Ryan Marshall
Senior Division
Primary Sources Annotated Bibliography
Arizona State Library. "The St. Johns Herald., December 25, 1890, Image 1 About The
St. Johns Herald. (St. Johns, Apache County, Arizona Territory [Ariz.]) 18851903." Chroniclingamerica.loc.gov. Chronicling America, n.d. Web. 21 Feb.
2013.<http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn94051692/1890-12-25/ed-1/seq
1/>.
This specific newspaper had two separate articles which contributed to my
website and its topic. Both were used on the page Robert Koch, under The Most
Important Germaphobes.
One article described how after ten years, Robert Koch was looking “haggard,
thin, and feeble”. Some speculated at the time that Robert Koch was infected
with tuberculosis, one of the many deadly diseases he worked with in an attempt
to benefit society. This helped me develop a more thorough understanding of the
life of Robert Koch - that it wasn’t just a man working with potatoes. He was at a
serious risk, and he paid a selfless toll in order to benefit mankind.
The other mentioned both Sir Joseph Lister and Robert Koch, and announced
the discovery, made by Koch, that small inoculations of certain substances cure
and prevent said substances. (This was originally thought of by Pasteur, with
Joseph Meister and his rabies inoculations.) This was a major scientific discovery
at the time, and gives both the reader and myself a better understanding of the
work that was being done in the late 1800s, while tying together those doing said
work.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, n.d. Web. 25 Mar. 2013.
I used the CDC mainly to check my resources. There were few quotes that tied in
well with my voice and my topic, so I chose to use quotes from other websites to
portray my information mainly. I searched for various pages discussed
throughout my website and looked through them to verify the quotes I found
using other websites. There were few quotes I found on the CDC that I repeated
on my website.
I also found a fairly unrelated quote on the CDC that aided me in my explanation
of why antiseptics were a turning point. The quote said that in today’s society
there are approximately 27,000,000 surgeries performed in the U.S. each year.
With the mortality rate of things before antiseptics (Under the false assumption
that technology wouldn’t have advanced and we would have the same mortality
rate), 13.5 million of these people would have died. This means that 13.5 million
lives would have ended prematurely, and everything they could have done for
their family, friends and community would have been lost.
Farr, Dr. Paul, MD. "A Cleaner World." Personal interview. 08 May 2013.
This interview, provided by Dr. Paul Farr, MD (Attending gastroenterologist,
former chief of staff of Saint Mary’s Health Care in Grand Rapids, Michigan) gave
a look into present day hospitals and really pushed the idea of the differences
between
today’s
medical
environment
and
pre-antiseptics.
Dr. Farr is a significant individual all over the world - from being a Harvard
undergrad, to working in Chile, to going to gastroenterology, to working to instill
antiseptic hand sanitizers in the hospital setting. He is a very credible source with
very valid ideas and thoughts, which he fortunately shared with me.
On top of the relevant information provided in the interview, this was a very
useful source personally. As an aspiring doctor myself, it was a wonderful
experience getting the opinion of an achieved man as to my dreams and how to
make them become a reality.
"National Institutes of Health (NIH)." U.S National Library of Medicine. U.S.
National Library of Medicine, n.d. Web. 25 Mar. 2013.
Like the CDC, I used this mainly as a more credible resource to check the facts I
obtained from other sites. While I didn’t get any quotes directly from the NIH
itself, it still proved itself a valuable resource in an effort to provide more
concrete, credible evidence in my website.
University of North Texas. "El Paso Herald., May 03, 1913, Week-End Edition, Section
D, Image 25 About El Paso Herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931."
Chroniclingamerica.loc.gov. Chronicling America, n.d. Web. 21 Feb. 2013.
<http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn88084272/1913-05-03/ed-1/seq-25/>.
In this article, printed in 1931, Dr. Herbert Snow attempts to rebuke all of the
work done by Lister, Pasteur and Koch. Many of his points are moot and
outdated, but surely they were acceptable at the time, as his seemed
knowledgeable enough in his field. The article contributed to my website in the
fact that the ideas of Pasteur, Lister, and Koch (although correct) were doubted
for many years, and by many people. The article was posted 51 years after what
is known as the “general acceptance of Germ Theory”, yet there were still those
who believed otherwise - stuck in the ways of “bad blood” and other archaic
ideas.
Washington State Library. "The Spokane Press., September 28, 1908, Page 8, Image 8
About
The
Spokane
Press.
(Spokane,
Wash.)
1902-1939."
Chroniclingamerica.loc.gov. Chronicling America, n.d. Web. 21 Feb. 2013.
<http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn88085947/1908-09-28/ed-1/seq-8>
This article, printed by the Spokane press in 1908, discusses a convention of the
best scientific minds coming together from all over the world to fight a common
enemy - tuberculosis. In the early 1900s, this was known as “The White Plague”,
and was a great threat to every man and woman. One main character mentioned
in this article was Robert Koch, who was known by many as the creator of
aseptic technique, and the man who isolated the germ that cause anthrax,
Bacillus Anthracis. After discovering that, Koch moved on to tuberculosis (where
he succeeded in isolating the germ, over time). This article showed us even more
deeply the efforts Koch put forth to shape the society we know today, and to
show how scientists at the time (nearly 400 in attendance from all over the world)
came together to help each other and humanity.
Secondary Sources Annotated Bibliography
Andrew. "Antiseptics in Surgery Notes." Antiseptics in Surgery Notes.
N.p.,
12
May
2010.
Web.
20
Feb.
2013.
<http://www.slideshare.net/wal147/antiseptics-in-surgery-notes>
This online presentation seems to have created by a teacher, or someone with
the intent of informing others (Based on the miniature quiz at the end). It is
similar to the website I created, touching in deeper detail on some subjects, and
less on others. It touches on all the main points of the history of antiseptic theory
- Lister, Pasteur, Koch, Germ Theory, aseptic and antiseptic techniques, and a
few more. This presentation summarized much of my website, and supplied me
with many interesting quotes and statistics, along with a basic knowledge of my
topic.
The presentation spoke about Joseph Lister, and his history with antiseptics. It
went into detail about his connection between hospitalism, the sewers and
carbolic acid, and Louis Pasteur’s discoveries. It described antisepsis and
Lister’s first experimental carbolic acid treatment, on an 11 year old boy with a
compound fracture.
Later, the creator of the presentation discusses Robert Koch and his aseptic
technique, and his discovery that steam kills more germs than Lister’s carbolic
acid. he also discusses briefly William Halstead’s invention of rubber gloves, and
Ignaz Semmelweis’ idea of hand washing, out of chronological order.
This presentation provided me with a lot of useful information and quotes, and
thoroughly extended my knowledge on all of the topics listed above.
"Antiseptics." The Free Dictionary. Farlex, n.d. Web.
This dictionary entry provided me with a quote to use in my website, describing
what antiseptics truly are, and explaining to me more the difference between
antiseptics and antibiotics.
Bellis, Mary. "History Of Antibiotics." About.com Inventors. About.com Inventors,
n.d. Web. 20 Feb. 2013.
This article provided me with a timeline of antibiotics, as well as the cause and
effect relationship between the inefficiency of carbolic acid and the search for
antibiotics. Because carbolic acid did not kill all bacteria, and aseptic technique
had not yet been introduced, scientists began to look for a way to kill infection
after it had occurred - antibiotics.
"Catgut." The Free Dictionary. Farlex, n.d. Web.
<http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/catgut>.
This dictionary entry provided a quote and an interesting fact regarding surgical
procedures. It gave more perspective as to what surgery was like in the 1800s with the lack of equipment, they oftentimes used animal intestines to stitch
wounds.
Dictionary.com. "Germ." Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com, n.d. Web. 20 Feb. 2013.
This dictionary entry provided an official description of what a ‘germ’ is.
"Germ Theory (medicine)." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia
Britannica, n.d. Web. 20 Feb. 2013.
This website gave the definition of the Germ Theory, as well as a very brief
summary of most of my website. It gave very vague insight into my topic, and
inspired me to dig deeper into detail on the topics it discusses.
Gottrup, Finn, Andrew Melling, and Dirk A. Hollander. "An Overview of Surgical
Site Infections: Aetiology, Incidence and Risk Factors." An Overview of Surgical
Site Infections: Aetiology, Incidence and Risk Factors. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Feb.
2013.
This site provided some statistics regarding surgery in the 19th century, giving a
much deeper perspective and understanding of just how bad conditions were
before antiseptics. The website provided the quote the between 70-80% of those
who had undergone surgery in the 1800s suffered from some infection caused by
the surgery. Another source stated that nearly 70% of these people died because
of said infection.
"History of Aseptic Technique." History of Aseptic Technique. N.p., n.d. Web. 20
Feb. 2013. <http://jace.myweb.uga.edu/MiboWebsite/MiboWebHist.htm>.
This source, seeming to have also been created by a teacher or somebody along
those lines, provided a thorough history of antiseptics, including speculations
about ancient Chinese, Egyptians, Australians and more, and their attempts at
primitive antiseptics. It also provided a description of many of the things included
in my website, in chronological order, from Pasteur to Semmelweis, to Lister, to
Koch. It went into an extraordinary amount of detail regarding Lister, including his
benefits in the Franco-Prussian war, and his contributions to medicine.
The sources also touched briefly on minor subjects, such as Paul Ehrlich, Ernst
von Begmann, and William Halstead.
Inhumanexperiment. "The Long Term Effects of Antibiotics on Health and
Immunity." The Long-Term Effects of Antibiotics on Health and Immunity. N.p.,
11 Nov. 2009. Web. 21 Feb. 2013.
This source provided a counter-argument to the rest of my website. Generally,
antibiotics and antiseptics save lives. But when used for the wrong purposes, or
simply too often... you know what they say about too much of a good thing. This
blog entry discusses the long-term effects of the overuse of antibiotics. From
mutated, drug-resistant germs to antibiotics having a longer lasting effect than
expected, many problems arise when used incorrectly.
This blog entry, provided under the URL ‘inhumanexperiment’, introduces a new,
obscure side of the argument.
"Lister, Joseph (1827-1912)." Lister, Joseph (1827-1912). The Encyclopedia of
Science, n.d. Web. 20 Feb. 2013.
<http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/L/Lister_Joseph.html>
This biography is specifically about Joseph Lister and his life. It mainly relates to
his contributions to medical society, but discusses his life as well. It gives a
deeper look into the reasons Lister chose his profession. The site discusses the
important factors leading up to his contributions and discoveries, and offers
deeper information about ‘the father of antiseptic surgery’.
Lopes, Emily. "Purell Pandemic: The Creation of Super Germs? | Triple Helix
Online." Triplehelixblog.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Feb. 2013.
This blog entry, similar to the one created by ‘inhumanexperiment’, discusses
some of the negative impacts of antiseptics. It goes into details about the
possibility of a “super-germ” (A germ that has mutated and adapted itself to be
resistant to modern antiseptics) and advises against overuse, as with antibiotics.
This blog also introduces the ‘cons’ of antiseptics, which we generally accept to
be a positive thing.
"Louis Pasteur." Louis Pasteur. History Learning Site, n.d. Web. 20 Feb. 2013.
<http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/louis_pasteur.htm>.
This website discusses Louis Pasteur’s life and contributions to medicine. It goes
into detail regarding his germ theory, pasteurization, and curing certain diseases
(such as Joseph Meister’s rabies). This contributes more information regarding
Pasteur, who is the first major stepping stone in the Germ Theory of Disease,
and thus the creation of antiseptics.
Mangiadi, John R. "History of Hospital Acquired Infections." Hospital Acquired
Infections - A History from Early Surgeries to Superbugs by John R. Mangiardi,
MD FACS. Optimus, n.d. Web. 20 Feb. 2013.
This website is another which discusses the history of antiseptics in medicine,
but ranges from the hospitalism dilemma in the 19th century to medicine in the
1960s. Not only does it provide statistics regarding infection and death in the
1800s, but it provides some of the effects of the invention of antiseptics as well.
This was a very useful website, because it provided much of the information I
found elsewhere, as well as the effects of antiseptics. With cause and effect, one
can clearly understand how the invention of antiseptics is a major turning point in
scientific history.
"The Microbial World." Microbiologytext.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Feb. 2013.
<http://www.microbiologytext.com/index.php?module=book&func=displayarticle&
art_id=26>.
This online lesson mainly discusses Robert Koch and his discoveries. It covers
his use of a solid medium (instead of the originally thought liquid) to isolate
diseases such as anthrax and tuberculosis, and his invention of aseptic
technique- killing all germs in an area to completely sterilize it.
Both discoveries were important in science - one made finding cures for disease
much easier, and the other prevented disease.
NicoleBreanne. "The 13 Craziest Things Ever Used As Medicine (In America)."
Ranker. Ranker, n.d. Web. 20 Feb. 2013.
<http://www.ranker.com/list/the-13-craziest-things-ever-used-as-medicine-_inamerica_/nicolebreanne>.
This article provided a list of 13 things we considered treatments or cures for
various problems at one time, yet now realize were absolutely ridiculous. It
allowed for a fun touch to my website, and helped me point out that even though
a major step had been made in science with the creation of antiseptics, medicine
was still very far from perfect (which could be considered a slight rebuttal to
much of the information I had presented.)
The Nobel Foundation. "Robert Koch - Biography." Nobel Prize.org. The Nobel
Foundation, n.d. Web. 21 Feb. 2013.
<http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1905/kochbio.html>.
The Nobel Prize website provided a biography of Robert Koch, allowing us to
delve deeper into his life, his characteristics, and his motivations for contributing
to science as much as he did. Also, from the website name alone, it gives the
impression that Koch was an extremely intelligent and beneficial man.
N.p., n.d. Web.
<http://www.toothill.notts.sch.uk/data/files/dept/hist/Surgery/Asepticsurgery.pdf>.
This small page goes into deeper detail the reasons antiseptic surgery was
expanded by Robert Koch, to become aseptic surgery, and the effects of using
aseptic technique instead of antiseptic. It explains that while antiseptic surgery
was a major step, it was yet to be perfected - and aseptic surgery could do just
that.
Publisher's Weekly. "The Doctors' Plague: Germs, Childbed Fever, and the
Strange Story of Ignac Semmelweis (Great Discoveries) [Paperback]." The
Doctors' Plague: Germs, Childbed Fever, and the Strange Story of Ignac
Semmelweis (Great Discoveries): Sherwin B. Nuland: 9780393326253:
Amazon.com: Books. Publisher's Weekly, n.d. Web. 20 Feb. 2013.
This source was a comment provided by Publisher’s Weekly, describing the book
“The Doctor’s Plague: Germs, Childbed Fever, and the Strange Story of Ignac
Semmelweis”. Although it does not use the term, it explains what is known as
hospitalism. “Doctors went straight from dissecting cadavers to delivering babies
without washing their hands.” This gives perspective into the 19th century. In
society today, we take medicinal hygiene for granted, which could skew one’s
understanding of the topic - but this quote describes the lack of hygiene and the
fact that it caused so many deaths (This book focuses on those brought about by
puerperal [childbed] fever).
Reed, Stephen. "Stephen Reed." Reed, Stephen / Activity 37. Kyrene Akimel,
n.d. Web. 20 Feb. 2013.
This activity explains more deeply the history of the Germ theory. It explains
ancient beliefs (example: “bad air and bad blood are the causes of disease”), the
discovery of Cell Theory (Not to be confused with Germ Theory) and how they
relate to germs.
"Sir Joseph Lister: "The Father of Modern Surgery"" http://campus.udayton.edu.
N.p., n.d. Web.
Here is another website, from the University of Dayton, discussing Joseph Lister.
it covers his early life and inspirations, his work, those who helped him, and even
has a timeline of the major events of his life. This too gave a better look into
Lister’s life, motivations, and works, much like many of the other sources listed
above.
Waller, John. "The Discovery of the Germ: Twenty Years That Transformed the
Way We Think About Disease." The Discovery of the Germ. N.p., Oct. 2003.
Web. 20 Feb. 2013.