Medicine Through Time
Historical Enrichment Course
Germ theory, the first antibiotic, and the nurse who proved cleanliness saves lives with data.
Start here — the story
For most of human history, going to hospital made you more likely to die. Doctors moved from dissecting corpses to delivering babies without washing their hands, and could not understand why the mothers kept dying. The answer was too small to see — and too strange to believe.
The Complete Guide to Medicine Through Time — 6 chapters, about 13 minutes. You are not expected to know anything before you start.
What you’ll be able to explain
- Explain germ theory and why it changed everything downstream
- Tell the true story of penicillin's discovery
- Show how Nightingale used data to save lives
The assessed version of this material is Pearson Edexcel International GCSE History breadth study B2 — Changes in medicine, c1848–c1948 — which has fixed dates, five prescribed key topics and a specific question format. If you are taking that exam, use the course rather than this enrichment version.