title: Penicillin: promise, problems and practice in wartime Edinburgh.
abstract: While medical historians have paid ample attention to the introduction of antibiotics and their impact on hospital-based practice during and after the Second World War, the multiple issues surrounding their use in Scottish hospitalsare sorely lacking in current discussions. Drawing on an extensive yet underused range of materials including patient treatment records, oral histories and medical correspondence, this paper explores the introduction of penicillin for civilian treatment at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh during the closing stages of the War. It highlights the success of the drug in clinical treatment as well as its shortcomings, offering an alternative view of its initial impact on surgical practice.
authors.affiliation: S Gardiner, Centre for the History of Medicine, Lilybank House, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8RT, UK, E-mail s.gardiner.1@research.gla.ac.uk.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gardiner
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000266:history* / Q000600:supply & distribution / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004352:Drug Resistance, Microbial; D013502:General Surgery / Q000266:history; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006761:Hospitals / Q000266:history*; D006801:Humans; D017053:Infection Control / Q000266:history* / Q000379:methods; D010406:Penicillins / Q000266:history* / Q000600:supply & distribution / Q000627:therapeutic use; D012606:Scotland; D014857:Warfare; D047789:World War II
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D010406:Penicillins
keywords: Edinburgh; antibiotic resistance; infection control; penicillin