MICR 4423 - Final Exam Questions and
Answers
What characterized medicine before the late 19th century? - Answer-the four humors//paliative or
aggressive
What were some common medical interventions? - Answer-Palliative and aggressive interventions -
non-curative but relieves symptoms, often did more harm than good; make you bleed, urinate, deficate
Who defined the "four humors" theory and when was it defined? - Answer-Galen in 150 A.D
What are the four humors? - Answer-black bile, yellow bile, phlegm, and blood
Contrast the treatments required by the "four humors" theory of disease and the germ theory of
disease. - Answer-Germ Theory - finding the bacteria and killing/stopping growth of it
4 Humors: miasma; rebalancing the humors
About when did the antibiotic age begin? - Answer-the first half of the 1940's
what was the first widely availible antibiotic? When were the first patients treated with it? - Answer-
penicillin-Albert Alexander (1941) and Ann Miller (1942)
,when did the first antibiotic become widely available ? - Answer-1945
who was the first person to be treated with penicillin and then went on to live out a long life? - Answer-
ann miller (1942)
How was the discovery of dyes that specifically stain particular cell types logically related to the search
for antibacterial drugs? - Answer-the dyes were able to help distinguish between different cells and
made the progress quicker
What physical property of Salvarsan and Prontosil made them difficult to administer? - Answer-They
were not water soluble
What sulfanilamide-related disaster in Tulsa led to tighter federal regulations of drug labeling and
composition? - Answer-The toxic raspberry elixir of sulfanilamide mixed into diethyl glycogen - killed
people who took it
Who is typically credited with the discovery of penicillin? What were his key contributions? - Answer-
Fleming; discovered it kills bacteria and that it's harmless to humans
What was the principal problem that prevented Fleming from developing penicillin as a treatment? -
Answer-wasn't able to isolate enough in a stable form to study it further
Who composed the team that brought treatment with penicillin from an idea to reality, and what were
their roles? Where did they work? When did they conduct the bulk of their work? - Answer-1. Dunn
School Team
- Florey - project leader
- Chain - Chemist
- Heatley - engineer/mechanical genius
, 2. Worked at the Dunn School in Oxford
3. Worked from 1937-1941
What were the three key advancements in penicillin production that were made at the Northern Lab in
Peoria, IL, and how did they take place? - Answer-1. hyper producing strain (from moldy cantaloupe)
2. improved medium (corn steep liquor + sugar)
3. deep tank fermentation (scale it up)
What got US pharmaceutical companies interested in penicillin production? - Answer-War Resources
Board; Got to keep all intellectual property, $200 per million unit, tax breaks, grants to build equipment;
given all the info, so already known about about the drug
What disaster in Boston put penicillin in the spotlight? - Answer-The cocoanut grove fire
After penicillin, what was the next antibiotic to be discovered? Who discovered it? What class of
antibiotics does it represent? What class of microorganisms produces it? What was it good for that
penicillin was not? - Answer-1. Streptomycin - Albert Shatz
2. Class aminoglycosides
3. Class of microorganism actinomycetes
4. It cured tuberculosis TB
Why did it matter that Aureomycin and Terramycin were chemically distinct, despite being extremely
similar? - Answer-so they can patent as different drugs
How do gram-positive and gram-negative cells typically differ with respect to their cell envelope? -
Answer-Gram pos: inner membrane and a thick cell wall of peptidoglycan
gram neg: inner membrane, cell wall, and outer membrane (LPS)
Answers
What characterized medicine before the late 19th century? - Answer-the four humors//paliative or
aggressive
What were some common medical interventions? - Answer-Palliative and aggressive interventions -
non-curative but relieves symptoms, often did more harm than good; make you bleed, urinate, deficate
Who defined the "four humors" theory and when was it defined? - Answer-Galen in 150 A.D
What are the four humors? - Answer-black bile, yellow bile, phlegm, and blood
Contrast the treatments required by the "four humors" theory of disease and the germ theory of
disease. - Answer-Germ Theory - finding the bacteria and killing/stopping growth of it
4 Humors: miasma; rebalancing the humors
About when did the antibiotic age begin? - Answer-the first half of the 1940's
what was the first widely availible antibiotic? When were the first patients treated with it? - Answer-
penicillin-Albert Alexander (1941) and Ann Miller (1942)
,when did the first antibiotic become widely available ? - Answer-1945
who was the first person to be treated with penicillin and then went on to live out a long life? - Answer-
ann miller (1942)
How was the discovery of dyes that specifically stain particular cell types logically related to the search
for antibacterial drugs? - Answer-the dyes were able to help distinguish between different cells and
made the progress quicker
What physical property of Salvarsan and Prontosil made them difficult to administer? - Answer-They
were not water soluble
What sulfanilamide-related disaster in Tulsa led to tighter federal regulations of drug labeling and
composition? - Answer-The toxic raspberry elixir of sulfanilamide mixed into diethyl glycogen - killed
people who took it
Who is typically credited with the discovery of penicillin? What were his key contributions? - Answer-
Fleming; discovered it kills bacteria and that it's harmless to humans
What was the principal problem that prevented Fleming from developing penicillin as a treatment? -
Answer-wasn't able to isolate enough in a stable form to study it further
Who composed the team that brought treatment with penicillin from an idea to reality, and what were
their roles? Where did they work? When did they conduct the bulk of their work? - Answer-1. Dunn
School Team
- Florey - project leader
- Chain - Chemist
- Heatley - engineer/mechanical genius
, 2. Worked at the Dunn School in Oxford
3. Worked from 1937-1941
What were the three key advancements in penicillin production that were made at the Northern Lab in
Peoria, IL, and how did they take place? - Answer-1. hyper producing strain (from moldy cantaloupe)
2. improved medium (corn steep liquor + sugar)
3. deep tank fermentation (scale it up)
What got US pharmaceutical companies interested in penicillin production? - Answer-War Resources
Board; Got to keep all intellectual property, $200 per million unit, tax breaks, grants to build equipment;
given all the info, so already known about about the drug
What disaster in Boston put penicillin in the spotlight? - Answer-The cocoanut grove fire
After penicillin, what was the next antibiotic to be discovered? Who discovered it? What class of
antibiotics does it represent? What class of microorganisms produces it? What was it good for that
penicillin was not? - Answer-1. Streptomycin - Albert Shatz
2. Class aminoglycosides
3. Class of microorganism actinomycetes
4. It cured tuberculosis TB
Why did it matter that Aureomycin and Terramycin were chemically distinct, despite being extremely
similar? - Answer-so they can patent as different drugs
How do gram-positive and gram-negative cells typically differ with respect to their cell envelope? -
Answer-Gram pos: inner membrane and a thick cell wall of peptidoglycan
gram neg: inner membrane, cell wall, and outer membrane (LPS)
