Why did London Stink?

I've just discovered a fantastic quiz that would be great to use as a revision tool for Medicine Through Time!

Have a go and let me know how you get on!

Medicine Revision!

If you are in Year 10 and are studying History you will know that after the Easter break you will be starting your 'Prohibition' coursework. This means that you will shortly be finishing the Medicine Through Time unit. I have found a really useful interactive tool that can be used as a revision aid. Just type in any question about Medicine Through Time that you have and Dr.Fox will try her best to answer it for you!

Source and Cartoon Help...

I would like to start this post by saying how great mine and Mrs. Porritt's Year 10 group did in their mock exams-our group got a well deserved 52% A*-C, which is fantastic!

Now, I've just stumbled across a great website that has some very helpful tips and guidance on how to use sources and how to interpret cartoons. I strongly advise all GCSE History students to use this help as part of their revision, because being able to understand and use sources is a key skill that will need to be honed for the actual exam next year.

An amusing video about Joseph Lister

A rather amusing video about Lister and antiseptics!

Medicine Through Time-Surgery Video

A really useful video on surgery-including Simpson and Lister! Take a look and let me know what you think!

Laissez-Faire and the Victorians Quiz

I recently introduced the term 'Laissez-Faire' to my year 10 History group, who picked up the meaning of the phrase quite well during a recent lesson on public health during the 19th Century. The BBC History website has a great quiz you can do to remind you (for revision) about laissez-faire attitudes during the 1800s.

Remember-it is only a week and a half until you sit your year 10 exams so get revising!

Cholera, John Snow and the Broad Street Pump!

There is no mistaking the fact that London was a very dirty place in the 19th century-filth and rubbish was everywhere! The above cartoon, aptly called 'A Court for King Cholera', published in Punch magazine in 1852 outlines just some of the horrid conditions experienced by people in the 1800s.
Conditions were so bad at this point due to rapid population growth as a result of industrialisation. Growth was so quick that towns could not cope with the need to house people and provide them with water and facilities to remove their sewage. In these conditions, nasty and devastating diseases spread very quickly.
The first case of widespread cholera hit Britain in 1831-it was a 'shock disease' that killed quickly. Sufferers would have to endure sudden and prolonged bouts of diarrhoea and vomiting-death as a result of cholera was swift, painful and unpleasant. It was because of these dreadful symptoms that cholera was the most feared disease during this time.
Of course at this time people did not understand that germs caused cholera, as Pasteur's Germ Theory was not published until 1861. People had all sorts of explanations for disease-punishment from God, Miasma or 'bad air', and the movement of the planets.


In 1832 many people studied the cholera epidemic of that year and, after careful observation of the disease, they deduced that there was a link between cholera and water supply. Obviously, this could not be explained because Pasteur had not discovered germs yet!
In 1854 Dr. John Snow made a breakthrough in proving that there was a link between cholera and water supply. Snow used meticulous research, observation, and house-to-house interviews to build up a detailed picture of a limited cholera epidemic which hit one particular area of London.


Within 10 days of the cholera outbreak around Broad Street in London, 500 people had died of the disease. Snow's research led him to discover that all of these deaths occurred within 250 yards of the water pump on Broad Street. Snow started to investigate the surrounding area of the pump and what he found led him to request that the council disable the Broad Street pump-once this was done no more deaths occurred in that same area.
Snow had found a link between the people who were getting their drinking water from the Broad Street pump and the people dying from cholera-it was mostly people using this pump that were falling victim to the terrible disease.
Cholera is spread by infected water and it was later discovered that a cesspool, one metre away from the pump, had a cracked lining allowing the contents to seep into the drinking water.
Unfortunately, John Snow, who was one of the more forward thinking surgeons of his time being one of the first to champion the use of chloroform, didn't live to see why his theory about cholera being linked to water was correct. Snow died in 1858 as the result of a stroke, three years before germs were discovered.

Girl Power-Elizabeth Garrett (1836-1917)

If you are doing GCSE History at Swanwick Hall, you will be studying Medicine Through Time. There is a chance that you'll get a question on the role of women in medicine, so here is an article that is going to be a good revision tool for you!

In the Middle Ages the Church only allowed men to train as doctors. In the 1600s the Church also took over the licensing of all healers. It did not give licenses to wise women or village healers because they were often suspected of being witches. By the 1700s surgeons also had to have a university degree, and, as women could not go to university they were effectively barred from becoming surgeons. In the 1700s male doctors became fashionable, and began to take over the traditional role of midwives among wealthy families because they were the only ones trained to use forceps. Finally, in 1852, the government introduced the Medical Registration Act which required all doctors to belong to one of the Colleges of Physicians, Surgeons or Apothecaries. All of these were closed to women.

Ever since early medicine women had taken a prime role in caring for their families-mixing herbal remedies and delivering babies-but for hundreds of years women were prevented from becoming professional physicians. In the 1850s women began to fight back. However, the problems for ambitious women began long before they reached the age when they might want to study medicine. Schools for girls were a rarity before the 1860s-certainly ones that taught anything other than reading, writing, cooking and dressmaking. Science? That was a subject for boys! Even those girls lucky enough to be educated at a good school found that their days of learning were over when they reached their mid-teens because women were not allowed to attend universities. Most men could not see any sense in educating women when their most important roles were as obedient wives, dutiful mothers and efficient housekeepers.

Despite these obstacles a handful of women fought for the right to become doctors. Elizabeth Blackwell was the first woman to qualify as a doctor in the United States in 1849. She visited England 10 years later, inspiring Elizabeth Garrett to follow in her footsteps. Elizabeth Garrett was the first woman to qualify in Britain as a doctor but she had to overcome immense difficulties, first to get training, and then to be allowed to practise as a doctor.

Elizabeth received a good education as a girl because her father had become a successful businessman. Elizabeth decided, after being inspired by Elizabeth Blackwell, that she wanted to be a doctor. Elizabeth enrolled as a nursing student at Middlesex University and attended classes that were for male doctors. After a number of complaints from the male students, Elizabeth was barred from going into the lecture hall. Elizabeth discovered that the Society of Apothecaries did not specify that females were banned for taking their examinations. In 1865 Elizabeth sat and passed the Apothecaries examination. As soon as Elizabeth was granted the certificate that enabled her to become a doctor, the Society of Apothecaries changed their regulations to stop other women from entering the profession in this way. With support and financial backing from her father, Elizabeth opened up her own medical practice in London. As all doctors now had to belong to a College to be recognised as a professional, the Colleges of Surgeons, Physicians or Apothecaries had to decide whether to accept Elizabeth as a qualified doctor. They refused-so Elizabeth took the College of Apothecaries to court to force them to accept her. In 1876 a new law was passed opening all medical qualifications to women.

Women were now allowed to train and qualify as doctors, however, progress was slow. The first real increase in the number of women doctors came when there was a sudden demand for more doctors during the First World War.

Purging etc! Medieval Medicine!

I have found a great article about medicine and treatment during the Middle Ages on one of my favourite history blogs: History Undressed! This will be really useful for Year 10 History students to read and make some notes on! My group will certainly be having a look at this for homework! Enjoy!

Get Your Teeth into This!

For those who have just started studying Medicine Through Time and for those who need to revise it, a very useful website to use is BBC bitesize. The website has in depth detail on all the time periods studied in Medicine and includes quizzes for you to test your knowledge! Try it out and let us know what you think!