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4000 BCE
4000BC-3000BC Primitive Times
Demons and evil spirits were believed to cause illnesses.
Punishment from the Gods.
Witch doctors healed people with ceremonies.
Plants and herbs used for medicine(morphine and digitalis).
They would remove a piece of the skull and this was called Trepination.
Average lifespan was 20 years. -
3000 BCE
3000-300BC Ancient Egyptians
All physicians were priests.
Egyptians were the first ones to keep health records.
Bloodletting or leeches were used as medical treatment.
Average lifespan was 20-30 years. -
1700 BCE
1700BC-220AD Ancient Chinese
Believed that they needed to treat the whole body by curing the spirit and nourishing the body. Recorded a pharmacopeia of medicine based mainly on herbs. Used therapies such as acupuncture.
Began to search for medical reasons for illness.
The average lifespan was 20-30 years. -
1200 BCE
1200-200BC Ancient Greeks
Hippocrates(Father of Medicine) and other physicians.
First to observe the human body and effects of disease.
Believed illness is a result of natural causes. Used therapies such as massage, art therapy, and herbal treatment.
Stressed diet, hygiene, and exercise as ways to prevent illness.
The average lifespan was 25-35 years -
753 BCE
753BC-410AD Ancient Romans
First to organize medical care by providing care for injured soldiers.
Later hospitals were religious and charitable institutes in monasteries and convents.
First public health sanitation systems by building sewers and aqueducts.
Galen established the belief that the body was regulated by four humors, Blood, phlegm, black bile, and yellow bile.
Lifespan was 25-35 years -
400
400-800AD Dark Ages
Emphasis on saving the soul and the study of medicine was prohibited. Prayer and divine intervention were used to treat illness and disease.
Monks and priests provided custodial care for sick people.
Medications were mainly herbal mixtures.
The average lifespan was 20-30 years
Disease still blamed on circumstance, but no understanding. -
1350
1350-1650AD Renaissance
Rebirth of science of medicine.
Body dissections led to an increased understanding of anatomy and physiology.
1440: The invention of the printing press allowed medical knowledge to be shared.
1543:First anatomy book was published by Andreas Vesalius.
The average lifespan was 30-40.
Disease was still a mystery. -
1500
16th and 17th Centuries
Knowledge of the human body was greatly increased.
1500's: Ambroise Pare, a French surgeon known as the Father of Modern Surgery established the 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.
The average lifespan was 35-45 years.
The cause of disease was still unknown- many people died to infection. -
18th Century
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: Small pox vaccine discovered.
The average lifespan was 40-50 years. -
19th Century
Rapid advancements due to the discovery of microorganisms, anesthesia, and vaccinations.
1895: X-ray machine invented.
1893: First open heart surgery. Infection control developed once microorganisms were linked to disease.
1816: Invention of the stethoscope.
1860: Formal training for nurses began. Women became active in health care.
The average lifespan was 40-60. -
20th Century (Rapid Growth in Health Care)
1901: ABO blood types were found. Found out how white blood cells protect against disease. New medications were developed.
1922: Insulin was discovered and used to treat diabetes.
1928: Antibiotics were discovered and used 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.
1953: The structure of DNA was discovered and research in gene therapy began. -
20th Century(Continued)
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
Diptheria- 1921 Streptocossis Pnemonia-1977
Tuberculosis- 1925 Menginitis- 1978
Pertussis- 1927 Hepatitis B- 1981
Typhus- 1937 Hepatitis A- 1992
Influenza- 1945 Lyme Disease- 1998
Measles-1963 Rotavirus- 1998
Mumps-1967
Rubella- 1970
Chicken Pox- 1974 -
20th-21st Century-Top 10
1910- Laparoscopic surgery, minimal invasive surgery.
1970s- Targeted cancer therapies, interfere with the spread of cancer by blocking cells leading to tumor growth.
1990- Smoke-free laws, decline in 2nd hand smoke.
1996- Advances in HIV medicine, from death sentence disease to manageable.
1999- Rapid advances in stem cell research, recreate damaged/lost tissue. -
21st Century- Top 10
2001- The first totally implantable artificial heart was placed in a patient in Louisville, KY.
2003- Human Genome project complete, mapped out human diseases in an effort to get a handle on genetic and autoimmune diseases.
2005- Face Transplants
Vaccines- 2006- HPV- Prevent cervical cancer
2015- Malaria
2015- Ebola