Explain ways in which chance has had an impact on the development of medicine.

Chance had a massive impact on the development of medicine through time, as without meaning to, doctors and scientists stumbled across some amazing medical discoveries that advanced their

understanding of the body and of sickness.

One way in which chance had an impact on the development of medicine was when Alexander Fleming discovered Penicillin. Fleming was trying to find a cure for blood poisoning. When

Fleming had returned from holiday, he found that mould had grown on the cultures in some of the petri dishes in his laboratory. One of these dishes no longer contained the staphylococci cells,

the mould had killed them off. This led to his discovery of Penicillin, and the world’s first antibiotic. Fleming believed that the Penicillium had blown in through an open window, which was

none of his doing. By forgetting to close the window before he left, Fleming accidentally discovered Penicillin.

Another way in which chance had an impact on the development of medicine is when Ambroise Paré discovered a new treatment for wounds. Paré was an army surgeon, who on treated wounds

on the battlefield by pouring hot oil on them, causing the wounded soldiers much pain. By chance, Paré ran out of this oil, and had to think of a new way to treat the soldiers. He remember a herbal treatment he had read about, and quickly mixed together different ingredient to make

an ointment. He was very worried it would not work, but when he returned to inspect the patients, he discovered that the ones treated with oil were still in pain, whilst the ones treated

with the ointment were healing nicely! Paré never again used hot oil, and worked hard to discover new methods for treating wounds. Had Paré not ran out of oil, he may never of

discovered this.

These two examples clearly show the role that chance, or luck, played in the development of medicine. Despite individuals best efforts, chance is important because in all walks of life, a little bit of luck can make the difference between success and failure. Other examples of the impact of chance include Pasteur’s successful use of the untested Rabies vaccine, and the discovery of a chicken cholera vaccine, as well as James Simpson’s discovery of chloroform as an anaesthetic.

Explain ways in which chance has had an impact on the development of medicine.

Chance had a massive impact on the development of medicine through time, as without meaning to, doctors and scientists stumbled across some amazing medical discoveries that advanced their

understanding of the body and of sickness.

One way in which chance had an impact on the development of medicine was when Alexander Fleming discovered Penicillin. Fleming was trying to find a cure for blood poisoning. When

Fleming had returned from holiday, he found that mould had grown on the cultures in some of the petri dishes in his laboratory. One of these dishes no longer contained the staphylococci cells,

the mould had killed them off. This led to his discovery of Penicillin, and the world’s first antibiotic. Fleming believed that the Penicillium had blown in through an open window, which was

none of his doing. By forgetting to close the window before he left, Fleming accidentally discovered Penicillin.

Another way in which chance had an impact on the development of medicine is when Ambroise Paré discovered a new treatment for wounds. Paré was an army surgeon, who on treated wounds

on the battlefield by pouring hot oil on them, causing the wounded soldiers much pain. By chance, Paré ran out of this oil, and had to think of a new way to treat the soldiers. He remember a herbal treatment he had read about, and quickly mixed together different ingredient to make

an ointment. He was very worried it would not work, but when he returned to inspect the patients, he discovered that the ones treated with oil were still in pain, whilst the ones treated

with the ointment were healing nicely! Paré never again used hot oil, and worked hard to discover new methods for treating wounds. Had Paré not ran out of oil, he may never of

discovered this.

These two examples clearly show the role that chance, or luck, played in the development of medicine. Despite individuals best efforts, chance is important because in all walks of life, a little bit of luck can make the difference between success and failure. Other examples of the impact of chance include Pasteur’s successful use of the untested Rabies vaccine, and the discovery of a chicken cholera vaccine, as well as James Simpson’s discovery of chloroform as an anaesthetic.