Lessons with a difference with Prof. Rajiva Wijesinha

Famous people

Louis Pasteur and modern medicine:

Every time you drink a glass of milk, you should be grateful to Louis Pasteur. Because of him we are able to get rid of illness-causing germs in food, and especially in milk. The process he discovered is called 'pasteurization'. This means getting rid of germs from what we eat and drink.

Louis Pasteur was born in 1822 in France. He was the greatest biologist of the 19th century. He is famous because he discovered that germs cause infectious diseases. Germs are tiny creatures that make us ill if they live in our bodies. The 'Germ Theory of Disease' was one of the most important developments in medical history.

We should know however that, during the times of the great Islamic empires, Muslim doctors knew this theory and they kept their hospitals very clean. But in modern times Louis Pasteur discovered this, and described the theory so that it became the foundation of modern medicine.

We can summarize, that is note down briefly, his main contributions:

1. He realized hospitals were filthy. He made hospitals stay clean. Doctors had to wash their hands after seeing each patient. Surgery rooms had to be spotless, and also the instruments used for operations.

2. He developed pasteurization. Heat is used to kill germs and microbes in food without destroying the food.

3. He discovered that a weakened form of microbe, given to people through vaccination, could immunize them. This prevents them getting the disease. This is because their bodies fight the weakened form of the disease, and are used to it so any stronger form cannot harm them.