What contribution did Edward Jenner make to medicine?

The person I have chosen to write about is Edward Jenner. He was born in 1749 and is famous as the first doctor to introduce and study the smallpox vaccine. I am interested by his work as it was the basis of the science of immunology, resulting in many medical advances, the benefits of which can be seen in medicine today.

Smallpox is a virus spread through coughing, sneezing and physical contact with an infected person. Epidemics broke out in Britain every few years, resulting in many deaths. In the eighteenth century a method of inoculation was introduced to Britain. This reduced the chance of dying from smallpox, yet it carried with it many risks. Whilst offering inoculations against smallpox, Edward Jenner, a doctor from Gloucestershire, discovered that those who had previously suffered from cowpox were less likely to catch smallpox than those who hadn’t. He subsequently came up with the idea of using cowpox, a mild disease, as a method of prevention.

In an attempt to prove this theory, Jenner conducted an experiment in which he took matter from a cowpox sore and inserted it into a boy through two cuts. After slight uneasiness in the following days, the boy was perfectly well. He was then inoculated with smallpox matter, which was repeated again several months later, but no disease followed on either occasion. After completing the experiment 23 times, he came to the conclusion that ‘cowpox protects the human constitution from the infection of smallpox’.

Although Jenner was unable to prove his theory, his vaccination saved many ...