Question
"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, but women would rather give
birth outside on the street. It was safer. 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.
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.
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. 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.
Reluctantly he concluded that sickness was being
1
2
3
4
5
6
A)
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)
to show how many total people died of
puerperal fever in the clinics
to compare the mortality rates for puerperal
fever in the past to today
to compare the mortality rates for puerperal
fever to other diseases
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
Hands"
by Marguerite Vigliani, MD; Gale Eaton
Ignatz Semmelweis was appalled. The Vienna
hospital where he worked was world famous for its
obstetrics department, but women would rather give
birth outside on the street. It was safer. 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.
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.
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. 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.
Reluctantly he concluded that sickness was being
1
2
3
4
5
6
A)
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)
to show how many total people died of
puerperal fever in the clinics
to compare the mortality rates for puerperal
fever in the past to today
to compare the mortality rates for puerperal
fever to other diseases
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
Answers
GPT-4o mini
The purpose of the graphic showing “Puerperal fever, Yearly mortality rates” can be inferred as:
1. **to compare the mortality rates at the First Clinic to the Second Clinic** - This is likely because the passage discusses the significant difference in death rates between the two clinics.
2. **to show how the mortality rates at the two clinics changed over time** - This choice aligns with the context of tracking mortality rates, which may reveal trends or changes over the years, helping to support Semmelweis's findings.
These two responses would correctly reflect the intended purposes of the graphic in relation to the information provided in the passage.
1. **to compare the mortality rates at the First Clinic to the Second Clinic** - This is likely because the passage discusses the significant difference in death rates between the two clinics.
2. **to show how the mortality rates at the two clinics changed over time** - This choice aligns with the context of tracking mortality rates, which may reveal trends or changes over the years, helping to support Semmelweis's findings.
These two responses would correctly reflect the intended purposes of the graphic in relation to the information provided in the passage.