Doctor Whom? Quiz | Occupational Trivia

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. The first accurate description of the circulatory system and the properties of blood was done by Doctor Whom?

Answer: William Harvey

For a man born in 1578 in Folkestone, England, William Harvey did plenty of circulating of his own. He traveled through France and Germany before moving on to the University of Padua in Italy where he graduated as a Doctor of Medicine.

He then returned to England and in the very same year also graduated as a Doctor of Medicine at Cambridge.

2. A successful vaccine against the crippling disease poliomyelitis was developed by Doctor Whom?

Answer: Jonas Salk

He refused to patent his vaccine because personal profit was less important to him than getting it distributed as widely as possible. Truly, a great man. How many researchers would do the same today as he did in 1955?

3. Phenol, formerly known as carbolic acid, was first used to sterilize surgical instruments and clean wounds by Doctor Whom?

Answer: Joseph Lister

Joseph Lister was the founder or one of the founders of antiseptic surgery. However the reason his name will be familiar to the average person today is because Listerine was named in his honor. Listerine was first produced as a surgical antiseptic in 1879, but didn't become a success until it was marketed as a cure for bad breath in the 1920s.

4. Mass media was first used in the 1980s to educate the public about sex, sexuality and sexual problems by Doctor Whom?

Answer: Ruth Westheimer

Perhaps the name Westheimer seems unfamiliar because so many people know her only as "Doctor Ruth".

Not many people would know that she was trained as both a scout and a sharpshooter and was injured in the 1948 Israeli War of Independence.

5. Vaccinating someone with cowpox, then deliberately exposing them to smallpox to prove that they would not catch the deadly disease was first done by Doctor Whom?

Answer: Edward Jenner

He was not the first person to vaccinate with cowpox and may even have been aware of earlier work done in this field. However, he was the first to popularize the treatment both with his dramatic demonstration and with his reports and findings presented to the Royal Society of Medicine. What his 8 year old patient thought about the experiment we can only imagine. (Nowadays this kind of test would be regarded as unethical. If Jenner's assumption had been mistaken, the boy would almost certainly have contracted smallpox).

He has been called the father of immunology and it is said that by popularizing vaccination and eradicating smallpox he has saved more lives than any other man.

6. A method of helping someone who is choking was invented by Doctor Whom?

Answer: Henry Heimlich

The Heimlich Maneuver can be a very useful thing to know.

If someone is choking on some food you should first try dislodging it by hitting them on the back. If that doesn't work then you should try the Heimlich Maneuver. Stand behind them with your arms looped around their abdomen. Your dominant hand should make a fist with the thumb inside it, placed just below their breastbone. Jerk inwards and upwards as though you are trying to lift them off their feet. This movement is also called abdominal thrusts. If this is unsuccessful call emergency services immediately.

7. The germs that cause anthrax, cholera and tuberculosis were identified by Doctor Whom?

Answer: Robert Koch

Koch was inspired by Pasteur's work on determining the causes of infectious diseases. He created the famous Koch's Postulates which are used to determine whether a particular organism causes a particular disease:

1. A specific microorganism is always associated with a given disease.
2. The microorganism can be isolated from the diseased animal and grown in pure
culture in the laboratory.
3. The cultured microbe will cause disease when transferred to a healthy animal.
4. The same microorganism can be isolated from the newly infected animal.

8. In 1913 a hospital was opened in Gabon, Africa by Doctor Whom?

Answer: Albert Schweitzer

Albert Schweitzer came from a family that had been deeply religious for several generations, so it is not surprising that his first doctorate was in philosophy. However he decided to go to Africa as a medical missionary rather than a pastor, so he returned to university to get a medical degree as well.

He received the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1953, but it says it a lot for him that he immediately used the prize money from that award to help fund another building at his hospital in Lambarene, Gabon.

9. The first European to see the Victoria Falls was Doctor Whom?

Answer: David Livingstone

Although he was qualified as a medical doctor David Livingstone was really a religious missionary and explorer. His major goal was the abolition of the slave trade.

"The New York Times" sent Henry Morton Stanley to look for him after contact was lost for several years and he was feared dead. He was found in a village on the shores of Lake Tanganyika and Stanley's greeting of "Dr Livingstone, I presume?" became one of the most famous lines in history.

10. A medical textbook still published under the same name today was first published in 1858 by Doctor Whom?

Answer: Henry Gray

The first edition of "Gray's Anatomy" had 750 pages and 363 beautifully drawn figures. That seems like an enormous task today even with the advantages of word processors and graphic design. Achieving that in the 1850s was absolutely amazing.

Source: Author patricck

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor bloomsby before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Doctor Whom? Trivia Quiz

This is a quiz on famous doctors. Thank you to LeoDaVinci for the Author Challenge.

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