Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to E Y Bridson.
Quantal microbiology describes a similarity between physics and microbiology. In both sciences there is an apparent dichotomy between the certainty and stability of the macro-subject and the uncertainty/complexity of the individual atom/cell. Classical physics is to quantum mechanics as classical microbiology is to quantal microbiology.
The epidemics of puerperal fever in the 18th and 19th centuries began soon after the creation of Lying-in hospitals in the mid-18th century. The primary purpose of these hospitals was to provide physicians with training in obstetrics in general and in forceps deliveries in particular. The first reports describing epidemics of puerperal fever, its contagiousness and control were made by British physicians in the latter half of the 18th century. Alexander Gordon provided epidemiological evidence of contagion in 1792, and Oliver Wendell Holmes in the USA reviewed these reports in his paper on outbreaks of puerperal fever around Boston in 1843. Ignaz Semmelweis in Vienna, unaware of previous work on this disease, re-discovered the actions required to control the contagion in 1847, but published his paper much later in 1861. A few enlightened doctors struggled to prove that puerperal fever was contagious and could be spread by doctors and midwives. Their peers and colleagues predominantly displayed apathy and ignorance until forced to act by the weight of evidence. However, it was the multitude of parturient women who paid the ultimate price for these iatrogenic epidemics.
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A method for detecting the growth of micro-organisms in blood culture by a visual signal is described. The system utilises a single blood culture medium that has been specifically formulated to support growth of aerobic, anaerobic, and microaerophilic micro-organisms. The system is based on the principle that when micro-organisms grow in the medium in a sealed bottle their metabolic products create positive pressure. This positive pressure displaces the infected blood and broth into an upper chamber, which acts as a visual signal of microbial activity. All the test micro-organisms, when inoculated at less than 20 colony forming units into simulated human blood cultures, gave a positive signal.
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The medium is undoubtedly one of the most important factors influencing the sensitivity testing techniques. The possible role of pH and different components of media, as such as the concentration of peptone, tymidine or tymine, riboflavin, cations (MG++, Ca++, Fe++), mineral salts, agar and phosphate (added eventually with buffer solutions) is discussed. The conclusions point to the need of synthetic media which are suitable for growing all common pathogens and to not interfere with the antibacterial activity of drugs.
Semi-defined susceptibility media are a compromise between undefined and totally defined media. Antibiotic antagonism can still occur in semi-defined media. The undefined nutrients antagonizing sulphonamide/trimethroprim and the defined additives antagonizing other antibiotics. Methods used to overcome these problems are discussed.
Undefined culture media have played a major role in diagnostic microbiology for 100 years. Chaos theory explains why increased knowledge of microbial systems has failed to predict defined nutritional requirements for the isolation of organisms. A brief description of Chaos theory is given and three microbiological areas of unpredictability are discussed: uncertain identity of isolates, unknown stress damage, unexplored variation of individual colony populations. Probably all living biological systems are non-linear, complex interactions and operate within Chaos theory.