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- Title
"Life in a Germ-Free World": Isolating Life from the Laboratory Animal to the Bubble Boy.
- Authors
Kirk, Robert G. W.
- Abstract
This article examines a specific technology, the germ-free "isolator," tracing its development across three sites: (1) the laboratory for the production of standard laboratory animals, (2) agriculture for the efficient production of farm animals, and (3) the hospital for the control and prevention of cross-infection and the protection of individuals from infection. Germ-free technology traveled across the laboratory sciences, clinical and veterinary medicine, and industry, yet failed to become institutionalized outside the laboratory. That germ-free technology worked was not at issue. Working, however, was not enough. Examining the history of a technology that failed to find widespread application reveals the labor involved in aligning cultural, societal, and material factors necessary for successful medical innovation.
- Subjects
GERMFREE life; GERMFREE animals; BIOETHICS; LABORATORY animals; BACTERIOLOGICAL apparatus; SCIENTIFIC experimentation; REYNIERS, James Arthur; PATHOGENIC microorganisms; EQUIPMENT &; supplies
- Publication
Bulletin of the History of Medicine, 2012, Vol 86, Issue 2, p237
- ISSN
0007-5140
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1353/bhm.2012.0028