Transcript The Germ Theory of Disease Alexander Fleming

The Germ Theory of Disease
Alexander Fleming
“One sometimes finds what one is
not looking for.”
The Germ Theory of Disease
• Important early microbiologists helped
to develop the Germ Theory
– Anton Van Leeuwenhoek (1670’s)
– Ignaz Semmelweis (1840’s)
– Louis Pasteur (1860’s)
– Joseph Lister (1860’s)
– Robert Koch (1870’s)
– Alexander Fleming (1920’s)
Alexander Fleming
Alexander Fleming
• Scottish
• Biologist and Pharmacologist
• Discovered the first antibiotic
Alexander Fleming
• Antibiotic =
Alexander Fleming
• World War I: worked as medical officer
Alexander Fleming
• Problems with antiseptics:
– Work well on surfaces, but deep wounds are
harder to treat
– Kill bacteria indiscriminately
Alexander Fleming
• Began searching for more effective
antiseptic
– Discovered lysozyme
»=
Alexander Fleming
• “ When I woke up just after dawn on
September 28, 1928, I certainly didn’t
plan to revolutionize all medicine by
discovering the world’s first antibiotic,
or bacteria killer. But I suppose that
was exactly what I did”
Discovery of Penicillin
• Brilliant researcher, untidy laboratory
• Contaminated petri dish contained mold
that was attacking staphylococci
Discovery of Penicillin
• Found that Penicillin could be used
against:
Problems with Penicillin
Penicillin
• Fleming finally abandoned penicillin, but
two scientists took up his research
during World War II