The proposition that infectious diseases are caused by microorganisms.
The theory that diseases are caused by minute living organisms germs that attack the body’s normal functioning. In the 19th century, Louis Pasteur showed that fermentation and putrefaction are caused by airborne microorganisms. Joseph Lister (1827-1912) in the 1860s used carbolic acid to keep airborne microorganisms from infecting wounds, causing putrefaction. In the 1880s Robert Koch (1843-1910) identified the agents that cause tuberculosis and cholera. Despite what now seems to make sense, the medical profession, always conservative, was slow to accept the germ theory, and its resistance to antiseptic conditions in operating theaters and to sterilizing instruments persisted until the turn of the century and beyond.
Counterarguments to the germ theory have surfaced from time to time throughout this century. Naturopaths have led the fight against the germ theory in the 20th century. They believe, instead, that disease is caused by a violation of the natural laws of living, and they offer different treatments from those of conventional medicine.
The theory that diseases are caused by minute living organisms germs that attack the body’s normal functioning. In the 19th century, Louis Pasteur showed that fermentation and putrefaction are caused by airborne microorganisms. Joseph Lister (1827-1912) in the 1860s used carbolic acid to keep airborne microorganisms from infecting wounds, causing putrefaction. In the 1880s Robert Koch (1843-1910) identified the agents that cause tuberculosis and cholera. Despite what now seems to make sense, the medical profession, always conservative, was slow to accept the germ theory, and its resistance to antiseptic conditions in operating theaters and to sterilizing instruments persisted until the turn of the century and beyond.
Counterarguments to the germ theory have surfaced from time to time throughout this century. Naturopaths have led the fight against the germ theory in the 20th century. They believe, instead, that disease is caused by a violation of the natural laws of living, and they offer different treatments from those of conventional medicine.