Source Analysis Practice
Part of The Surgery Revolution — GCSE History
This source analysis covers Source Analysis Practice within The Surgery Revolution for GCSE History. Revise The Surgery Revolution in Medicine Through Time for GCSE History with 8 exam-style questions and 4 flashcards. This is a high-frequency topic, so it is worth revising until the explanation feels precise and repeatable. It is section 9 of 16 in this topic. Use this source analysis to connect the idea to the wider topic before moving on to questions and flashcards.
Topic position
Section 9 of 16
Practice
8 questions
Recall
4 flashcards
📜 Source Analysis Practice
Applying NOP Analysis:
Nature: Medical journal article — formal scientific publication reporting clinical results
Origin: Joseph Lister, surgeon at Glasgow Royal Infirmary, writing in The Lancet to inform fellow surgeons
Purpose: To present evidence for antiseptic surgery and persuade the medical profession to adopt carbolic acid
Grade 9 Model Paragraph:
This source is useful for an enquiry into the development of antiseptic surgery because it provides Lister's own contemporary evidence that carbolic acid eliminated the ward infections — pyaemia, gangrene, erysipelas — that had previously killed approximately 46% of his surgical patients. Published in The Lancet, the most respected British medical journal, it shows that by 1867 Lister had sufficient data to make a public scientific claim. However, its utility is limited because Lister, as the developer of the technique, had a clear professional interest in positive results. His evidence was also fiercely disputed by surgeons who questioned his methods, and the death rate reduction only gradually won acceptance over the following fifteen to twenty years.