Miracle Drug Analysis

Why was the invention of penicillin so important in the context of WWII? What were some other advances in medicine that were

Penicillin was a very important drug used in World War 2. During the war companies were forced to find a way to make penicillin on an industrial scale. This means that Penicillin was mass

Penicillin is a type of antibiotics. It fights nasty bacteria in a human body. Penicillin is used to help many different infections caused by bacteria. Penicillin was made for the soldiers in world war one, it was to help bullet wound infections and infections caused by lost limbs. Penicillin is made from extracting it from mould.

World War II was a historical turning point not only for the basis of political power and war tactics, but also for drugs and medical advances. Between 1939 and 1945, new medical techniques were developed as a direct response to new weaponry. One of the more profound advances was penicillin, discovered in 1928 by Scottish scientist Sir Alexander Fleming. During the war, the drug helped reduce the overall number of amputations and

One of the medical improvements during World War Il was penicillin. We also had a

People are dying from bullets flying, bayonet charges, tanks with 88cm cannons firing limbs torn off and bombs dropping with gory scenes, how does one treat this. Medicine of WW2 was very complex and different throughout the world, in some countries such as Japan and China, mainly China, eastern medicine was used. Eastern medicine was composed of natural materials unlike western, people used tea, herbs, dirt, anything that was produced naturally. As for western influenced countries, such as France, people used Sulfonamide but that was in early years of war and was soon exhausted. The U.S used Penicillin , the government authorized 19 companies to produce the antibiotic using Pfizer's deep-tank fermentation techniques, which Pfizer had agreed to share with its competitors. Ultimately Pfizer produced 90 percent of the penicillin that went with Allied forces at Normandy on D-Day in 1944 and countless, more than half of all the penicillin used by the Allies for the rest of the war, assisting to save many lives. These were just some of the many techniques and

In this reading there was many very interesting facts about penicillin. Penicillin was a breakthrough in the medical field in the 20th century. The scientist Alexander Fleming had accidentally spilled a vile of bacteria on to a plate of bacteria to his benefit he found that is had stopped the growth of bacteria. This accidental discover has benefited everyone in the world because we have to get these shots if we are infected, plus it saved many life’s in world war II. However, Penicillin is considered an antibiotic chemical that is created by living organism to stop the growth of bacteria and prevent an illness if people were to come into contact with this problem. Since the discovery and massive stock piling of this cure it has become less

World War One caused unprecedented death, pain, and suffering. The war didn’t just end lives, it also created many medical advances and breakthroughs. During World War One many new and important improvements in health brought forth advancements in medical science. These include blood transfusions and the storage of blood. Blood transfusions gave new blood from healthy soldiers to wounded and sick soldiers.

In the 20th century, there was hardly any medicine, many doctors didn’t understand infections and there were multiply unknown diseases and causes of death. Doctors still needed to learn countless things to understand the medicine field and how it played a role in war. This is very interesting to me because I always wanted to help people and when I’m older I want to be a orthopedic surgeon. Medicine is all around us and the field of it continues to grow. There is always a new medicine or study going on and helping people. For every man that was shot and died on the first line of the war two men died from infections that transferred from the first aid tents. Medicine has come a long from the civil war and will continue to change the face of

We can be sure during World War I, many soldiers died from their infected wounds, nevertheless, during Warl War II, with the “development of the drug”, it helped reduce the overall number of amputations

“Medical care was heavily criticized in the press throughout the war. It was stated that surgery was often done without anesthesia, many unnecessary amputations were done, and that care was not state of the art for the times.” (Riley) Newspapers would spread slander and rumors of what happened on the battlefields, and people believed the often untrue accusations of unfair treatment throughout military hospitals, choosing to shame physicians for their work. While there was a huge lack of sanitation in the hospitals, due to the time period, the war was actually impressive with their treatments considering the resources they had. Although the hospitals that soldiers were treated in were thrown together and disorganized, ensuring chaos and the spread of disease, they were still impactful for the medicine practiced in the United

Fleming began to sort through petri dishes containing colonies of Staphylococcus, bacteria that cause boils, sore throats and abscesses. He noticed something unusual on one dish. It was dotted with colonies, except for one area where a blob of mold was growing. The zone immediately around the mold—later identified as a rare strain of Penicillium notatum—was clear, as if the mold had secreted something that inhibited bacterial growth (American Chemical Society). The first introduction of penicillin began in the 1940’s, it was recognized as one of the greatest advances in therapeutic medicine. The discovery was made in the United Kingdom but because of World War II, the United States developed a large production of the drug. By 1937, an important pain killer known as methadone was introduced. Morphine, the most active substance in opium, is a very powerful painkiller that hooked many US Civil War soldiers (Drug Free World). They were wanting to find a painkiller that was less addictive to use for surgery and that’s why they invented

Fleming in 1928. Penicillin helped to treat some common infections: step throat, boils, it would heal wounds quicker, as well as treat more serious infections such as meningitis and pneumonia. Antibiotics usually kill only weak bacteria and after some years of antibiotic usage stronger bacteria have not only survived but also became resistant to the old cure. “Doctors have started to prescribe antibiotics to cure conditions such as ear infections, sinusitis, bronchitis, non-specific upper respiratory tract infections and even common colds and flu… According to the Director of Antimicrobial Resistance, Dr. Richard Besser, each year US physicians write $50 million worth of prescriptions that are ineffectual and unnecessary.” (Elisa Bussey). The more doctors were prescribing antibiotics, the bigger the number of people who become resistant to them. Most of the European countries prescribe antibiotics to kill bacteria only in cases of life threatening conditions. Patients in the US have become accustomed to receiving antibiotics for almost any health concerns and with time, patients have started to expect such prescriptions as a norm.

It had the same curing properties as “M+B” (it cured infectious diseases), the only difference being that it also treated wounded soldiers. It greatly increased the survival rate of wounds and infectious diseases, and in my opinion, without Penicillin the death rate would have probably doubled or tripled! Like “M+B” the demand for Penicillin boomed during World War Two, and the mass production of the drug increased greatly.

     World War II turning points are much more important than penicillin. If there were not any breaks for the American troops, then there would have been many more lives lost in the war than needed. Possibly, there would be more lives lost in the fighting than saved by penicillin in its fist two decades of public use.