The author's purpose in bolding the names Joseph Lister and Robert Koch is to draw attention to the doctors and scientists who expanded on Semmelweis’s breakthroughs. This highlights the ongoing impact of Semmelweis's ideas and how they were built upon by others in the field of medicine.
"Ignaz Semmelweis Saved Lives: Wash Your Hands" by Dr. Howard Markel On this date in 1850, a prickly Hungarian obstetrician named Ignaz Semmelweis stepped up to the podium of the Vienna Medical Society’s lecture hall. It was a grand and ornately decorated room where some of medicine’s greatest discoveries were first announced. The evening of May 15 would hardly be different — even if those present (and many more who merely read about it) did not acknowledge Semmelweis’s marvelous discovery for several decades. What, exactly, was the doctor’s advice to his colleagues on that long ago night? It could be summed up in three little words: wash your hands! At this late date, we all expect our doctors to wash their hands before examining us or performing an operation in order to prevent the spread of infection. Surprisingly, physicians did not begin to acknowledge the lifesaving power of this simple act until 1847 It was then that Dr. Semmelweis began exhorting his fellow physicians at the famed Vienna General Hospital (Allgemeines Krankenhaus) to wash up before examining women about to deliver babies. His plea was far more than aesthetic; it was a matter of life and death and helped to prevent a deadly malady known as “childbed” or puerperal (from the Latin words for child and parent) fever. 1 of 5 Question Use the passage to answer the question. Considering the content of the entire text, what is the author’s purpose in bolding the two scientists’ names, Joseph Lister and Robert Koch? (1 point) Responses to indicate that in the digital form of the text there are links to more information about these physicians to indicate that in the digital form of the text there are links to more information about these physicians to show how different physicians made the same discovery as Semmelweis but at a later time to show how different physicians made the same discovery as Semmelweis but at a later time to emphasize the landmark scientists who were more successful than Semmelweis to emphasize the landmark scientists who were more successful than Semmelweis to draw attention to the doctors and scientists who expanded on Semmelweis’s breakthroughs
3 answers
"1847: Wash Your Hands" by Marguerite Vigliani, MD; Gale Eaton Ignatz Semmelweis was appalled. The Vienna hospital where he worked was world famous for its obstetrics department,1 but women would rather give birth outside on the street. It was safer.2 Inside, more of them died of childbed fever, especially if they were put in First Clinic. The two maternity wards or clinics accepted patients on alternate days, but whenever their babies arrived, mothers begged to be put in Second Clinic. The death rate there was lower.3 Childbed (or puerperal) fever was a bacterial infection common in nineteenth-century hospitals and even after doctor-assisted home births. It tore through the reproductive systems and blood streams of women exhausted by childbirth. In America, Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. announced in 1843 that the disease was carried on the unwashed hands and clothes of doctors, but he was largely ignored.4 In 1847, Semmelweis came to the same conclusion. As assistant to Professor Johann Klein, he was put in charge of First Clinic and found the patients were right about it. His ward’s 1841–846 death rate was 9.92 percent, compared to 3.88 percent in Second Clinic.5 Was it because of miasma? No. The two clinics were under the same roof and shared an anteroom; all patients breathed the same air. Overcrowding? No. Second Clinic was more crowded. Semmelweis ruled out one hypothesis after another.6 1 of 3 Question Use the passage to answer the question. What is the purpose of the graphic showing “Puerperal fever, Yearly mortality rates”? Choose two responses. (1 point) Responses to show how the mortality rates at the two clinics changed over time to show how the mortality rates at the two clinics changed over time to compare the mortality rates at the First Clinic to the Second Clinic to compare the mortality rates at the First Clinic to the Second Clinic to compare the mortality rates for puerperal fever to other diseases to compare the mortality rates for puerperal fever to other diseases to compare the mortality rates for puerperal fever in the past to today to compare the mortality rates for puerperal fever in the past to today to show how many total people died of puerperal fever in the clinics to show how many total people died of puerperal fever in the clinics
The purpose of the graphic showing “Puerperal fever, Yearly mortality rates” is:
- To show how the mortality rates at the two clinics changed over time.
- To compare the mortality rates at the First Clinic to the Second Clinic.
These responses highlight the differences between the clinics and the trends in mortality rates.