Medical microbiology deals with microorganisms and their role in human health and disease. Key figures in the history of microbiology include Louis Pasteur, who developed sterilization techniques and pasteurization; Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, who was the first to observe microorganisms under a microscope; Robert Koch, who developed techniques for isolating bacteria in pure culture and discovered pathogens causing anthrax, tuberculosis, and cholera; Joseph Lister, considered the father of antiseptic surgery; and Alexander Fleming, who discovered the antibiotic penicillin. Other important contributors include Edward Jenner, who developed the smallpox vaccine; Hans Christian Gram, who developed the Gram stain technique; and Kary Mullis
2. What is the microbiology?
Medical microbiology is a branch of medicine that deals with
the study of microorganisms and their role in human health
and diseases.
microorganisms that cause infectious disease:
Bacteria
Virus
Parasites
Fungi
3. Louis Pasteur
He is also know as ‘father
of microbiology’. He was a
professor of chemistry in
France.
4. Hiscontributionsto microbiologyare as follows
He had proposed die principles of fermentation for preservation of food.
He introduced the sterilization techniques and developed steam sterilizer,
hot air oven and autoclave.
He described the method of pasteurization of milk.
He had also contributed for the vaccine development against several
diseases, such as anthrax, fowl cholera and rabies.
5. Antonie Philipsvan Leeuwenhoek (1676)
He was the first scientist who
observed bacteria and other
microorganisms, using a
single-lens microscope
6. Robert Koch
Robert Koch provided
remarkable contributions to the
field of microbiology. He was
a German general practitioner.
7. His contributions are as follows
He introduced solid media for culture of bacteria, had suggested the use of
agar as solidifying agents.
He also introduced methods for isolation of bacteria in pure culture.
He described hanging drop method for testing motility.
He discovered bacteria such as die anthrax bacilli, tubercle bacilli and cholera
bacilli.
9. Koch's phenomenon:- Robert Koch observed that guinea pigs
already infected with tubercle bacillus developed a
hypersensitivity reaction when injected with tubercle bacilli or its
protein. Since then, this observation was called as Koch's
phenomenon.
10. Koch's postulates:
1. The microorganism should be constantly associated With the lesions of die
disease.
2. It should be possible to isolate die organ ism in pure culture from the lesions of
the disease.
3. The same disease must result when die isolated microorganism is inoculated into a
suitable laboratory animal.
4. It should be possible 10 re-isolate die organism in pure culture from die lesions
produced in the experimental animals.
13. Paul Ehrlich
Paul Ehrlich (1854- 1915) was a German
scientist and is also known as father of
chemotherapy.
He was the first to report the acid-fast nature of
tubercle bacillus.
He developed techniques to stain tissues and
blood cells.
14. Edward Jenner
Edward Jenner 1796, developed the first
vaccine of the world, the smallpox vaccine.
He used the cowpox virus (Vario lae
vaccinae) 1oimmwiize children against
smallpox from which the term ‘vaccine’ has
been derived. the same principles are still
used today for developing vaccines.
15. Hans Christian Gram
He developed a method of staining bacteria
which was named as 'Gram stain' to make
them more visible and differentiable under a
microscope.