John Snow Essay

704 Words3 Pages
John Snow was an English physician who was born in March 15, 1813. He is considered to be one of the first physicians to adopt chloroform and ether as surgical anesthetics. He is also considered to be one of the fathers of modern epidemiology due to his success in investigating and solving a cholera outbreak in Soho, London. John Snow’s systematic approaches to solving the cholera outbreak have been adopted and used even today. His success in anesthesiology and solving the cholera outbreak of 1854 has therefore impacted public health and modern epidemiology. John Snow was credited for using ether and chloroform as surgical anesthetics. These chemicals allowed patients to undergo surgery without any pain or distress and have been proven to be effective. At one point in John Snow’s life, he was required to administer chloroform to Queen Victoria when she gave birth. John Snow’s contributions to anesthesiology have influenced the creation of other anesthetics that are widely used today. Now, when a patient must undergo surgery, he/she is placed under amnesia through the use of anesthetics. John Snow is therefore credited for impacting modern anesthesiology, but he is primarily credited for his contributions to epidemiology and the cholera outbreak of 1854 (ucla.edu). The cholera outbreak of 1854 in Soho, London was caused primarily by a lack of proper sanitary services. Due to the large arrival of people in Soho, London, pollution increased and the London government had to resort to dumping the waste into nearby rivers. This action contaminated the water supply, and shortly afterwards, the cholera outbreak occurred. As a result of the cholera outbreak, water pumps in the city delivered water that was contaminated with cholera. During John Snow’s time, people believed that cholera was an air borne disease. They were unaware that cholera was actually water
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