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Period: 4000 BCE to 3000 BCE
Early beginnings
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3900 BCE
Causes of diseases
Primitive humans believed that evil spirits and demons caused their sicknesses and diseases. -
3600 BCE
Treatments for sick
They used tribal doctors to preform ceremonies to exorcise the evil spirits. In some rituals they would remove some of the cranium. -
3100 BCE
Medicine still used today
Digitalis, Quinine, Belladonna, Morphine, and atropine -
Period: 2999 BCE to 399
Ancient times
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2900 BCE
Ancient Egyptian medicine
Egyptians were the first to keep accurate health records and we’re superstitious so they called the gods to help them. They learned to identify different diseases. The priests were the physicians, they used medicines to heal diseases, used splints for fractures, and treated disorders by bloodletting via leeches. -
1900 BCE
Ancient Chinese Medicine
They used acupuncture since the Stone Age and were the first to use it properly. They also learned how to treat different types of diseases and illnesses with stone tools. Their acupuncture types have developed and are still used today. -
900 BCE
Ancient Greek Medicine
The Greek medicine was considered to be an art not just a profession. Physicians had a noble and sacred mission and often they helped people in temples. They were the first to study diseases and try to figure out why they are caused. They figured out that illnesses may have a natural cause rather than a spiritual one. Hippocrates kept record and thoughts on what causes certain illnesses, he also wrote the standard of ethics that is still used today. -
100 BCE
Ancient Roman Medicine
They were the first to organize an actual medical care, they sent medical equipment and physicians with their armies to care for wounded soldiers. The physicians also kept a room in their house for sick people. This was the beginning of hospitals, the physicians were also now paid by hospitals. Some physicians also wore the death mask. The beak of the mask was filled with spices and they believed it kept them safe from illnesses and bad odors. -
Period: 400 to 800
Dark Ages
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500
They Stopped Studying Medicine
The study of medicine stopped because many believed the life and death was at the hands of god. It was also almost always practiced in monasteries and convents. The monks and priests didn’t care about how the body worked so they didn’t study them. -
700
Disease Treatments
They used herbs and prayers mostly, the majority of care was custodial. -
Period: 800 to 1400
Middle Ages
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1100
Epidemics
Bubonic plague (Black Death) was one of many epidemics during the Middle Ages. The bubonic plague killed over 60 million people. Some of the other illnesses included smallpox, diphtheria, syphilis, and tuberculosis. -
Period: 1350 to
Renaissance
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1450
Rebirth of medical studies
People started building new buildings and universities for the study of medical sciences. There were also lots of new ideas and questions about diseases instead of just letting them be unknown. People also finally accepted dissection for the study of bodies. The printing press also made it so that there could be books for research and allowing people more access to research. -
Period: 1501 to
16th and 17th century
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1515
Leonardo Da Vinci
Leonardo studied and recorded the human anatomy -
1550
Gabriele Fallopius
Gabriele discovered the Fallopian tubes of the female anatomy -
1563
Bartolomeo Eustachio
Bartolommeo discovered the tube leading from the ear to the throat (Eustachian tube) -
William Harvey
William Harvey used his knowledge to understand and learn about physiology and the circulation of blood pumping through the heart -
Antonnie Von Leeuwenhoek
Antonine invented the microscope, proving that there is life that is smaller than the eye can see. -
Apothecaries
Apothecaries were early pharmacies, in early England they were used for the trade of medicines, herbs, and spices. -
Period: to
18th Century
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Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin’s discovered bifocals and that colds can be passed from person to person -
Medical Students Learning
Students not only attended lectures but they also observed patients at their bedsides. When a patient died they also helped dissect the body. -
Joseph Priestly
Joseph discovered the element oxygen, he also observed that plants refresh air making it usable for respiration. -
Edward Jenner
Edward discovered a method of vaccination for smallpox, smallpox killed a lot of people in epidemics. His discovery saved millions of lives. -
Rene Laennec
Rene invented the stethoscope, it was made of wood at first and made it easier to hear the heart and lungs -
Period: to
19th and 20th Centuries
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Ignaz Semmelweis
Ignaz identified the cause of childbed fever. Large numbers of women died from this fever and he said that midwives had a higher chance of their patients living because they washed their hands before and after delivering the baby. -
Florence Nightingale
Florence gained her experience by volunteering at hospitals and brought a group of women with her to war to treat soldiers. Her primary goal was to get proper training for nurses. -
Louis Pasteur
Louis Pasteur also known as the father of microbiology discovered that tiny microorganisms are the cause of diseases not the effect. He also discovered a vaccine for rabies. -
Dimitri Ivanovski
Dimitri found that some diseases caused by micro organisms can’t be seen under a microscope. -
Joseph Lister
Joseph used pasteurs information and developed it even more. He used carbolic acid on wounds to kill germs that would cause infection. -
Ernst von Bergman
Ernest developed asepsis, a method to keep an area germ free before and during surgery. -
Robert Koch
Robert discovered many disease causing organisms and developed the culture plate method to identify pathogens and the cause of tuberculosis -
Paul Ehrlich
Paul discovered the effect of medicine on disease causing microorganisms. His treatment was affective in killing some microorganisms but was not effective in killing other bacteria. He also found a cure for syphilis. -
Wilhelm Roentgen
Wilhelm discovered X-rays and even took x ray pictures of his wife’s hand. -
Anesthesia
Early physicians used herbs, hashish, and alcohol to subdue the pain of surgery. They even choked patients to make them unconscious to stop the pain. Many patients died from shock or pain. Then chloroform and nitrous oxide were developed. -
Sir Alexander Fleming
Sir Alexander Fleming found that penicillin killed life threatening bacteria. The discovery of penicillin is considered one of the most important discoveries. Before penicillin was discovered many people died of many like blood poisoning, gonorrhea, and pneumonia. -
Sigmund Freud
Sigmund discovered the conscious and unconscious parts of the mind. He also determined that the mind and the body work together, this led to the discovery of psychological illnesses. -
Gerhard Domagk
Gerhard discovered sulfanilamide compounds. They were the first medications that were actually effective in killing bacteria. -
Jonas Salk
Jonas discovered that a dead polio virus would cause immunity to poliomyelitis. -
Albert Sabin
Albert used a live polio virus instead of a dead one and found it was more productive. This vaccine is still used today. -
Francis Crick and James Watson
Francis and James discovered the molecular structure of DNA. Their model explained how DNA is hereditary. -
Christian Barnard
Christian performed the first successful heart transplant -
Ben Carson
Ben Carson does procedures on separating Siamese twins, hemispherectomies, and surgeries on the brain to stop seizures. -
Period: to
21st Century
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HIV Treatments
HIV treatments have been advancing and Atripla was developed and approved by the FDA. Atripla is 3 drugs combined. -
Smoking Laws
In October 2009 anti smoking laws were put in place. You were no longer allowed to smoke inside establishments. -
Smart lenses
Microsoft developed a glucose-monitoring smart lens in 2012, and Chi Hwan believes placing thin-film sensors in contacts is the next step, and Zhaohui Zhong, is producing night-vision smart lenses. -
Smart pills
Smart pills contain tiny sensors embedded in the pill that communicate with your phone to tell you if you have taken your pill or not -
Marijuana
In recent years marijuana has been legalized in some states. Marijuana can be used to help cancer patients and patients with anxiety calm down and be in less pain.