| The war against bacteria: how were sulphonamide drugs used by Britain during World War II? | |
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MedLine Citation:
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PMID: 21969613 Owner: NLM Status: Publisher |
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
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Penicillin is often considered one of the greatest discoveries of 20th century medicine. However, the revolution in therapeutics brought about by sulphonamides also had a profound effect on British medicine, particularly during World War II (WWII). Sulphonamides were used to successfully treat many infections which later yielded to penicillin and so their role deserves wider acknowledgement. The sulphonamides, a pre-war German discovery, were widely used clinically. However, the revolution brought about by the drugs has been either neglected or obscured by penicillin, resulting in less research on their use in Britain during WWII. By examining Medical Research Council records, particularly war memorandums, as well as medical journals, archives and newspaper reports, this paper hopes to highlight the importance of the sulphonamides and demonstrate their critical role in the medical war effort and their importance in both the public and more particularly, the medical, sectors. It will present evidence to show that sulphonamides gained importance due to the increased prevalence of infection which compromised the health of servicemen during WWII. The frequency of these infections led to an increase in demand and production. However, the sulphonamides were soon surpassed by penicillin, which had fewer side-effects and could treat syphilis and sulphonamide-resistant infections. Nevertheless, despite these limitations, the sulphonamides drugs were arguably more important in revolutionising medicine than penicillin, as they achieved the first real success in the war against bacteria. |
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Authors:
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Diana Davenport |
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Publication Detail:
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Type: JOURNAL ARTICLE Date: 2011-10-3 |
Journal Detail:
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Title: Medical humanities Volume: - ISSN: 1473-4265 ISO Abbreviation: - Publication Date: 2011 Oct |
Date Detail:
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Created Date: 2011-10-4 Completed Date: - Revised Date: - |
Medline Journal Info:
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Nlm Unique ID: 100959585 Medline TA: Med Humanit Country: - |
Other Details:
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Languages: ENG Pagination: - Citation Subset: - |
Affiliation:
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Centre for the History of Science, Technology and Medicine, Imperial College, South Kensington, London, UK. |
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From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
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