(Ebook) Germ theory: medical pioneers in infectious diseases by Robert P. Gaynes ISBN 9781555815295, 1555815294

(Ebook) Germ theory: medical pioneers in infectious diseases by Robert P. Gaynes ISBN 9781555815295, 1555815294

"From Hippocrates and Avicenna to Paul Ehrlich and Lillian Wald, Germ Theory brings to life a dozen medical pioneers whose work changed the way we think about and treat infection."-back cover. Content: Introduction -- Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine -- Avicenna, a thousand years ahead of his time -- Girolamo Fracastoro and Contagion in renaissance medicine -- Antony van Leeuwenhoek and the birth of microscopy -- The demise of the humoral theory of medicine -- Edward Jenner and the discovery of vaccination -- Ignaz Semmelweis and the control of puerperal sepsis -- Louis Pasteur and the germ theory of disease -- Robert Koch and the rise of bacteriology -- Joseph Lister, the man who made surgery safe -- Paul Ehrlich and the magic bullet -- Alexander Fleming and the discovery of penicillin -- Lillian Wald and the foundations of modern public health -- Conclusions. Abstract: Just as the economists and policy makers are looking back to the depression to develop policies to relieve us from our current economic woes, we should examine the history of infectious diseases. This historical review details the lives of 12 men and one woman who were pioneers of our current conceptual framework of infectious diseases.