History of Medicine- Ashlyn Hallett

Primitive Times

4000 BCE

Illness and disease caused by
- Evil spirits and/or demons or supernatural spirits
-Punishments for the Gods/God
Tribal witch doctors treated illness with
-Religious ceremonies
Herbs and plants used as medicine
Performed surgery like Trepanation
-Removing piece of skull to "let bad spirits out"
Life Span Average
-20 years
Strong belief that Shaman or your God/Gods could heal you

Ancient Egyptians

3000 BCE

Physicians/Doctors were priests
Very first health records
Blood Letting and Leeches used as medical treatment
- Got rid of what was thought of as "poor blood"
Average life span
- 20-30 years old
Medicines used by Egyptians
-Used Aloe Vera plant to treat skin conditions or burns
-used honey on wounds as topical ointment

Ancient Chinese

1700 BCE

Believed in treating the whole body by curing the spirit and nourishing our body
- Created their own medicine mainly using herbs
- Used acupuncture
- The first people who looked for medical reasons as to why illness happened
- Believed in massage therapy and fire cupping
Average life span
- 20-30 years

Ancient Greeks

1200 BCE

Hippocrates named the father of medicine
- First to observe the human body and effects or disease
- Led to modern medical science
- Believed illness was a result of natural causes
- Massage Therapy, art therapy and herbal treatments
- Believed diet, hygiene, and exercise could help prevent illness/disease
Average life span
-25-35 years
- Barley soup and vinegar used to bring up phlegm

Ancient Romans

753 BCE

First to organize medical care for taking care of their soldiers
Later hospitals were religious and charitable institutes in monetarists and convents
First public health sanitation by using aqueducts and building sewers
Galen established belief that the body was made up by four body humors
- blood, phlegm, black bile, and yellow bile
Average life span
- 25-35 years
- Emperor Claudius expanded and improved aqueducts system making it overall cleaner and healthier

Dark Ages Medicine

400

Made major regressions from Ancient Roman times
- Not allowed to study medicine
- Believed that saving the soul could heal
Praying and divine intervention were used to try to cure disease and illnesses
Priests and Monks used custodial care to take care of patients
Used herbal mixtures as medicine
disease cause was still not known
Average life span
- 20-30 years (went down since previous years)
Headaches treated by sweet smelling herbs
Coriander used to reduce fevers

Middle Ages

800

Believed Greek & Roman ideas & renewed interest
-1100: Arabs started making doctors pass tests & get licenses to practice medicine
-1346-1353: Bubonic plague killed 75% of the population
- Spread by fleas which were carried by rats
- Plague doctors wore masks appearing like beaks, stuffed with herbs, etc. to prevent illness
Major diseases included
-Small pox, Diphtheria, TB, Typhoid, Plague, Malaria
1200-1255:The first medical Schools created
Average life span
- 20-35 years

Renaissance

1350

Rebirth of science of medicine
Body dissections helped them learn more about medicine (stole bodies from graves)
1440: Printing press invented which helped spread medical knowledge
1543: First anatomy book published by Andreas Vesalius (1514-1564)
Still didn't know why disease existed
Average life span
- 30-40 years
Learned about blood circulation

16th and 17th Century

1500

Knowledge greatly increased
1500's French surgeon Ambroise Pare discovered ligatures to stop bleeding which saved many people
1600's Apothecaries (pharmacists) made, sold, and prescribed medicine
1670: Invention of the microscope
- Physicians could see disease causing bacteria and organisms

Many people died from infections
Average life span
- 35-45 years

18th Century

1700

• First thermometer created (1686-1736)
• Ben Franklin invented bifocals 1760
• First surgical procedures and feeding tubes invented by John Hunter 1778
• The first small pox vaccine discovered 1798 Average life span
  • 40-50 years

19th century

1800

• 1895 First X-ray machine
• 1893 First open heart surgery
• 1816 first stethoscope invented
• 1860 First formal training for nurses (mostly women) Average life span
  • 40-60 years
    

20th Century

1900

Improvements due to Vaccines, anesthesia, microorganisms
- Discoveries, ABO blood group, insulin, antibiotics,
- Machines, Kidney dialysis, heart lung machine
DNA structure research began

21st Century

2000

Laparoscopic Surgery
Targeted Cancer Therapies
Smoke Free Laws
Advances in HIV Medication