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400 BCE
Airs, Waters, and Places
Article written by Hippocrates explains how environment affects health and disease. The article discusses how factors like location, climate, and water supply affect people (Online Safety Trainer, 2023). He made associations between diseases like malaria and yellow fever with swampy environments. Hippocrates claimed that disease had a natural cause, and was the first to approach medicine and health in a more rational approach rather than spiritual (Tulchinsky and Varavikova, 2014). -
1346
The Black Death
This plague was caused by infection transmitted by fleas onto rodents. It was brought from Asia to Europe and then spread through trade routes over sea and inland. People tried to prevent the spread of the plague by isolating the sick, but the disease still spread within the communities. The plague killed between 24 to 50 million people in Europe, which was one-third of the population at the time (Tulchinsky and Varavikova, 2014). -
Bills of Mortality
The Bills of Mortality were a recording of christenings and burials. John Graunt used these records to compile mortality data such as age, sex, cause of death, and location. Was the first person to analyze this data for health statistics and for use in planning health services (Tulchinsky and Varavikova, 2014). -
Invention of Microscope
Anthony van Leeuwenhoek is credited with inventing the microscope. He was the first to see and identify microbes, and is considered the father of microbiology (Kutschera, 2023). The microscope has greatly influenced how we are able to understand disease, and processes in the body at the cellular level. The microscope has helped develop modern science (Tulchinsky and Varavikova, 2014). -
First Epidemiological Study
James Lind performed the first epidemiological study on sailors with scurvy. His study led to supplementing the sailors diet with lemon juice to prevent scurvy. He was the first to carry out experimental design, including making a hypothesis, experiment design, testing, and publishing his findings (Tulchinsky and Varavikova, 2014). -
Smallpox Vaccination
Smallpox was an epidemic disease that had affected the world since 300 BC. Edward Jenner created a vaccine for smallpox by using cowpox. There was opposition to vaccination initially, but as some physicians started recommending vaccination it started to become more widely accepted. Vaccination then became very popular and led to eradication of smallpox in the late twentieth century (Riedel, 2005). -
First Board of Health in the United States
Lemuel Shattuck initiated a statewide recording of vital statistics. He established the importance of exchanging health data and information. He wanted to be able to identify major health issues, and his plan included improving public sanitary conditions, vaccine programs, studying tuberculosis, and making the public aware of health conditions (Tulchinsky and Varavikova, 2014). -
Childbed fever
Ignaz Semmelweis noticed a large rate of deaths in childbirth due to puerperal fever. He hypothesized that it was due to the physicians hand hygiene. He showed that death rates were higher among women who were taken care of by physicians rather than a midwifes. By requiring physicians and medical student to practice hand hygiene, he reduced mortality rates among women taken care of by physicians during childbirth (Tulchinsky and Varavikova, 2014). -
Public Health Act of 1848
Edwin Chadwick published a sanitary report in Great Britain in 1842 after a series of epidemics of cholera, typhoid, and influenza. He believed that health was dependent on sanitation and environmental conditions. In his report, he showed a link between living conditions, disease, and life expectancy. It led to the Public Health Act of 1848 that led to a General Board of Health, and trying to improve sanitation (Tulchinsky and Varavikova, 2014). -
Cholera Outbreak in Great Britain
Devastating cholera outbreaks occurred in London from 1848-1854. The most cases occurred in areas of the city that used two different water companies with overlapping water mains. John Snow studied the outbreak, and the areas it occurred in. He traced the cholera cases to the two contaminated water pumps that took water from the Thames River. After turning off the pumps, the cases lowered after a couple days (Tulchinsky and Varavikova, 2014). -
Proof for Germ Theory
Louis Pasteur provided experimental proof for the germ theory with his demonstrations of anaerobic microbial fermentation. He showed that microorganisms cause disease. His work with microscopes showed that food and drinks spoiled due to contamination by microorganisms. He then showed that the microbes could be killed by heating the liquid, called pasteurization. The germ theory is the idea that certain microbes are responsible for causing certain diseases (Tulchinsky and Varavikova, 2014). -
Vaccine for Rabies
Louis Pasteur created a vaccine for rabies. He administered material from infected animals, weakened to produce protective antibodies and not disease symptoms. He figured that if a vaccine for smallpox could be made using cowpox, then a vaccine could be made for all diseases. The idea is that a weaker version of the disease creates a defense against the stronger disease (Tulchinsky and Varavikova, 2014).