How was medicine transformed in the modern period c1900 to present?
Modern advances in understanding the cause of disease (genetics and lifestyle), improvements in diagnosis, magic bullets and antibiotics including penicillin, the impact of science, technology and the NHS, and the case of lung cancer and smoking.
A focused answer to the modern period of Edexcel's Medicine in Britain thematic study, covering new understanding of the cause of disease (DNA and lifestyle), better diagnosis, magic bullets and the discovery and mass production of penicillin, the role of the NHS, science and technology, and the lung cancer case study.
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What this dot point is asking
This is the modern period of the Medicine thematic study, where treatment and access were transformed. You need to explain the new understanding of the cause of disease (genetics and lifestyle), better diagnosis, the arrival of magic bullets and antibiotics, the impact of the NHS and of science and technology, and the lung cancer case study that shows modern public health at work. The marks reward precise dates and an awareness of which factors drove change.
New understanding of the cause of disease
Improvements in diagnosis
Doctors gained powerful new ways to see inside the body and measure it. X-rays (from 1895) revealed bones and tumours; later came ultrasound, CT scans and MRI scans for detailed images of organs and the brain. Blood tests, endoscopes, blood pressure monitors and blood sugar monitors allowed precise, often early, diagnosis. Better diagnosis meant diseases could be caught and treated sooner.
Magic bullets and antibiotics
The NHS, science and technology
The lung cancer case study
Try this
Q1. Who discovered penicillin, and who mass-produced it? [Knowledge recall]
- Cue. Alexander Fleming discovered it (1928); Florey and Chain mass-produced it (1940s).
Q2. Explain why treatment improved so much in the modern period. [Short explanation]
- Cue. Antibiotics such as penicillin cured infections, the NHS (1948) gave everyone access to treatment, and science and technology (DNA, scans, transplants, new drugs) produced and delivered powerful new cures.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of Pearson Edexcel exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
Edexcel 20184 marksDescribe two features of the development of penicillin.Show worked answer →
The Paper 1 "Describe two features" question (4 marks). Reward two distinct features with detail, no explanation.
Feature one. Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin by chance in 1928, noticing that mould on a petri dish killed bacteria, but he could not produce it in useful quantities.
Feature two. Florey and Chain worked out how to purify and mass-produce penicillin in the early 1940s, helped by US funding and the demands of the Second World War, turning it into the first antibiotic.
Full marks. Two features, each developed with one supporting detail. Two marks per feature.
Edexcel 202112 marksExplain why there was rapid change in the treatment of disease in the period c1900 to present. You may use the following in your answer: penicillin; the NHS. You must also use information of your own.Show worked answer →
The Paper 1 thematic "Explain why" question (12 marks) with two prompts plus your own knowledge. Reward at least three explained reasons.
Reason one (penicillin and antibiotics). Penicillin, discovered by Fleming (1928) and mass-produced by Florey and Chain (1940s), let doctors cure bacterial infections for the first time, and more antibiotics followed.
Reason two (the NHS). The NHS (1948) gave everyone access to doctors, hospitals and medicines free at the point of use, so effective treatments reached the whole population, not just the rich.
Reason three (own knowledge: science and technology). Advances such as DNA (1953), better surgery (transplants, keyhole surgery), scans and pharmaceutical research produced and delivered powerful new treatments quickly.
Top band. Use both prompts plus at least one own point, each developed and linked to faster treatment.
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Sources & how we know this
- Pearson Edexcel GCSE (9-1) History (1HI0) specification — Pearson Edexcel (2016)