Epidemics in Western Society Since 1600 (HIST 234)
Although the development of the germ theory of disease in the latter half of the nineteenth century marks a major revolution in medical science, comparable to the discoveries of Galileo in astronomy or Darwin in biology, it cannot be reduced to the heroic efforts of a single researcher or group of researchers. Rather, a number of conceptual, technological and institutional preconditions made the germ theory possible. Among these, contagionism, microscopy and hospital medicine all played a major role. The germ theory of disease facilitated a wide range of scientific advances, including the isolation of pathogens, the creation of vaccines and the introduction of antiseptics in surgery.
00:00 - Chapter 1. Germ Theory of Disease
03:33 - Chapter 2. Preconditions
14:34 - Chapter 3. Louis Pasteur
24:17 - Chapter 4. Attenuation
33:28 - Chapter 5. Robert Koch'
39:31 - Chapter 6. Therapeutic Effects
Complete course materials are available at the Open Yale Courses website: open.yale.edu/courses
This course was recorded in Spring 2010.
- 14. The Germ Theory of Disease ( Download)
- Germ Theory of Diseases and Koch’s Postulates ( Download)
- Louis Pasteur vs Robert Koch: The History of Germ Theory ( Download)
- Germ Theory of Disease ( Download)
- Louis Pasteur: Germ theory of disease. ( Download)
- Chapter 14: Process of Disease ( Download)
- Louis Pasteur | Germ Theory ( Download)
- Germ Theory of Disease ( Download)
- Leeches! Arsenic! Water Therapy! Blistering! Unusual Medical Cures from the 19th Century ( Download)
- Science is not a smorgasbord: Germ theory disease ( Download)
- How germ theory was discovered ( Download)
- Germ Theory of Disease ( Download)
- The Germ Theory is Wrong ( Download)
- The germ theory of disease - Wiki Videos ( Download)
- Germ Theory, Epidemiology and Racism in Early 20th C US: Lessons for COVID-19 | Daniel Goldberg, PhD ( Download)