Question

Ignaz Semmelweis: what did he do?

a) Discovered penicillin
b) Developed the smallpox vaccine
c) Advocated for handwashing in medical settings
d) Performed the first successful organ transplant

Answer 1

Ignaz Semmelweis, a Hungarian obstetrician, observed a higher mortality rate from puerperal fever in hospital wards staffed by physicians and medical students. He proposed the hypothesis that physicians were transferring the causative agent of the fever to patients.

Step-by-step explanation:

Ignaz Semmelweis was a Hungarian obstetrician who observed that mothers giving birth in hospital wards staffed by physicians and medical students had a higher mortality rate from puerperal fever compared to those in wards staffed by midwives.

He noticed that the medical students were performing autopsies and then examining patients without washing their hands in between. This led Semmelweis to propose the hypothesis that physicians were somehow transferring the causative agent of puerperal fever to their patients.