First known descriptions tetanus, typhus, tuberculosis, etc.
Suggested human disease related to external and personal environments
Ex. seasons, wind, sun, water
Qualitative data
Hipocrates
Pioneered fundamental principle between effect of treatment or substance, cna only be assessed byu a comparison
First case control studies
USed numerical methods to produce statistical evidence
Found the practice of bloodletting was ineffective/dangerous when contrasted with no treatment
Bloodletting: Letting someone bleed out ot cure their illness
Pierre-Charles Alexandre Louis
Analyzed weekly reports of births and deaths:
First to quantify patterns of disease
Noted increase in # men that were born or died
Notd high infant mortality rate
Graunt
Epidemiology can identify infections and non infectious agents
Pellagra (neurological disease) → Vitamin deficiency
Jewish?
Joseph Goldberger
Formulate and test hypothesis concerning origin of cholera epidemic
Acute bacteria infection in small intestine
Symptoms: Severe diarrhea, motitin, muscular cramps, and dehydration → electrolyte depletion
Spread by water and food contaminated by feces of persons previously infected
Tracked the cholera outbreak
Southwark: 114 deaths/100,000
Lambeth (neighbouring town): 0
Southwark and Lambeth: 60 deaths/100,000
Postulated cholera was transmitted by contaminated water
Two water companies: Lambeth and Southwark
Both drew water from Thames
Heavily polluted
Observations supported hypothesis
Drinking water from Southwark increased risk of cholera
Produced enough knowledge to enable disease prevention measures (even when the cause of the disease was not yet known → knew it was water but not specifics)
Snow
Combined observations and measurements of phenomena with experimental design to test theories/laws
Quantitative data
Galileo Galilei
Medicine is a social science and politics is nothing else but medicine on a large scale
Father of modern pathology
Rudolf Virchow
Worked for the office of registrar for England and wale
System of routine compilation of numbers and causes of deaths
Compared mortality rates with several different characteristics
Frequency and disruption
Normal curve
William Farr