Did an ancient civilization discover antibiotics?

We can all agree that modern medicine is "advanced," however a vague term that may be. We can, with relative ease, image the deepest parts of the body, identify and treat innumerable pathogens, and use machines to keep people alive even when their kidneys, hearts, and lungs are failing. It's hard to imagine practicing medicine (let alone being a patient) centuries ago when now routine things like albuterol for asthma or an EKG for chest pain were not yet around. Here's a humbling thought: In a few hundred years, won't people talk about how primitive and ignorant medicine used to be in 2024? It makes you wonder whether we should so quickly discount the medical capabilities of our ancestors. In this episode of The Curious Clinicians, we investigate whether ancient civilizations actually knew about something we regard as a triumph of modern medicine: antibiotics.

0:00 Introduction
4:38 Alexander Fleming, lysozyme, and penicillin
9:30 First use of penicillin
10:40 Ancient antibiotics
16:40 Potential source of the tetracyclines
19:42 Was the exposure deliberate?
22:56 Take-home points

iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast...
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0aKts5f...
X:   / curiousclinpod  
Website: https://curiousclinicians.com/
Substack: https://thecuriousclinicians.substack...

The information contained in this episode is for educational and entertainment purposes only and does not constitute medical advice.