Germ Theory Of Disease example essay topic

Louis Pasteur was born on December 27, 1822 in Dole, in the region of Jura, France. His discovery that most infectious diseases are caused by germs, known as the "germ theory of disease", is one of the most important in medical history. His work became the foundation for the science of microbiology, and a cornerstone of modern medicine. Pasteur's phenomenal contributions to microbiology and medicine can be summarized as follows. First, he championed changes in hospital practices to minimize the spread of disease by microbes. Second, he discovered that weakened forms of a microbe could be used as an immunization against more virulent forms of the microbe.

Third, Pasteur found that rabies was transmitted by agents so small they could not be seen under a microscope, thus revealing the world of viruses. As a result he developed techniques to vaccinate dogs against rabies, and to treat humans bitten by rabid dogs. And fourth, Pasteur developed "pasteurization", a process by which harmful microbes in perishable food products are destroyed using heat, without destroying the food. His Works Each discovery in the body of Pasteur's work represents a link in an uninterrupted chain, beginning with molecular asymmetry and ending with his rabies prophylaxis, by way of his research in fermentation, silkworm, wine and beer diseases, asepsis and vaccines. From Crystallography to Molecular Asymmetry In 1847 at the age of 26, Pasteur did his first work on molecular asymmetry, bringing together the principles of crystallography, chemistry and optics. He formulated a fundamental law: asymmetry differentiates the organic world from the mineral world.

In other words, asymmetric molecules are always the product of life forces. His work became the basis of a new science - stereochemistry Research on Fermentation and Spontaneous Generation At the request of a distiller named Big from the north of France, Pasteur began to examine why alcohol becomes contaminated with undesirable substances during fermentation. He soon demonstrated that each sort of fermentation is linked to the existence of a specific microorganism or ferment - a living being that one can study by cultivation in an appropriate, sterile medium. This insight is the basis of microbiology.

Pasteur delivered the fatal blow to the doctrine of spontaneous generation, the theory held for 20 centuries that life could arise spontaneously in organic materials. He also developed a germ theory. At the same time, he discovered the existence of life without oxygen: "Fermentation is the consequence of life without air". The discovery of anaerobic life paved the way for the study of germs that cause septicemia and gangrene, among other infections. Thanks to Pasteur, it became possible to devise techniques to kill microbes and to control contamination. Technique of "Pasteurization" Emperor Napoleon asked Pasteur to investigate the diseases afflicting wine which were causing considerable economic losses to the wine industry.

Pasteur went to a vineyard in Artois in 1864 to study this problem. He demonstrated that wine diseases are caused by microorganisms that can be killed by heating the wine to 55 deg. C for several minutes. Applied to beer and milk, this process, called "pasteurization", soon came into use throughout the world.

Research on Infectious Diseases Afflicting Man and Animal In 1865, Pasteur began to study the silkworm diseases that were crippling the silk industry in France. He discovered the infectious agents and revealed the manner in which these agents are transmitted-by contagion and hereditary principle - and how to prevent them. Elaborating on his study of fermentation, he could now confirm that each disease is caused by a specific microbe and that these microbes are foreign elements. With this knowledge, Pasteur was able to establish the basic rules of sterilization or asepsis. Preventing contagion and infection, his method of sterilization revolutionized surgery and obstetrics. From 1877 to 1887, Pasteur employed these fundamentals of microbiology in the battle against infectious diseases.

He went on to discover three bacteria responsible for human illnesses: staphylococcus, streptococcus and pneumococcus.