The discovery of Penicillin 

Glossary

 

• Alertness: - being fully awake

• Bacteriology: - science or study of bacteria

• Conquest: - victory something got by conquering

• Effectiveness: - being able to bring about the result intended

• Knighthood: - rank of a knight

• Thoroughness: - quality of being complete in every way

• Inoculate: - inject germs offer disease into a person

• Indispensable: - that which can’t be dispensed with

Short Question/Answers

 

• Where was a medical conference held in 1949?

Ans: - In Verona

• Which year was Alexander Fleming born and where?

Ans: - In 1881 in Scotland

• What is a mould?

Ans: - A growth of very small plants

• What name did Fleming give to the bread mould he discovered?

Ans: - Penicillium Notatum

• Where does penicillin mould grow best?

Ans: - Sugar solution

• Which award did fleming got for his work on penicillin?

Ans: - Noble prize

• Who did the man with three childern want to see?

Ans: - Alexander fleming

• What is mould?

Ans: - A mould is a growth of small plants. We can sometimes see on food, leather or old clothes.

 

Long Question/Answers

 

• How did Fleming become interested in bacteriology?

Ans: - Fleming was a student in the medical school at Saint Mary’s hospital. Sir Almorth Wright joined the school as one of its professor. He was a famous bacteriologist. He taught bacteriology in the medical school. He was also doing experiment in bacteriology. He was the master of his subject. His method of teaching was very effective. He taught with great thoroughness. Fleming was deeply impressed by him he was greatly attracted to the subject. So he decided to choose bacteriology as a special field of study.

 

• How was penicillin tested and its effectiveness proved?

Ans: - Penicillin was first of all tested in mice. Fleming and his fellow scientists took a number of mice. They gave these mice powerful disease germs. Some of the mice were given penicillin injections other were left untreated. The next morning although untreated mice were found dead those that had been given penicillin in injections were cured completely .The next step was to try the drug on human beings. A man had been suffering from a serious disease for many years it looked certain that he would die. Fleming and his fellow scientists wanted to try the new drug on his patient they were certain of its effectiveness. They gave him one or two injections. The patient began to recover gradually. He was given a few more injection. The man recovered completely. Thus the effectiveness of penicillin was proved.

 

• Write the character sketch of Alexander Fleming?

Ans: - Alexander Fleming is known for his discovery of penicillin. He was born in Scotland in 1881. After his school education he joined St Mary’s hospital. He became interested in the study of bacteriology. During the First World War thousands of soldiers died. Their death was caused by infection. There was no effective remedy to kill disease germs. Fleming decided to work on this problem. He carried out many experiments. He prepared many bacterial cultures. One morning he found that one of the cultures had been destroyed by a mould examined under a microscope it proved a powerful germ killer. Fleming called his mould penicillium notatum. The discovery of penicillin made him famous all over the world. He was honoured at home and abroad. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for this valuable discovery.

 

Summary

 

Sir Alexander Fleming was born in Scotland in 1881. He had great interest in the study of bacteria so he decided it as his special field. He is Scottish researcher and is credited with the discovery of penicillin in 1928. At that time, Fleming was experimenting with the influenza virus in the Laboratory of the Inoculation Department at St. Mary’s Hospital in London where he studied also. He noticed that there was a green ring on one of the bacterial culture which he prepared a night ago. He examined it carefully and led to the discovery of penicillium notatum. Then he spent months over his experiments. After his hard work for months he led to the discovery of penicillin. Millions of lives were saved with the help of penicillin. He was credited for his excellent work on the discovery of penicillin. Several new drugs have been discovered as a result of this work and till now uncountable lives have been saved with the help of penicillin which was not possible without Sir Alexander Fleming.