Talk:John Snow (physician)
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I changed the file for the map pic to a full version of his 1854 map. Hope I did this right, haven't edited before. Also just finished reading Ghost Map and was looking for a good version of the map with the Voronoi lines... still haven't found an original. --Rewardiv 23:24, 30 December 2006 (UTC)
I added a short section on his work with ether and chloroform, but there is indeed a lot more that could be written (including most of the outline described below). I also changed the wording about "germ theory" vs. "miasma theory" because germ theory wasn't around then - Snow theorized that cholera was water-borne and not inhaled, but still didn't know that a micro-organism was the cause of it (just read The Ghost Map). cmpalmer
Just fixing typos. Changed "there was been no particular outbreak" to "has been" after checking the quote at: http://matrix.msu.edu/~johnsnow/pub_Deptford1854.php
Having prettified the first section, I notice that it is directly contradicted by the second. Was Snow's father a farmer or did he work in a coal yard? Or was it one and then the other? The Snow Society site says farmer. --GuillaumeTell 22:29, 22 March 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Expansion
I feel that a person who is a founding father of an important discipline really deserves a longer article on Wikipedia. Not knowing enough about him to perform the expansion myself, I would like to ask whether there is a particular tag to mark an article as needing attention/expansion? Thank you. laddiebuck 19:26, 2 May 2006 (UTC)
I agree... An expansion would be suitable for this page.... Random viewer.
Here are some points that I believe can be added about John Snow (These points are more so related to John Snow & his contribution made to Cholera.... random viewer.
• From his studies in toxicology, John Snow developed an interest in anesthesia and cholera (hence his theory on the transmission of the cholera 'poison' in water supplies…) • He first encountered a cholera epidemic in Newcastle in 1831-32 when he was sent there by the surgeon to whom he was apprenticed at the time. • On 16 October 1841 John Snow presented his first paper entitled Asphyxia and the resuscitation of new-born children. • In 1846, John Snow heard about the use of anesthesia in the USA. It was not well-received in the UK initially, due to the mode of administration but John Snow spotted how to improve this. • His famous book produced in 1849 cost him £200 to produce but his income was only £3.12s. • Journals dismissed Snow's book. "There is, in our view, an entire failure of proof that the occurrence of any one case could be clearly and unambiguously assigned to water". The reviewer later concludes, "Notwithstanding our opinion that Dr Snow has failed in proving that cholera is communicated in the mode in which he supposes it to be, he deserves the thanks of the profession for endeavoring to solve the mystery. It is only by close analysis of facts and the publication of new views, which we can hope to arrive at the truth". (London Medical Gazette, 1849) • John Snow beat William Budd to the water theory of transmission of cholera by only 10 days. However, although Budd's thesis was based on more thorough surveys of rural outbreaks, he made the mistake of proposing a fungal cause. • John Snow's views were still not accepted in Germany at the time of the Gelsenkirche Typhoid Epidemic, in 1901. • John Snow was voted in a poll of British doctors in 2003 as the greatest physician of all time. • 2004 marks the 150th anniversary of Dr. John Snow’s investigation of the Broad Street pump handle—one of the earliest examples of epidemiological research. Dr. Snow has received many accolades and his work continues to be celebrated.
It should also be noted that Snow's work on cholera was directly opposed and vilified by the local clergy, who worked under the delusion that disease was a form of divine punishment, and did not like to see their favorite bigotries overturned by something as prosaic as modern medicine. - JS
[edit] Microscopy
Sorry, the last edit changing this line:
"Snow took a sample of water from this well pump and examined it under a microscope, finding it to be filled with micro-organisms. At his request, the well pump was disabled by removing the handle."
To this:
"Although Snow's chemical and microscope examination of a sample of the water was not able to conclusively prove its danger, his studies of the pattern of the disease were convincing enough to persuade the local council to disable the well pump by removing its handle."
Was me, whilst logged out. I cite the book Ghost Map. Although the cholera bacterium *had* been seen by this time, Snow never saw it or even knew of its existence. He could not himself find chemical or microscopic flaw with the water - but he knew that it was dangerous by his statistical evidence. Eriathwen 19:13, 8 February 2007 (UTC)
