History of Medical

Primitive Times

4000 BCE

*Illness/disease caused by evil spirits and form of punishment from the gods
*Witch doctors treated illnesses
*Herbs and plants were used as medicine
*Trepanation used... surgically removing a piece of bone from the skull
*Average life spans was 20 years

Ancient Egyptians

3000 BCE

*Physicians were priests
*Health records first recorded by ancient Egyptians
*Leeches used as medical treatment
*Average life span 20-30 years

Ancient Chinese

1700 BCE

*Believed in the need to treat the whole body by curing the spirit and nourishing the body
*Used acupuncture
*Began to search for medical reasons for illness
*Average life span 20-30 years

Ancient Greeks

1200 BCE

*Hippocrates(father of medicine) the first to observe the human body and the effects of disease
*Believed illness is a result of natural causes
*Used therapies- massage, art therapy, and herbal treatment
*Stressed diet, hygiene and exercise to prevent disease
*Average life span 25-35 years

Dark Ages

400

*Emphasis on saving the soul and study of medicine was prohibited
*Prayer and divine intervention were used to treat illness and disease
*Monks and priests provide custodial care for sick people
*Medications were mainly herbal mixtures
*Average life span was 20-30 years

Ancient Romans

753

*First to provide care to injured soldiers
*Later hospitals were religious and charitable institutions in monasteries and convents
*First public health and sanitation systems by building sewers and aqueducts
*Galen established belief that the body was regulated by four body humors; blood, phlegm, black bile, and yellow bile
*Life span was 25-35 years

Middle Ages

800

*Renewed interest in medical practices of Greek and Romans
*1100- Arabs began requiring physicians pass examinations and obtain licenses
*1346-1353- Bubonic Plague killed 75% of population in Europe and Asia
*Major diseases included smallpox, diphtheria, tuberculosis, typhoid, the plaque, and malaria
*1220-1255- Medical Universities were established
*Average life span was 20-35 years

Renaissance

1350

*Rebirth of Science of Medicine
*Body Dissections led to increased understanding of anatomy and physiology
*1440- Invention of printing press allowed medical knowledge to be shared
*1543- First anatomy book was published by Andreas Vesalius
*Average life span was 30-40 years
*Disease cause STILL a mystery

16th and 17th Centuries

1700

*Knowledge regarding the human body greatly increased
*1500’s- Ambroise Pare, a French surgeon, known as the Father of Modern Surgery established use of ligatures to stop bleeding
*1600’s- Apothecaries (early pharmacists) made, prescribed, and sold medications
*1670- Invention of the microscope
*Allowed physicians to see disease-causing organisms.
*Huge advancement
*Average life span 35-45 years

18th Century

1800

*1714- Gabriel Fahrenheit created the first mercury thermometer
*1760- Benjamin Franklin invented bifocals
*1778- John Hunter established scientific surgical procedures and introduced tube feeding
*1798- Smallpox vaccine discovered
*Average life span 40-50 years

19th Century

1900

*Rapid advancements due to discoveries of microorganisms, anesthesia, and vaccinations
*1895- X-Ray Machine Developed
*1893- First Open Heart Surgery
*Infection control developed once microorganisms were associated with disease
*1816- Invention of the stethoscope
*1860- Formal training for nurses began
*Women became active participants in health care
*Average life span 40-60 years

20th Century

1998

*1901- ABO blood groups discovered
*Found out how white blood cells protect against disease
*New medications were developed
*1922- Insulin discovered and used to treat diabetes
*1928- Antibiotics developed to fight infections (penicillin)
*New machines developed
*1943- Kidney Dialysis Machine
*1953:-Heart Lung Machine
*Surgical and diagnostic techniques developed to cure once fatal conditions
*19530 Structure of DNA discovered and research in gene therapy begins

20th Century (continued)

2000

*1956- First Bone Marrow Transplant
*Initiated Embryonic Stem Cell Research
*1978- Test tube babies
*Organ Transplants
*1960- Kidney
*1963- Liver
*1967- Heart
*1982- Artificial Heart

20th Century Vaccines

2000

Diptheria – 1921
Tuberculosis – 1925
Pertussis – 1927
Typhus – 1937
Influenza – 1945
Oral Polio – 1962
Measles – 1963
Mumps – 1967
Rubella – 1970
Chicken Pox – 1974
Streptococcus Pneumonia – 1977
Meningitis – 1978
Hepatitis B – 1981
Hepatitis A – 1992
Lyme Disease – 1998
Rotavirus - 1998

21st Century

2100

2001- The first totally implantable artificial heart was placed in a patient in Louisville, Ky. In
2003- Human Genome Project Completed
Mapped out human diseases in an effort to get an handle on genetic and autoimmune diseases
2005- Face Transplants
Vaccines
2006- HPV (Human Papillomavirus Vaccine)
Prevent Cervical Cancer
2015- Malaria
2015- Ebola

20th - 21st Century

2100

*1910- Laparoscopic Surgery
*Minimal Invasive Surgery
*1970’s- Targeted Cancer Therapies
*Interfere with the spread of cancer by blocking cells involved in tumor growth
*Identify and kill the cancer cells
*1990- Smoke Free Laws
*Decrease in 2nd Hand Smoke
*1996- Advances in HIV Medication
*Turned a death sentence disease into a manageable chronic disease
*Normal Life Span
*1999- Rapid advances in Stem Cell Research
*Re-Create lost/damaged tissue