-
4000 BCE
Primitive Times
People believed that illness and disease were caused by supernatural spirits and demons -
220 BCE
Ancient Chinese
Recorded a pharmacopeia of medications based on the use of herbs -
200 BCE
Ancient Greeks
Began modern medical science by analyzing and observing the human body and the effects of disease -
410
Ancient Romans
Began public health and sanitation systems -
410
Ancient Romans
Early hospitals developed -
800
Dark Ages
The study of medicine was prohibited -
1000
Middle Ages
Medical universities were developed -
1400
Middle Ages
Arab physicians used their knowledge of chemistry to advance pharmacology -
1500
Renaissance
Rebirth of the science of medicine -
Renaissance
Michaelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci used dissection to draw the human body more realistically -
16th and 17th centuries
The causes of diseases were still unknown. -
18th Century
Established scientific surgical procedures. -
19th Century
James Blundell performed the 1st successful blood transfusion on humans -
19th Century
Florence Nightingale began the professional education of nurses -
19th Century
Joseph Lister started using disinfectants and antiseptics during surgery to prevent infection -
19th Century
Paul Ehrlich developed methods to detect and differentiate between various diseases and used chemicals to eliminate microorganisms. -
20th Century
Francis Crick and James Watson described the structure of DNA and how it carries genetic information -
20th Century
Computerized axial tomography was developed -
21st Century
Adult Stem cells were used in the treatment of disease -
21st Century
The Medicare Prescription Drug Improvement and Modernization Act was passed