Dr. John Snow

John Snow (16 March 1813 – 16 June 1858) was a British physician and a leader in the adoption of anaesthesia and medical hygiene. He is considered to be one of the fathers of epidemiology, because of his work in tracing the source of a cholera outbreak in Soho, England, in 1854. Image File history File links Dr. John Snow (1813-1858), British physician. ... Image File history File links Dr. John Snow (1813-1858), British physician. ... is the 75th day of the year (76th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1813 (MDCCCXIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... is the 167th day of the year (168th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1858 (MDCCCLVIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Anesthesia (AE), also anaesthesia (BE), is the process of blocking the perception of pain and other sensations. ... Hygiene refers to practices associated with ensuring good health and cleanliness. ... Epidemiology is the study of factors affecting the health and illness of populations, and serves as the foundation and logic of interventions made in the interest of public health and preventive medicine. ... Cholera (or Asiatic cholera or epidemic cholera) is an extreme diarrheal disease caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. ... Cast-iron architecture in Greene Street SoHo is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ...

Early life and education

Snow was born 16 March 1813 in York, England. He was the first of nine children born to William and Frances Snow in their North Street home. His neighbourhood was one of the poorest in the city and was always in danger of flooding because of its proximity to the River Ouse. His father worked in the local coal yards, which were constantly replenished from the Yorkshire coalfields via barges on the Ouse. Snow was baptised Anglican at the church of All Saints, North Street. is the 75th day of the year (76th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1813 (MDCCCXIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... York shown within England Coordinates: , Sovereign state Constituent country Region Yorkshire and the Humber Ceremonial county North Yorkshire Admin HQ York City Centre Founded 71 City Status 71 Government  - Type Unitary Authority, City  - Governing body City of York Council  - Leadership: Leader & Executive  - Executive: Liberal Democrat  - MPs: Hugh Bayley (L) John... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... The River Ouse in York The River Ouse (pronounced ooze) in North Yorkshire, England flows through York and Selby. ... The term Anglican describes those people and churches following the religious traditions of the Church of England, especially following the Reformation. ... York had around forty-five parish churches in 1300. ...

All Saints, North Street.

Snow studied in York until the age of 14, when he was apprenticed to William Hardcastle, a surgeon in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. He later worked as a colliery surgeon. Between 1833 and 1836 he was an assistant in practice, first in Burnopfield, Durham, and then in Pateley Bridge, North Yorkshire. In October 1836 he enrolled as a student at the Hunterian school of medicine in Great Windmill Street, London. A year later, he began working at the Westminster Hospital and was admitted a member of the Royal College of Surgeons of England on 2 May 1838. He graduated from the University of London in December 1844, and was admitted to the Royal College of Physicians in 1850. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 449 × 599 pixelsFull resolution‎ (2,335 × 3,115 pixels, file size: 1. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 449 × 599 pixelsFull resolution‎ (2,335 × 3,115 pixels, file size: 1. ... This article is about the medical specialty. ... Burnopfield is a village in County Durham, in England. ... Westminster Hospital moved from Marsham Street to become Chelsea and Westminster Hospital at the old St Stephens Hospital site in 1994. ... The Royal College of Surgeons of England is an independent professional body committed to promoting and advancing the highest standards of surgical care for patients. ... May 2 is the 122nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (123rd in leap years). ... | Jöns Jakob Berzelius, discoverer of protein 1838 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Website http://www. ... College building by Denys Lasdun The Royal College of Physicians of London is the oldest medical institution in England was founded in 1518 and is one of the most active of all medical professional organisations. ...

Anaesthesia

Snow was one of the first physicians to study and calculate dosages for the use of ether and also chloroform as surgical anaesthesia. He personally administered chloroform to Queen Victoria when she gave birth to the last two of her nine children, Leopold in 1853 and Beatrice in 1857.^[1] This led to wider public acceptance of obstetric anaesthesia. Snow published an article on ether in 1847 entitled On the Inhalation of the Vapor of Ether. A longer work was published posthumously in 1858 entitled On Chloroform and Other Anaesthetics, and Their Action and Administration. This article is about the chemical compound. ... R-phrases , , , S-phrases , Flash point Non-flammable U.S. Permissible exposure limit (PEL) 50 ppm (240 mg/m3) (OSHA) Supplementary data page Structure and properties n, εr, etc. ... Anesthesia or anaesthesia (see spelling differences) has traditionally meant the condition of having the perception of pain and other sensations blocked. ... Victoria Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Empress of India Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria) (24 May 1819–22 January 1901) was a Queen of the United Kingdom, reigning from 20 June 1837 until her death. ... Obstetrics (from the Latin obstare, to stand by) is the surgical specialty dealing with the care of a woman and her offspring during pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium (the period shortly after birth). ...

Cholera

Original map by Dr. John Snow showing the clusters of cholera cases in the London epidemic of 1854

Snow was a skeptic of the then-dominant miasma theory and believed that the disease was transmitted by water contaminated by the waste of other cholera sufferers. The germ theory had not been formulated at this time, so he was unaware of the mechanism by which the disease was transmitted, but evidence led him to believe that it was not due to breathing foul air. He first publicized his theory in an essay On the Mode of Communication of Cholera in 1849. In 1855 a second edition was published, with a much more elaborate investigation of the effect of the water-supply in the Soho, London epidemic of 1854. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (3045x2840, 1155 KB)Original map made by John Snow in 1854, copied from http://matrix. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (3045x2840, 1155 KB)Original map made by John Snow in 1854, copied from http://matrix. ... The miasmatic theory of disease held that diseases such as cholera or the Black Death were caused by a miasma (Greek language: pollution), a noxious form of bad air. In general, this concept has been supplanted by the more scientifically founded germ theory of disease. ... The germ theory of disease states that many diseases are caused by microorganisms, and that microorganisms grow by reproduction, rather than being spontaneously generated. ... Cast-iron architecture in Greene Street SoHo is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ...

By talking to local residents (with the help of Reverend Henry Whitehead), he identified the source of the outbreak as the public water pump on Broad Street (now Broadwick Street). Although Snow's chemical and microscope examination of a sample of the Broad Street pump water was not able to conclusively prove its danger, his studies of the pattern of the disease were convincing enough to persuade the local council to disable the well pump by removing its handle. Although this action has been popularly reported as ending the outbreak, the epidemic may have already been in rapid decline, as explained by Snow himself: Broadwick Street showing the John Snow memorial and pub Broadwick Street (formerly Broad Street) is a street in Soho, City of Westminster London. ... Broadwick Street showing the John Snow memorial and pub Sited at the junction of Broad Street (today Broadwick Street) and Cambridge Street (today Lexington Street) in Soho, London W1, close to the rear wall of what is today is the John Snow pub. ...

Snow later used a spot map to illustrate how cases of cholera were centred around the pump. He also made a solid use of statistics to illustrate the connection between the quality of the source of water and cholera cases. He showed that companies taking water from sewage-polluted sections of the Thames delivered water to homes with an increased incidence of cholera. Snow's study was a major event in the history of public health, and can be regarded as the founding event of the science of epidemiology. This article is about the field of statistics. ... Sewage is the mainly liquid waste containing some solids produced by humans which typically consists of washing water, faeces, urine, laundry waste and other material which goes down drains and toilets from households and industry. ... The Lachine Canal, in Montreal, is badly polluted Pollution is the release of harmful environmental contaminants, or the substances so released. ... Several places exist with the name Thames, and the word is also used as part of several brand and company names Most famous is the River Thames in England, on which the city of London stands Other Thames Rivers There is a Thames River in Canada There is a Thames... This article is about the study of the past in human terms. ... Public health is concerned with threats to the overall health of a community based on population health analysis. ... A magnet levitating above a high-temperature superconductor demonstrates the Meissner effect. ... Epidemiology is the study of factors affecting the health and illness of populations, and serves as the foundation and logic of interventions made in the interest of public health and preventive medicine. ...

In Snow's own words:

On proceeding to the spot, I found that nearly all the deaths had taken place within a short distance of the [Broad Street] pump. There were only ten deaths in houses situated decidedly nearer to another street-pump. In five of these cases the families of the deceased persons informed me that they always sent to the pump in Broad Street, as they preferred the water to that of the pumps which were nearer. In three other cases, the deceased were children who went to school near the pump in Broad Street...

With regard to the deaths occurring in the locality belonging to the pump, there were 61 instances in which I was informed that the deceased persons used to drink the pump water from Broad Street, either constantly or occasionally...

The result of the inquiry, then, is, that there has been no particular outbreak or prevalence of cholera in this part of London except among the persons who were in the habit of drinking the water of the above-mentioned pump well.

I had an interview with the Board of Guardians of St James's parish, on the evening of the 7th inst [Sept 7], and represented the above circumstances to them. In consequence of what I said, the handle of the pump was removed on the following day.

—John Snow, letter to the editor of the Medical Times and Gazette

It was discovered later that this public well had been dug only three feet from an old cesspit that had begun to leak fecal bacteria. A baby who had contracted cholera from another source had its diapers washed into this cesspit, the opening of which was under a nearby house that had been rebuilt farther away after a fire had destroyed the previous structure, and the street was widened by the city. It was common at the time to have a cesspit under most homes. Most families tried to have their raw sewage collected and dumped in the Thames to prevent their cesspit from filling faster than the sewage could decompose into the soil.

Funerary monument, Brompton Cemetery, London

Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 450 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (600 × 800 pixel, file size: 476 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Photo that I have taken. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 450 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (600 × 800 pixel, file size: 476 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Photo that I have taken. ...

Later life

Snow was an ardent teetotaler and believed in drinking pure water (via boiling) throughout his adult life. He never married. Teetotalism is the principle or practice of complete abstinence from alcoholic beverages. ...

At the age of 45, Snow suffered a stroke while working in his London office on 10 June 1858.^[2] He never recovered , dying on 16 June 1858 and is buried in Brompton Cemetery.^[3] is the 167th day of the year (168th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1858 (MDCCCLVIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Brompton Cemetery is a cemetery located near Earls Court in West Brompton, a part of the Borough of Kensington & Chelsea in west London, England. ...

Memorials

John Snow memorial and public house

There is a plaque commemorating Snow and his 1854 study in the place of the water pump on Broad Street (now Broadwick Street) with a water pump with its handle removed, near what is now "The John Snow" public house. The spot where the pump stood is covered with red granite. ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (1920x2560, 1738 KB) Description: John Snow memorial and pub, Broadwick Street, London Photographer: User:Justinc File links The following pages link to this file: Soho John Snow (physician) Broadwick Street ... ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (1920x2560, 1738 KB) Description: John Snow memorial and pub, Broadwick Street, London Photographer: User:Justinc File links The following pages link to this file: Soho John Snow (physician) Broadwick Street ... Pub redirects here. ...

In York, there is a blue plaque to Snow on the west end of the Park Inn, a hotel in North Street. A blue plaque showing information about The Spanish Barn at Torre Abbey in Torquay. ...

John Snow was voted in a poll of British doctors in 2003 as the greatest physician of all time.

Snow gives his name to John Snow College, founded in 2001 on the University of Durham's Queen's Campus in Stockton-on-Tees. John Snow College is a college of the University of Durham in England, and one of two located at Queens Campus in Stockton-on-Tees, 37 km (23 miles) south of the city of Durham itself. ... Durham University is a university in England. ... Stockton-on-Tees is an industrial town and port on the River Tees in north-eastern England. ...

Snow is one of the heraldic supporters of the Royal College of Anaesthetists. The Royal College of Anaesthetists is the professional body responsible for the specialty of anaesthesia throughout the United Kingdom. It sets standards in anaesthesia, critical care, pain management, and for the training of anaesthetists and those practising critical care physicians. ...

The public health consulting firm John Snow, Inc is named after him. John Snow, Inc (JSI) is a public health research and consulting firm in the United States and around the world. ...

See also

• William Farr

William Farr in 1870 William Farr (November 30, 1807 - April 14, 1883) was a nineteenth century British epidemiologist, regarded as one of the founders of medical statistics. ...

Sources

• Peter Vinten-Johansen et al., Cholera, Chloroform, and the Science of Medicine: A Life of John Snow. OUP, 2003. ISBN 0-19-513544-X

• Edward Tufte, Visual Explanations, chapter 2. Graphics Press, 1997. ISBN 0-9613921-2-6

• T. W. Körner, The Pleasures of Counting, chapter 1. CUP 1996. ISBN 0-521-56823-4

• Steven Berlin Johnson, The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic - and How it Changed Science, Cities and the Modern World (2006) ISBN 1-59448-925-4

• Shapin, Steven. (2006, November 6) [Electronic version]. Sick City: Maps and mortality in the time of cholera. The New Yorker. Retrieved November 10, 2006.

Edward Rolf Tufte (IPA /ˈtʌf. ... Thomas William Körner (born February 17, 1946) is a British pure mathematician. ... Steven Berlin Johnson Steven Berlin Johnson (born June 6, 1968) is an American popular science author. ... Steven Shapin is Franklin L. Ford Professor of the History of Science, joining Harvard in 2004 after previous appointments as Professor of Sociology at the University of California, San Diego, and at the Science Studies Unit, Edinburgh University. ...

References

HTTP (for HyperText Transfer Protocol) is the primary method used to convey information on the World Wide Web. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 233rd day of the year (234th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Riverhead Books is a division of Penguin Group (USA). ... HTTP (for HyperText Transfer Protocol) is the primary method used to convey information on the World Wide Web. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 233rd day of the year (234th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• UCLA site devoted to the life of Dr. John Snow
• Myth and reality regarding the Broad Street pump
• John Snow Society
• Source for Snow's letter to the Editor of the Medical Times and Gazette