The Nobel prize in Physiology or Medicine 1945

        → http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1945/index.html

The British media incorrectly reported the story of penicillin, 

in which Fleming is the developer of penicillin therapy for 

bacterial infections in human. 

But the Nobel committee made fair judge. In 1945, Alexander 

Fleming, Ernst B. Chain and Howard W. Florey were awarded 

the Nobel prize in Physiology or Medicine.

   

Without Dr. Chain's new knowledge of biochemistry,The work

did not succeed. Without Dr. Florey's leadership, penicillin 

project did not succeed. Without Heatley's technical assistance, 

did not succeed.

I think that Dr. Fleming have been overestimated by mass

media,as in the case of Dr. Hideo Noguchi, in the History 

of Medicine.

As a researcher of Bacteriology, Fleming was a genius. 

but he was a lonely, egoistic man. On the other, Dr.Florey 

did not find any something new in field of Pathology or 

Medicine. He followed up the previous findings or discoveries, 

and deduced the final conclusion on the subject. He was 

pragmatist and organizer.

Heatley contributed the technical device and idea for the 

assay or extraction, isolation of penicillin. 

In 1990, Norman George Heatley was awarded the unusual 

distinction of an honorary Doctorate of Medicine from Oxford 

University, the first given to a non-medic in Oxford's 800-year 

history.

References)

1) Abraham EP, Chain E, Fletcher CM, Florey HW,Gardner AD, 

     Heatley NG, Jennings MA,: Further observations on Penicillin.
    The Lancet 238:177-188, August 16, 1941. 

    The article described the first human trials of penicillin for 

    bacterial infection. 

2) Ernst Chain: The chemical structure of the penicillins, 

    Nobel Lecture, March 20, 1946 

3) Gwyn Macfarlane: Howard Florey; The making of a great scientist.

    Oxford University Press, 1980. 

  The biography, written by Oxford Medical doctor. Based on his research    

 experience in Hematology, Dr. Macfarlane described the Florey's medical   

 research in detail, and not forcas in human story.

4) Gwyn Macfarlane: Alexander Fleming: The Man and the Myth. 

     Oxford University Press, 1985.

  So many books of Fleming's biography have been published. 

  However, Almost all biographer have been writers without medical 

  training or knowledges. This biography was written by medical 

  doctor of Oxford. Dr.Macfarlane accessed to unpublished material

  about Fleming. and described the true fact of his penicillin 

  discovery.

Any questions: write to Keiji Hagiwara, M.D. 

                            E-mail: keijihagiwara@gmail.com