Germ Theory
Alissa Shinder
Background
Beginning in 460 B.C., Greek, Egyptian, and Indian cultures believed disease was caused by an imbalance in one of three humors: blood, phlegm, or yellow or black bile. When one of these three humors was imbalanced, it was thought of as a punishment from God that caused evil in the human soul. Disease theory progressed very little in the 1,600 years from ancient Rome to the Renaissance.[1] In 1546, Italian poet and medically-trained professional, Girolamo Fracastoro, proposed the idea of contagion. This concept emphasized that disease can be spread from person to person through objects, direct contact, or by secretions that spread infections from a distance.[2]Although the concept of contagion was discovered, people believed that microorganisms appeared by the process of spontaneous generation. This theory supported the idea that microorganisms were produced from inanimate objects. In the 1860’s, Louis Pasteur became curious about the actual cause of disease and was motivated to disprove spontaneous generation.[3]
Turning Point
French microbiologist Louis Pasteur introduced germ theory in the 1860s. Pasteur’s germ theory provided scientific evidence to explain various concepts Fracastoro previously suggested about disease. Germ theory proposes that infectious disease occurs when microorganisms, called pathogens, infect living bodies.[4] In 1861, Pasteur devised an experiment to show whether microbial growth could arise spontaneously from the air. In response to his new discovery, Pasteur stated, “I do not know any more convincing experiments than these, which can be easily repeated and varied in a thousand ways.”[5] Other scientists repeated Pasteur’s experiment and agreed that it provided a reasonable explanation for the presence of microorganisms in the environment.[6] However, many scientists and non-scientists were reluctant to believe in this discovery. Instead, they still thought that disease was caused by spontaneous generation of microorganisms.[7]
Effect
The development of germ theory allowed other scientists to expand on this concept and develop ways to practically apply this information to care for individuals with diseases. Germ theory led to the realizations that hand washing helps prevent the spread of disease, disinfectant can eliminate germs, and specific microorganisms cause specific diseases. This theory expanded knowledge, which helped prevent diseases and began to control epidemics[8].
The introduction of germ theory affected how humanity viewed the human body. By 1880 in the Western World, many peoplebelieved that cleanliness was a personal and social responsibility. People began to believe that dirt could contain microorganisms that could cause infection; therefore, they began to bathe frequently. Society was affected by the germ theory in the Victorian period because people were concerned with class stratification. In this case, cleanliness determined class standing.[9] When people began to change their perception of the human body and improve their hygiene, mortality rates drastically decreased and life expectancy subsequently increased.[10]
Disinfection and hand washing affected humanity. Infectious disease rates started to decline, epidemics lasted for a shorter amount of time, and mortality decreased as a result. [11] Hygiene practices developed from germ theory helped to decrease the transmission of yellow fever, dengue, and sleeping sickness. Identifying diseases like measles, scarlet fever, and whooping cough led to better containment through quarantine. In the latter half of the twentieth century, vaccines reduced infectious diseases in the industrial nations that had access to this product for disease prevention.[12]
The germ theory affected the employment opportunity for humanity. Due to the emerging concept of infectious disease transmission and prevention, women had the opportunity to abandon their homemaking roles and instead help teach infectious disease prevention to the public. Women's struggle for liberation from the tradition of homemaking was one social change that impacted the rise of public health. Women's organizations throughout Western Europe and America sent trained female volunteers into slums to teach about disease, hygiene, and nutrition. Women now had the chance to experience the world separate from their previous homemaking roles. [13]
Germ theory began when one scientist became motivated to disprove the theory of spontaneous generation. This curiosity and motivation led to major changes in the health of humanity. Hand washing, asepsis, and vaccines, have been used since the 19th century and have led to a decrease in epidemics and a lower mortality rate throughout the world. Knowledge about the spread of disease had a global impact. In his book Germ Theory and its Applications to Medicine on the Antiseptic Principle of the Practice of Surgery, Pasteur stated, “Science knows no country because it is the light that illuminates the world.”[14] The scientific exploration that Pasteur catalyzed continues to have a lasting effect on humanity worldwide.[15]
[1] Barnes, D. The Great Stink of Paris and the Nineteenth Century Struggle against Filth and Germs. 2006. 140-170.
[2] Maczulak, A, "Germ Theory." 2011. 356-359.
[3] Hendrick, Robert. "Louis Pasteur's Battle with Microbes and the Founding of Microbiology." 2000. 136-139.
[4] Maczulak, A, "Germ Theory."
[5] Pasteur, L. “On the Germ theory.” 1881. 420-422.
[6] Maczulak, A, "Germ Theory."
[7] Radick, J. “Sparks of Life: Darwinism and the Victorian Debates over Spontaneous Generation by James E. Strick; Evolution and the Spontaneous Generation Debate by James E. Strick.” 2003. 241-244
[8] Austin, S. “Patrice Bourdelais and Bart K. Holland: Epidemics Laid Low: A History of What Happened in Rich Countries, Epidemics Laid Low: A History of What Happened in Rich Countries by Patrice Bourdelais.” 2007. 163-164.
[9] Lerner, B. "Antiseptic and Aseptic Techniques Are Developed." 2000. 299-301.
[10] Austin, S. “Patrice Bourdelais and Bart K. Holland: Epidemics Laid Low: A History of What Happened in Rich Countries, Epidemics Laid Low: A History of What Happened in Rich Countries by Patrice Bourdelais.”
[11] Barnes, D. The Great Stink of Paris and the Nineteenth Century Struggle against Filth and Germs.
[12] Sachs, J. Good Germs, Bad Germs: Health and survival in a bacterial world. 2007. 35-101.
[13] Austin, S. “Patrice Bourdelais and Bart K. Holland: Epidemics Laid Low: A History of What Happened in Rich Countries, Epidemics Laid Low: A History of What Happened in Rich Countries by Patrice Bourdelais.”
[14] Pasteur, L., Lister, J. Germ Theory and its Applications to Medicine on the Antiseptic Principle of the Practice of Surgery. 1996. 121.
[15] Maczulak, A, "Germ Theory."
Bibliography
Austin, S. “Patrice Bourdelais and Bart K. Holland: Epidemics Laid Low: A
History of What Happened in Rich Countries, Epidemics Laid Low: A
History of What Happened in Rich Countries by Patrice Bourdelais.” Isis.
Baltimore. 2007: 163-164.
Barnes, D. The Great Stink of Paris and the Nineteenth Century Struggle against
Filth and Germs. The Johns Hopkins University Press. Baltimore. 2006:
140-170.
Hendrick, Robert. "Louis Pasteur's Battle with Microbes and the Founding of
Microbiology." Gale Virtual Reference Library. Detroit. 2000: 136-139
Lerner, B. "Antiseptic and Aseptic Techniques Are Developed." Gale Virtual
Reference Library. Detroit. 2000: 299-301.
Lister, J., Pasteur, L. Germ Theory and its Applications to Medicine on the Antiseptic Principle of the Practice of Surgery. Prometheus Books.
Unknown city of publication.1996: 121.
Maczulak, A. "Germ Theory." Gale Virtual Reference Library. New York. 2011:
356-359.
Radick, J. “Sparks of Life: Darwinism and the Victorian Debates over
Spontaneous Generation by James E. Strick; Evolution and the
Spontaneous Generation Debate by James E. Strick.” The British Journal
for the History of Science. New York. 2003: 241-244.
Pasteur, L. “On the Germ theory.” Archive.org. unknown city of publication. 1881: 420-422.
Sachs, J. Good Germs, Bad Germs: Health and survival in a bacterial world.
Hill and Wang. New York. 2007: 35-101.
Alissa Shinder
Background
Beginning in 460 B.C., Greek, Egyptian, and Indian cultures believed disease was caused by an imbalance in one of three humors: blood, phlegm, or yellow or black bile. When one of these three humors was imbalanced, it was thought of as a punishment from God that caused evil in the human soul. Disease theory progressed very little in the 1,600 years from ancient Rome to the Renaissance.[1] In 1546, Italian poet and medically-trained professional, Girolamo Fracastoro, proposed the idea of contagion. This concept emphasized that disease can be spread from person to person through objects, direct contact, or by secretions that spread infections from a distance.[2]Although the concept of contagion was discovered, people believed that microorganisms appeared by the process of spontaneous generation. This theory supported the idea that microorganisms were produced from inanimate objects. In the 1860’s, Louis Pasteur became curious about the actual cause of disease and was motivated to disprove spontaneous generation.[3]
Turning Point
French microbiologist Louis Pasteur introduced germ theory in the 1860s. Pasteur’s germ theory provided scientific evidence to explain various concepts Fracastoro previously suggested about disease. Germ theory proposes that infectious disease occurs when microorganisms, called pathogens, infect living bodies.[4] In 1861, Pasteur devised an experiment to show whether microbial growth could arise spontaneously from the air. In response to his new discovery, Pasteur stated, “I do not know any more convincing experiments than these, which can be easily repeated and varied in a thousand ways.”[5] Other scientists repeated Pasteur’s experiment and agreed that it provided a reasonable explanation for the presence of microorganisms in the environment.[6] However, many scientists and non-scientists were reluctant to believe in this discovery. Instead, they still thought that disease was caused by spontaneous generation of microorganisms.[7]
Effect
The development of germ theory allowed other scientists to expand on this concept and develop ways to practically apply this information to care for individuals with diseases. Germ theory led to the realizations that hand washing helps prevent the spread of disease, disinfectant can eliminate germs, and specific microorganisms cause specific diseases. This theory expanded knowledge, which helped prevent diseases and began to control epidemics[8].
The introduction of germ theory affected how humanity viewed the human body. By 1880 in the Western World, many peoplebelieved that cleanliness was a personal and social responsibility. People began to believe that dirt could contain microorganisms that could cause infection; therefore, they began to bathe frequently. Society was affected by the germ theory in the Victorian period because people were concerned with class stratification. In this case, cleanliness determined class standing.[9] When people began to change their perception of the human body and improve their hygiene, mortality rates drastically decreased and life expectancy subsequently increased.[10]
Disinfection and hand washing affected humanity. Infectious disease rates started to decline, epidemics lasted for a shorter amount of time, and mortality decreased as a result. [11] Hygiene practices developed from germ theory helped to decrease the transmission of yellow fever, dengue, and sleeping sickness. Identifying diseases like measles, scarlet fever, and whooping cough led to better containment through quarantine. In the latter half of the twentieth century, vaccines reduced infectious diseases in the industrial nations that had access to this product for disease prevention.[12]
The germ theory affected the employment opportunity for humanity. Due to the emerging concept of infectious disease transmission and prevention, women had the opportunity to abandon their homemaking roles and instead help teach infectious disease prevention to the public. Women's struggle for liberation from the tradition of homemaking was one social change that impacted the rise of public health. Women's organizations throughout Western Europe and America sent trained female volunteers into slums to teach about disease, hygiene, and nutrition. Women now had the chance to experience the world separate from their previous homemaking roles. [13]
Germ theory began when one scientist became motivated to disprove the theory of spontaneous generation. This curiosity and motivation led to major changes in the health of humanity. Hand washing, asepsis, and vaccines, have been used since the 19th century and have led to a decrease in epidemics and a lower mortality rate throughout the world. Knowledge about the spread of disease had a global impact. In his book Germ Theory and its Applications to Medicine on the Antiseptic Principle of the Practice of Surgery, Pasteur stated, “Science knows no country because it is the light that illuminates the world.”[14] The scientific exploration that Pasteur catalyzed continues to have a lasting effect on humanity worldwide.[15]
[1] Barnes, D. The Great Stink of Paris and the Nineteenth Century Struggle against Filth and Germs. 2006. 140-170.
[2] Maczulak, A, "Germ Theory." 2011. 356-359.
[3] Hendrick, Robert. "Louis Pasteur's Battle with Microbes and the Founding of Microbiology." 2000. 136-139.
[4] Maczulak, A, "Germ Theory."
[5] Pasteur, L. “On the Germ theory.” 1881. 420-422.
[6] Maczulak, A, "Germ Theory."
[7] Radick, J. “Sparks of Life: Darwinism and the Victorian Debates over Spontaneous Generation by James E. Strick; Evolution and the Spontaneous Generation Debate by James E. Strick.” 2003. 241-244
[8] Austin, S. “Patrice Bourdelais and Bart K. Holland: Epidemics Laid Low: A History of What Happened in Rich Countries, Epidemics Laid Low: A History of What Happened in Rich Countries by Patrice Bourdelais.” 2007. 163-164.
[9] Lerner, B. "Antiseptic and Aseptic Techniques Are Developed." 2000. 299-301.
[10] Austin, S. “Patrice Bourdelais and Bart K. Holland: Epidemics Laid Low: A History of What Happened in Rich Countries, Epidemics Laid Low: A History of What Happened in Rich Countries by Patrice Bourdelais.”
[11] Barnes, D. The Great Stink of Paris and the Nineteenth Century Struggle against Filth and Germs.
[12] Sachs, J. Good Germs, Bad Germs: Health and survival in a bacterial world. 2007. 35-101.
[13] Austin, S. “Patrice Bourdelais and Bart K. Holland: Epidemics Laid Low: A History of What Happened in Rich Countries, Epidemics Laid Low: A History of What Happened in Rich Countries by Patrice Bourdelais.”
[14] Pasteur, L., Lister, J. Germ Theory and its Applications to Medicine on the Antiseptic Principle of the Practice of Surgery. 1996. 121.
[15] Maczulak, A, "Germ Theory."
Bibliography
Austin, S. “Patrice Bourdelais and Bart K. Holland: Epidemics Laid Low: A
History of What Happened in Rich Countries, Epidemics Laid Low: A
History of What Happened in Rich Countries by Patrice Bourdelais.” Isis.
Baltimore. 2007: 163-164.
Barnes, D. The Great Stink of Paris and the Nineteenth Century Struggle against
Filth and Germs. The Johns Hopkins University Press. Baltimore. 2006:
140-170.
Hendrick, Robert. "Louis Pasteur's Battle with Microbes and the Founding of
Microbiology." Gale Virtual Reference Library. Detroit. 2000: 136-139
Lerner, B. "Antiseptic and Aseptic Techniques Are Developed." Gale Virtual
Reference Library. Detroit. 2000: 299-301.
Lister, J., Pasteur, L. Germ Theory and its Applications to Medicine on the Antiseptic Principle of the Practice of Surgery. Prometheus Books.
Unknown city of publication.1996: 121.
Maczulak, A. "Germ Theory." Gale Virtual Reference Library. New York. 2011:
356-359.
Radick, J. “Sparks of Life: Darwinism and the Victorian Debates over
Spontaneous Generation by James E. Strick; Evolution and the
Spontaneous Generation Debate by James E. Strick.” The British Journal
for the History of Science. New York. 2003: 241-244.
Pasteur, L. “On the Germ theory.” Archive.org. unknown city of publication. 1881: 420-422.
Sachs, J. Good Germs, Bad Germs: Health and survival in a bacterial world.
Hill and Wang. New York. 2007: 35-101.