Spontaneous Generation Theory

The Germ Theory of Disease which is, specific diseases are caused by specific microorganisms, changed the medical field completely. It battled the Spontaneous Generation theory that dominated the medical thought as the cause of disease. The theory originated through the work of many different physicians and would eventually change and improve the medical and public health systems. The Germ theory of disease came about around the mid 1800’s. The work of Louis Pasteur and Robert Koch would eventually help the germ theory gain wide acceptance in the medical field. But Pasteur and Koch were influenced by men like Ignaz Semmelveis, Edward Jenner, O.W. Holmes, and John Snow. These physicians helped change the medical field. Edward Jenner was a doctor from England who lived 1749-1843 and he was the first person to come up with a vaccine for small pox. Jenner had worked as a doctor for many dairy farms throughout his career. From working on these farms he noticed the disease cow-pox, which came from milking cows who had the disease. Jenner noticed that the people who had been infected with cow-pox did not …show more content…
Joseph Lister was a Scottish surgeon who used the work of Pasteur to help develop antiseptic surgery. Lister read Pasteur’s work on the fermentation of wine and beer and how microorganisms in the air caused the fermentation. After reading this he concluded that the reason his patients were dying of infection after surgery was because of microorganisms in the air. Lister then started cleaning the open wounds of his patients with carbolic acid which killed the microorganisms. This along with an antiseptic spray that he developed, which he used during surgery to keep the open wound clean, greatly decreased the death rate of his patients. This brought about the practice of antiseptic surgery which would greatly change the medical field of the time, and is still practiced