Medical Inventions — Set 5

Correct Answer: B. Ronald Ross

• **Ronald Ross** = discovered and proved the connection between female Anopheles mosquitoes and the transmission of malaria. • **1897** — the year Ronald Ross proved that female Anopheles mosquitoes transmit malaria, a discovery that earned him the Nobel Prize in 1902. • 💡 Wrong-option analysis: Charles Laveran: discovered the malaria parasite in human blood; Walter Reed: proved that mosquitoes transmit yellow fever; Robert Koch: discovered the bacteria causing anthrax and tuberculosis, not malaria transmission by mosquitoes.

Correct Answer: A. Earl Hanson

• **Earl Hanson** = invented the 'Vactuphone', the first modern portable hearing aid using vacuum tubes, in 1920. • **1920** — the year Earl Hanson invented the 'Vactuphone', a portable hearing aid that used electronic tubes for sound amplification. • 💡 Wrong-option analysis: Thomas Edison: invented the phonograph and light bulb, not a hearing aid; Miller Reese Hutchison: invented an earlier, but not vacuum-tube based, electric hearing aid called the Acousticon; Alexander Graham Bell: invented the telephone and worked with hearing impaired, but did not invent the Vactuphone.

Correct Answer: A. Robert Koch

• **Robert Koch** = discovered Bacillus Anthracis as the definitive cause of Anthrax and demonstrated its lifecycle. • **1876** — the year Robert Koch isolated the anthrax bacterium and demonstrated its lifecycle, definitively linking a microbe to a disease. • 💡 Wrong-option analysis: John Snow: known for his work on the cholera epidemic in London, establishing epidemiology; Louis Pasteur: championed the germ theory but Koch specifically identified the anthrax bacillus; Joseph Lister: pioneered antiseptic surgery, applying germ theory principles.

Correct Answer: C. Colin Murdoch

• **Colin Murdoch** = invented the first mass-producible disposable plastic syringe in 1954 to reduce infection risk. • **1954** — the year New Zealand pharmacist Colin Murdoch invented the disposable plastic syringe, now a standard tool in global clinics. • 💡 Wrong-option analysis: Phil Brooks: associated with the development of injection molding, a manufacturing process, not the syringe itself; Manuel Jalón: invented the disposable mop and bucket; Becton Dickinson: a major medical technology company, produces syringes but did not invent the disposable syringe itself.

Correct Answer: A. Luc Montagnier and Françoise Barré-Sinoussi

• **Luc Montagnier and Françoise Barré-Sinoussi** = discovered the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), the virus that causes AIDS. • **1983** — the year Montagnier and Barré-Sinoussi identified the retrovirus (HIV) at the Pasteur Institute, leading to diagnostic tests and therapies. • 💡 Wrong-option analysis: Robert Gallo: also played a significant role in HIV research, confirming its link to AIDS, but the initial isolation and discovery were attributed to the French team; Anthony Fauci: a prominent immunologist and director of NIAID, known for his work on AIDS and other infectious diseases; Jonas Salk: developed the first effective polio vaccine.

Correct Answer: A. Manuel García

• **Manuel García** = pioneered the invention of the laryngoscope by using mirrors to view his own larynx. • **1854** — Manuel García used a pair of mirrors to view his own larynx, laying the foundation for laryngology. • 💡 Wrong-option analysis: [Johann Czermak]: helped popularize the laryngoscope for medical use; [James Yearsley]: known for contributions to otology; [Joseph Toynbee]: a pioneer in otology research.

Correct Answer: A. Walter Reed

• **Walter Reed** = led the team that experimentally proved yellow fever is transmitted by mosquitoes. • **Cuba** — Walter Reed's team conducted experiments here to prove the mosquito transmission theory for yellow fever. • 💡 Wrong-option analysis: [Carlos Finlay]: first proposed the mosquito transmission theory for yellow fever; [William Gorgas]: applied Walter Reed's findings to eradicate yellow fever in Panama Canal zone; [John Snow]: famous for mapping cholera outbreaks.

Correct Answer: D. Guy Faget

• **Guy Faget** = successfully used Promin as the first effective treatment for leprosy in 1941. • **1941** — Guy Faget successfully used Promin, the first 'miracle drug' that offered hope to those suffering from leprosy. • 💡 Wrong-option analysis: [Paul Ehrlich]: developed the first syphilis treatment Salvarsan; [Gerhard Domagk]: discovered the first sulfonamide drug, Prontosil; [Robert Koch]: famous for identifying the causes of diseases like tuberculosis and cholera.

Correct Answer: D. John Snow

• **John Snow** = famously created the first maps showing the spread of cholera during an 1854 outbreak. • **1854** — John Snow identified a contaminated water pump as the source of a London cholera epidemic during this year. • 💡 Wrong-option analysis: [William Budd]: made key observations about typhoid fever transmission; [Robert Koch]: identified the bacterium causing cholera (Vibrio cholerae); [Filippo Pacini]: first identified the Vibrio cholerae bacterium in 1854.

Correct Answer: A. Philip Drinker and Louis Shaw

• **Philip Drinker and Louis Shaw** = invented the iron lung, a mechanical respirator used primarily for polio patients. • **1928** — They developed the negative-pressure ventilator at Harvard University, saving lives of many polio patients. • 💡 Wrong-option analysis: [Forrest Bird]: invented modern mechanical ventilators for respiratory care; [George Poe]: not a widely recognized inventor of respiratory equipment; [John Emerson]: improved the iron lung and developed other respirators.