Public Health Developments

The period saw significant advances in public health infrastructure and understanding of disease transmission. The Great Stink of 1858 catalyzed major sanitary reforms.

Definition: Miasma theory was the belief that diseases were caused by bad air or environmental factors.

Highlight: Joseph Bazalgette's 83-mile sewer system transformed London's sanitation, removing 420 million gallons of sewage daily.

Early 19th Century Surgery and Infection

The early 19th century was marked by high-risk surgical procedures and limited understanding of infection. Surgeons operated in their street clothes and relied on basic wound cleaning methods.

Definition: Spontaneous generation was the belief that microbes appeared naturally in wounds through chemical reactions.

Highlight: Surgeons were puzzled by how deep wounds sometimes healed while minor scratches could prove fatal.

Example: Doctors would use cauterizing or acids to burn away infected tissues, believing chemicals in the wound caused infection.

Joseph Lister's groundbreaking work introduced antiseptic approaches to surgery, though his methods initially faced significant resistance.

Quote: "Lister said that the microbes in the air caused the infection, not spontaneous generation."