1950: You have a pus-filled sore
Examination
- Well, that's it for the complete history and exam. See, that only took a half an hour. Now you do have a slight temperature. And, as you know, the sore is very tender. Let me take a culture -- I'll just use a cotton swab to take a sample.
Diagnosis
- Two days later...
Hello. How the sore? I have the results back from the bacteriologist, who has been nurturing the culture for the past two days. She reports that the lesion is infected with a type of bacteria called Staphylococcus.
Treatment
- You are very fortunate. I had a similar wound when I was a child and nearly died from it. Antibiotic treatments have changed this. First came sulfa drugs in 1930s, with which we had limited success. Then only this year, penicillin became widely available for general use. It has had a remarkable impact on medicine. I'll give you a prescription for penicillin. You should also soak the lesion in very warm water to draw out the pus, and keep your leg elevated as much as possible.
Prognisis
- Two weeks later...
- Your lesion has completely healed. Another life saved by that miracle drug, penicillin!
Start Over | 1900 | 1950 | 1998