Imagine a world without medicine. Those who fell ill had a few days to live until the disease completely took over their body. Their organs began to shut down, eventually killing the person with this disease. This was the world before 1860. People were not aware of the existence of germs. A germ is defined by Webster as an organism that causes disease. The effects of germs on everyone's lives led to widespread epidemics of cholera, the Black Death, and smallpox. The discovery of germs led to what is now called the most spectacular medical advance of the 19th century. Louis Pasteur is credited with the discovery of germ theory. It is thanks to his numerous experiments that germ theory became the innovative phenomenon that it is today. Germ theory has an important place in European history because it discovered that certain diseases are caused by the invasion of the body by microorganisms and has since contributed to the creation of vaccines and antibiotics. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Before the discovery of germ theory, apothecaries, herbalism, and tradition dominated the medical field. In medieval times, many believed that by opening the vein, disease would find a way to seep in. Bloodletting was used to treat a wide range of illnesses and was practiced for defensive and therapeutic purposes. It has become a standard treatment for almost all diseases. People began cutting themselves with pieces of lead, resulting in lead poisoning that killed the person faster than the disease itself. Apothecaries often created elaborate potions and sold them for very high prices. This has driven people out of business because they were trying to medicate themselves. The desire for better medical treatments has been around for a long time; however, because all the sleight of hand people believed led them to even more harm. Dealing with disease before the advent of germ theory only proved increasingly problematic. These treatments were often unsanitary and led to worsening of the disease. Unsanitary conditions in medical centers led to the outbreak of gangrene. Gangrene began to dominate hospitals, claiming the lives and limbs of many Europeans. A broader look at medicine before 1860 can be described as chaotic and unnecessary. The medical field needed to understand the cause of the disease before it could begin to treat it. Until the middle of the 19th century, life expectancy worldwide was twenty years. Fever is by far the leading cause of infant mortality, killing far more people than war and famine. There were many types of fever, but doctors could hardly offer precise descriptions and correct diagnosis until the rise of clinical sanitation in Parisian hospitals around the time of the French Revolution. A common debate among all doctors was whether the disease was intrinsic or extrinsic. Many doctors, including Antoine Lavoisier, came to the conclusion that the disease was in fact intrinsic. John Snow, however, did not realize that fevers were contagious. The rise of curiosity about medicine led to the formal experiments of Louis Pasteur which led to the discovery of germ theory. Louis Pasteur was born into a modest, Catholic French family. He was described as an average student who loved fishing. After a path strewn with pitfalls to obtain his master's degree in science,Pastur became a professor and chemist at the same time. However, his profession quickly changed. In 1848, when he was appointed chair of chemistry at the University of Strasbourg. Although this is the beginning of Pasteur's work, it is classified by historians and scientists as "one of the most renowned works in scientific history." After completing his research on particles called tartrates, Pasteur decided to expand his research and began studying fermentation. He wrote about alcoholic fermentation and discovered that fermentation is simply the breakdown of yeast particles. The discovery of beverage contamination led Pasteur to the idea that microorganisms that infect animals and humans cause disease. From this discovery, he proposed the idea that microorganisms can enter the body and cause harmful infections. It was thanks to this discovery that Joseph Lister was able to create antiseptics and perform clean and hygienic surgery. Pasteur has a lasting legacy because of his remarkable breakthroughs in medicine, vaccination and fermentation. The idea of ​​germ theory arose from the formal experiments of Louis Pasteur. Pasteur began his experiments with milk and alcoholic beverages. The main idea of ​​germ theory was to test and see at what temperature microorganisms are alive and become harmful to the human body. Following his fermentation experiments, Pasteur showed that the skin of grapes is a natural source of yeast and that sterilized grapes never ferment. He took grape juice from under the skin of a grape with a sterilized needle and covered the grapes with a sterilized cloth. Both experiments failed to produce wine in sterilized containers. These ideas contradicted previously accepted ideas of spontaneous generation. This is the supposed production of living organisms from non-living matter, as inferred from the apparent appearance of life in certain supposedly sterile environments. Pasteur then carried out numerous experiments which disproved spontaneous generation. By disproving spontaneous generation, Louis Pasteur proved to scientists that his germ theory was worth believing. Robert Koch began studying Bacillus Anthracis, more commonly known as anthrax. This disease originated in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. First, Koch chose to study the effect of anthrax on farm animals. Koch collected anthrax bacteria from farm animals that died of the disease and used them to infect healthy mice. He also conducted an experiment, using the same method but replacing the anthrax with blood from healthy cows. Mice infected with the disease developed anthrax and died, but mice not infected with the bacteria remained healthy. Koch had hard evidence that anthrax bacteria caused the disease. He then began producing pure samples of anthrax bacteria, which showed that the bacteria itself was potent enough to cause disease on its own. The results of this Koch experiment proved seminal to earlier ideas about microbiology. While Koch helped Pasteur in many ways, he was also able to discover even more specific bacteria in his own experiments. Thanks to the creation of Koch's postulates, he was able to discover the bacteria that caused tuberculosis and took the lives of many people in the 19th century. The effects of germ theory have been both short and long term. The short-term effects were significant and very immediate. The germ of coal.