HISTORICAL INTRODUCTON TO MEDICAL MICROBIOLOGY

Medical microbiology deals with the study of microoganisms that cause disease in human beings. earlier it was belived that living oranisms could arise from non-living matter. This view that disease was spontaneously generated form non living matter. This view that disease was sponaneously generated instead of being created by microorganisms which grow by reproduction, was popularly called the Theory of spontaneous Generation. It was disproved by Pasteurs's experiments using swan neck flask. His results provided definitive results to support the theory of Biogenesis- idea that living cells arise from pre-existing living cells.
After that the golden era started of Microbiology.

ANTONY VAN LEEUWENHOECK - FATHER OF MICROSCOPY : It was he who first described bacteria, free-living and parasitic microscopic protists, sperm cells, blood cells microscopic nematodes.

LOUIS PASTEUR : FATHER OF MICROBIOLOGY : He began his carrer as a chemist. He described the scientific basis of fermentation and wine making. Pateurs intuited that if germs were the cause of fermentation, then it could be also cause of contagious diseases. This proved to be true for many diseases such as potato blight, silkworm diseases, and anthrax. Pasteur's work gave birth to most important theoractical concepts and practical application of modern science. The term vaccination is given by him. He solved the mysteries of rabies ,anthrax, chicken cholera and silk worm diseases, and contributed to the first development of vaccines.

ROBERT KOCH AND POSTULATES :
The microbe must be present in every case of the disease.
The microbe must be isolated from the diseased "host" and gorwn in pure culture.
The disease must be reproduced when the pure culture is introduced to a non disease susceptible host.
The microbe must be recorverable from an experimenantly infected host.
In 1882 he discovered the mycobacterium tuberculosis as the cause of tuberculosis. He went on to lead an expendition in 1883 to india and egypt and discovered the causative agent of cholera - Vibrio cholera. Koch became the first to grow bacteria in colonies, first on potato slices and later with his pupil "petri" on solid gelatin media. He was the first to use agar to solidify culture media.
ELIE METCHNIKOFF AND PHAGOCYTOSIS : He was russian zoologist, much facinated by the work of pasteur, he wrote to him asking for postiion in his laboratries ; in a short time he became one of the principal collaboratiors with pasteur, especially in works concerning immunity. He was intrigued by the motile cells of transparent starfish larvae and observed that few hours after introducing a rose thron into the larvae, he extended his stud yo mammalian leukocytes that led to the famous discovery of phagocytosis, he was awarded with nobel prize in 1908.

EDWARD JENNER- FATHER OF MODERN VACCINATION : In 1980 as a result of janners discovery , The world health organization officially declared "the world and its people " free from small pox.

JOSEPH LISTER : FATHER OF ANTISEPTIC SURGERY : In earlier time the survival rate was very low after the surgery becauase of infection. Lister covered the wound with lint carbolic acid so that the wound will not welcome the microorganism. He then devised a machine that pumped out a fine mist of carbolic acid into the air around during an operation. So basically he brings the concepts of sterillization of operation theatre.

No comments:

Post a Comment