killing disease in
the UK.
History of Medicine Page 10 by Adisa Nicholson

Public health from a governmental aspect

The 19th Century

The first public health act was in 1848 which was largely a result of
Edwin Chadwick’s work on health. He was born in the year 1800, and in
the year of 1832, he accepted the role of Assistant Commissioner on the
Poor Law commission. This is what start ed his work.

Later in the same year, Chadwick was appointed a Chief Commissioner

because he wanted to collect facts about the existing system of Poor
Law management.

Chadwick improved methods at first met with opposition from his special
colleagues and it therefore meant that ideas were carried out.
The Poor Law Act 1834

The poor law act was setup by a man called Earl Gray who was the
prime minister in 1833. This law was produced because he wanted to
examine the working of the poor law system in Britain.

Before, the poor law act was commissioned; the prime minister had to
make a report that backed up the theory of the poor law system in
Britain. As a result, the poor law amendment act was passed. The poor
law act confirmed that:

• No well fitted person was to receive any kind of money or other

help from the poor law authorities except in a workhouse.

• The conditions that where in the workhouses were to be made very

harsh to discourage people from wanting to receive help.

• Workhouses were to be built in eve ry community or, if communities

were too small, then they had to be built in unions of parishes.
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• Ratepayers in each township or unions in Britain had to elect as

board of guardians to supervise the workhouse, to collect the poor rate
and send reports to the central poor law commission.

• The three man central poor law commission would be appointed by

the government and would be responsible for supervising the
amendment act throughout the century.

The First Public Health Act 1848

This act was largely the r esult of Chadwick’s work and the pressure
applied by the health of town’s association. It allowed smaller towns to
implement changes to sanitation but was limited in its overall scope. The
first public act included:

• Medical officer in each town.

• Water pumps

• Rubbish Collections.

The first public health act wasn’t compulsory for all towns so it didn’t go
down well.
About John Snow and anaesthetics

John Snow is a 19th century British physicist. He is considered to be

one of the founders of epidemiology (the science of medical science
which deals with the transmission and control of diseases. W hich is the
study of factors affecting the health and illn ess of populations.). He is
the one who identified the source of the cholera outbreak in 1854. “At
the time, it was assumed that cholera was airborne. However, Snow did
not accept this 'miasma' (bad air) theory, arguing that in fact entered the
body through the mouth.” In August 1854, Soho experienced a cholera
outbreak, so he plotted the places where people lived who got cholera.
He noticed that people who lived certain a specific water pump had the
History of Medicine Page 12 by Adisa Nicholson

cholera. So he identified a water pump in Broad Street (n ow Broadwick

Street) as the source of the disease.

Once he had the handle of the pump removed, the cases of cholera
started to decrease dramatically. However, his germ theory was not
widely accepted until the 1860s. He also is famous for his work in
anaesthetics. He made drugs safer and more effective by testing ether
and chloroform which are both anaesthetics which we still use today in
small doses on animals and humans. This suggests that in the olden
days before him, people just tested drugs on sick pe ople who were to be
operated on.

The 20th Century

Why was the NHS setup in 1948?

The NHS was setup on July the 5th 1948 by the Department of Health
which is now the largest health organisation in Europe.

It provides free healthcare for all UK citizens incl uding hospitals,

ambulances, specialists, physiotherapists and dentists.

There are two types of health authorities such as special health

authorities such as the national blood service. These authorities are
independent and offer healthcare for the whole o f the UK.

The strategic health authorities develop strategic plans such as the

NHS, which provides primary and secondary care for the UK.

There are fourteen regional hospital boards. The NHS is split into five
parts.

• Hospital services

• Family doctors (GPs)

History of Medicine Page 13 by Adisa Nicholson

• Dentists

• Opticians and Pharmacists

• Community nurses and health visitors

The Beverage Report

W illiam Beverage was born on the 5th of March 1879 in Bengal, India.
The Beverage report sets down measures to reform the economic
situations after W orld W ar 2.

Beverage’s reports gives plans and practices which suggest that the
British citizen is being taken care of by the government from cradle to
grave became the national policy.

During W orld W ar 1, Beverage was involved in mobilising and controlling

man power. In 1941, the government commissioned a report into the
ways that Britain should be rebuilt after W orld W ar 2. Beverage was an
obvious choice to take charge.

Beverage recommended that the government should find ways of fighting

the five giant evils of want, disease, ignorance, squalor and idleness.
The Acheson Report

The Acheson report calls of an increase in benefit levels for women of

bearing age, expectant mothers, young children and older people.

Poverty has a disproportionate effect on children . In thee mid 90’s,

around a quarter of people in the UK were living below the poverty level.

It is said that benefits underestimate the cost of providing a basic

standard of living for single parents.

As a result sometimes mothers are forced to go without food.

Education is another area of health inequality. The report calls for more
funding for schools in deprived areas, better nutrition at school and
History of Medicine Page 14 by Adisa Nicholson

health promoting schools. This is to encourage children to eat more

fruits than having vending machines o n the premises.

It says children who achieve less at school are likely to go on and get
badly paid jobs or be unemployed.
Healthier Nation 1999

The Healthier Nation 1999 report is commonly known as The W hite

Paper.

It is the government’s 1999 plan for tackling health problems in the UK,
improving the population’s health, and saving lives.

The paper is made up of three sections, Our Healthier Nation, Saving

Lives and Making It W ork.
Our Healthier Nation

This section looks at new ways to save lives and aims to advance
national public health. It also sets to put plans for preventing the causes
of illnesses.
Saving Lives

This section deals with specific illnesses such as sexual health, drug
and alcohol problems, genetic illnesses, cancer, heart disease, st rokes,
and mental health. It also discusses the improvement of the health
within ethnic minorities.
Making It Work

This section discusses new standards of health and how successful they
are likely to be.
History of Medicine Page 15 by Adisa Nicholson

Overall the paper contains a new list of health prac titioners, new
treatments and services available to the British Public. Graphs and
statistics are also included throughout the report.

If you want to, you can read the whole document on the internet for free.

References

OCR GCSE The Development of Medici ne for OCR GCSE (Page 82-83 and
Page 126-127)

100 Greatest Medical Discoveries

DK Eyewitness Science Medicine

Cancerbackup/Macmillan: Cancer and Complementary Therapies

British Medical Journal

History of Public Health

19th Century
[Link] ory/historic_figures/snow_john.shtml
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