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The Influence of Somatic and Psychiatric Medical Theory on the Design of Nineteenth Century American Cities. Robert Hewitt, Assistant Professor Department of Landscape Architecture 210 Unit D Tel. (814) 8651421 FAX (814) 8638137 Email: rrh5@psu.edu Summary The paper examines the parallel development of nineteenth-century medical and environmental design theories that correlated local environmental conditions with a settlement’s physiological and psychological health, suggesting that while medical theory during the period exhibited great breadth and variety, particularly significant to the development of nineteenth-century urban America was the influence of miasma theory, and a group of emerging psychiatric theories concerned with the apparent increase in urban insanity.
Introduction A survey of representative urban histories treating the influence of medical thought on nineteenth-century cities suggests several “natural breaks” within the larger body of work. About The Miasma Theory. The miasma theory of disease originated in the Middle Ages and continued for centuries as an accepted idea behind the cause of infectious diseases. In the miasma theory, it was believed that vapour, mist, or ‘bad air’, originating from decomposing material (called miasmata) with its foul smell, would enter the body and cause disease.
In time this theory, like many others, were proved largely to be incorrect. But they were on to something that is now the basis for understanding the transmission of communicable diseases. The existence of the miasma theory was central to the new convention in Public Health practice as scientists now began focusing their attention on environmental problems as a cause of disease, instead of just focusing on personal health and infection. The seeds of Public Health were being sown. Unsanitary conditions in the home and in public spaces were finally being connected to disease contagion. All About Viruses and Bacteria - -Home- Hey, welcome to this website. If you were some how direct this website thanks for coming. This website is all about- Miasma%20Analysis. Competing Theories of Cholera. During the mid-1800s, there were two major theories on the cause of cholera being debated widely in medical circles throughout London. The organism (seen here) that caused cholera, Vibrio cholerae, was not yet known and would not be until 1883, twenty five years after the death of John Snow.
In that year, Robert Koch, a German physician and bacteriologist, discovered the etiologic microbe. Many in the early to mid-nineteenth century felt that cholera was caused by bad air, arising from decayed organic matter or miasmata. "Miasma" was believed to pass from cases to susceptibles in diseases considered contagious. Miasma theory. In miasma theory, diseases were caused by the presence in the air of a miasma, a poisonous vapour in which were suspended particles of decaying matter that was characterised by its foul smell. The theory originated in the Middle Ages and endured for several centuries. That a killer disease like malaria is so named - from the Italian mala ‘bad’ and aria ‘air’ - is evidence of its suspected miasmic origins. In 19th-century England the miasma theory made sense to the sanitary reformers. Rapid industrialisation and urbanisation had created many poor, filthy and foul-smelling city neighbourhoods that tended to be the focal points of disease and epidemics.
By improving the housing, sanitation and general cleanliness of these existing areas, levels of disease were seen to fall, an observation that lent weight to the theory. Miasma theory. A representation of the cholera epidemic of the 19th century depicts the spread of the disease in the form of poisonous air.
The miasma theory (also called the miasmatic theory) held that diseases such as cholera, chlamydia or the Black Death were caused by a miasma (Μίασμα, ancient Greek: "pollution"), a noxious form of "bad air", also known as "night air". The theory held that the origin of epidemics was due to a miasma, emanating from rotting organic matter.[1] The miasma theory was accepted from ancient times in Europe, India, and China. The theory was eventually displaced in the 19th century by the discovery of germs and the germ theory of disease.
Etymology[edit] The word Miasma comes from ancient Greek and means "pollution".[2] The idea also gave rise to the name malaria (literally "bad air") through medieval Italian. Views worldwide[edit] Miasma was considered to be a poisonous vapor or mist filled with particles from decomposed matter (miasmata) that caused illnesses.
See also[edit]