Discovery of antibiotics

Discovery of antibiotics

The concept of a ‘magic bullet’ ( Zauberkugel ) that could kill microbes but not their host became a reality with the discovery Figure 5.1 Louis Pasteur , 1822–1895, French chemist, bacteriologist and immunologist, Professor of Chemistry at the Sorbonne, Paris, France. Lord Joseph Lister , 1827–1912, Professor of Surgery , Glasgow , Scotland (1860–1869), Edinburgh, Scotland (1869–1877) and King’s College Hospital, London, England (1877–1892). Sir Alexander Fleming , 1881–1955, Professor of Bacteriology , St Mary’s Hospital, London, England, discovered Howard Walter Florey (Lord Florey of Adelaide) , 1898–1968, Professor of Pathology , the University of Oxford, Oxford, England. Sir Ernst Boris Chain , Professor of Biochemistry , Imperial College, London, England. Fleming, Florey and Chain shared the 1945 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their work on penicillin. Hans Christian Joachim Gram , 1853–1938, Professor of Pharmacology (1891–1900) and of Medicine (1900–1923), Copenhagen, Denmark, described this method of staining bacteria in 1884. The discovery of the antibiotic penicillin is attributed to Alexander Fleming in 1928, but it was not isolated for clinical use until 1941, by Florey and Chain. The first patient to receive penicillin was Police Constable Alexander in Oxford. Since then there has been a proliferation of antibiotics with broad-spectrum activity and antibiotics today remain the mainstay of antimicrobial therapy .

(a) Aseptic techniques of scrubbing and draping in a modern operating theatre.

Discovery of antibiotics

The concept of a ‘magic bullet’ ( Zauberkugel ) that could kill microbes but not their host became a reality with the discovery Figure 5.1 Louis Pasteur , 1822–1895, French chemist, bacteriologist and immunologist, Professor of Chemistry at the Sorbonne, Paris, France. Lord Joseph Lister , 1827–1912, Professor of Surgery , Glasgow , Scotland (1860–1869), Edinburgh, Scotland (1869–1877) and King’s College Hospital, London, England (1877–1892). Sir Alexander Fleming , 1881–1955, Professor of Bacteriology , St Mary’s Hospital, London, England, discovered Howard Walter Florey (Lord Florey of Adelaide) , 1898–1968, Professor of Pathology , the University of Oxford, Oxford, England. Sir Ernst Boris Chain , Professor of Biochemistry , Imperial College, London, England. Fleming, Florey and Chain shared the 1945 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their work on penicillin. Hans Christian Joachim Gram , 1853–1938, Professor of Pharmacology (1891–1900) and of Medicine (1900–1923), Copenhagen, Denmark, described this method of staining bacteria in 1884. The discovery of the antibiotic penicillin is attributed to Alexander Fleming in 1928, but it was not isolated for clinical use until 1941, by Florey and Chain. The first patient to receive penicillin was Police Constable Alexander in Oxford. Since then there has been a proliferation of antibiotics with broad-spectrum activity and antibiotics today remain the mainstay of antimicrobial therapy .

(a) Aseptic techniques of scrubbing and draping in a modern operating theatre.

Discovery of antibiotics

The concept of a ‘magic bullet’ ( Zauberkugel ) that could kill microbes but not their host became a reality with the discovery Figure 5.1 Louis Pasteur , 1822–1895, French chemist, bacteriologist and immunologist, Professor of Chemistry at the Sorbonne, Paris, France. Lord Joseph Lister , 1827–1912, Professor of Surgery , Glasgow , Scotland (1860–1869), Edinburgh, Scotland (1869–1877) and King’s College Hospital, London, England (1877–1892). Sir Alexander Fleming , 1881–1955, Professor of Bacteriology , St Mary’s Hospital, London, England, discovered Howard Walter Florey (Lord Florey of Adelaide) , 1898–1968, Professor of Pathology , the University of Oxford, Oxford, England. Sir Ernst Boris Chain , Professor of Biochemistry , Imperial College, London, England. Fleming, Florey and Chain shared the 1945 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their work on penicillin. Hans Christian Joachim Gram , 1853–1938, Professor of Pharmacology (1891–1900) and of Medicine (1900–1923), Copenhagen, Denmark, described this method of staining bacteria in 1884. The discovery of the antibiotic penicillin is attributed to Alexander Fleming in 1928, but it was not isolated for clinical use until 1941, by Florey and Chain. The first patient to receive penicillin was Police Constable Alexander in Oxford. Since then there has been a proliferation of antibiotics with broad-spectrum activity and antibiotics today remain the mainstay of antimicrobial therapy .

(a) Aseptic techniques of scrubbing and draping in a modern operating theatre.