History of Medicine

Primitive Times

4000 BCE

*Illness and diseases were
Caused by evil spirits and demons
a punishment from the Gods
*Tribal witch doctors treated illness with ceremonies
*Herbs and plants used as medicines (morphine and digitalis)
Trepanation or trephining (surgically removing a piece of bone from the skull)
*Average life span was 20 years

Ancient Egyptians

3000 BCE

*Physicians were priests
*Health Records were first recorded by the ancient Egyptians
*Bloodletting or leeches used as medical treatment
*Average life span was 20-30 years

Ancient Chinese

1700 BCE

*Believed in the need to treat the whole body by curing the spirit and nourishing the body
*Recorded a pharmacopoeia of medications based mainly on the use of herbs
*Used therapies such as acupuncture
*Began to search for medical reasons for illness
*Average life span was 20-30 years

Ancient Greeks

1200 BCE

Hippocrates (Father of Medicine) and other physicians
First to observe the human body and the effects of disease – led to modern medical sciences.
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 disease
Average life span was 25-35 years

Ancient romans

753 BCE

*First to organize medical care by providing care for 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

Dark Ages

400

Emphasis on saving the soul and study of medicine was prohibited
Prayer and divine intervention were used to treat illness & disease
Monks and priests provide custodial care for sick people
Medications were mainly herbal mixtures
Average life span was 20-30 years
Disease Cause still blamed on circumstance, but no understanding

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

1345

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 (1514-1564)
Average life span was 30-40 years
Disease cause STILL a mystery

16th and 17th centuries

1500

*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.
*Average life span 35-45 years
*Cause of disease still not known – many people died from infections

18th Century

1700

1714: Gabriel Fahrenheit (1686-1736) 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

1800

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

1900

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
1953: Structure of DNA discovered and research in gene therapy begins

20th century continued

1950

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

21st century

2000

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

21st century continued

2001

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