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4000 BCE
4000 - 3000 B.C. Primitive Times
Illness and disease were thought to be caused because of demons, evil spirits, or by punishment by God.
Tribal witch doctors tried to treat illness with ceremonies.
Herbs and plants like morphine were used as medicine.
Used things like trepanation and trephining.
Average life span was ~20 years. -
3000 BCE
3000 - 300 B.C. Ancient Egyptians
Physicians were priests.
Health records first kept by Ancient Egyptians.
Leeches and bloodletting were used as treatment.
Average life span was ~20-30 years. -
1700 BCE
1700 B.C. - 220 A.D. Ancient Chinese
Ancient Chinese believed in the need to treat the whole body through nourishment and by curing the spirit.
Had a recorded pharmacopoeia of medications based on herbs.
They used therapies such as acupuncture.
Started search for reasons why illness occurs.
Average life span was ~20-30 years. -
1200 BCE
1200 - 200 B.C. Ancient Greeks
Hippocrates and other physicians.
They were the first to observe the human body and the effects of disease, which led to modern sciences.
Believed illness was because of natural causes.
Uses many things such as massage, art therapy, and herbal treatment.
Dieting, being hygienic, and exercising, prevented disease.
Average life span was ~25-35 years. -
753 BCE
753 B.C. - 410 A.D. Ancient Romans
First to start organized care for wounded soldiers.
Hospitals were religious and charitable institutions in convents and monasteries.
First to build sewers and aqueducts.
Galen believed that the body was regulated by 4 humors; blood, phlegm (mucus), black bile, and yellow bile.
Average lifespan was ~25-35 years. -
400
400 - 800 A.D. Dark Ages
Emphasis was on saving the soul, study of medicine prohibited.
Used prayer and divine intervention to cure illness and disease.
Monks and priests provided care for sick patients.
Medications were herbal mixtures.
Disease was blamed on circumstance, but no one had any understanding of it.
Average lifespan was ~20-30 years. -
800
800 - 1400 A.D. Middle Ages
Interest in medical practices of the Greeks and Romans was restored.
1100: Arabs required examinations and licenses for physicians.
1220-1255: First medical universities were established.
1346-1353: Bubonic Plague kills 70% of Asia and Europe.
Major Diseases: smallpox, diphtheria, tuberculosis, typhoid, the plague, and malaria.
Average lifespan was ~20-35 years. -
1350
1350 - 1650 A.D. Renaissance
Rebirth of science and medicine.
Increased understanding of anatomy and physiology due to
body dissections.
Cause of disease is still a mystery.
1440: Invention of the printing press allowed medical knowledge to be spread around.
1543: The first book about anatomy was published by Andreas Vesalius.
Average lifespan was ~30-40 years. -
1500
16th and 17th Centuries
Knowledge about human body increased greatly.
1500's: Ambroise Pare, known as the father of modern surgery established the use of ligatures to stop bleeding.
1600's: Early pharmacists called apothecaries made, prescribed and sold medications.
1670: Microscope was invented, allowing physicians to see disease-causing organisms.
Cause of disease still not known, many people die of infections.
Average lifespan was ~35-45 years. -
18th Century
1714: Gabriel Fahrenheit created the first thermometer.
1760: Benjamin Franklin established bifocals (glasses).
1778: John Hunter introduced tube feeding and established many surgical procedures.
1798: First smallpox vaccine was discovered.
Average lifespan was ~40-50 years. -
19th Century
Rapid advancements due to microorganisms, anesthesia, and vaccines being discovered.
1816: Invention of the stethoscope.
1860: Training for nurses started.
1893: First open heart surgery .
1895: X-Ray machine was created.
Average lifespan was ~40-60 years. -
ABO Blood Groups Discovered
Found out how white blood cells fight against disease. -
Laparoscopic Surgery
Minimal invasive surgery. -
Electrocardiograph Developed
Developed the electrocardiograph, which is used to measure electric activity in the heart and trace it into a visual graph. -
20th Century Vaccines
1921: Diphtheria
1925: Tuberculosis
1927: Pertussis
1937: Typhus
1945: Influenza
1962: Oral Polio
1963: Measles
1967: Mumps
1970: Rubella
1974: Chicken Pox
1977: Streptococcus Pneumonia
1978: Meningitis
1981: Hepatitis B
1992: Hepatitis A
1998: Lyme Disease and Rotavirus -
New Medications Developed
1922: Insulin discovered and used to treat diabetes.
1928: Penicillin developed and used to fight infections. -
Invention of the Three-Flanged Nail
Three-flanged nail was invented, which is used to internally fix fractures of the femur or of the neck. -
New Machines Developed
1943: Kidney Dialysis Machine.
1953: Heart Lung Machine.
New surgical and diagnostic techniques are used to treat what was once thought as fatal. -
Structure of DNA Discovered
Initiated the research for gene therapy. -
Bone Marrow Transplant
Initiated stem cell research. -
Organ Transplants
1960: Kidney.
1963: Liver.
1967: Heart.
1982: Artificial Heart. -
Targeted Cancer Therapies
Interfere with the spread of cancer by blocking cells involved in tumor growth.
Identify and kill cancer cells. -
Test Tube Babies
Babies were created in test tubes. -
Smoke Free Laws
Decrease in 2nd hand smoking. -
Advances in HIV Medication
Turned what was a death sentence into a manageable chronic disease (normal life span). -
Rapid Advances in Stem Cell Research
Recreating lost/damaged tissue. -
First Artificial Heart
The very first totally implantable artificial heart was placed in a patient in Kentucky. -
Human Genome Project Completed
Mapped out human diseases in an effort to get a handle on genetic and autoimmune diseases. -
Face Transplants
First face transplants happened. -
21st Century Vaccines
2006: HPV (Human Papillomavirus Vaccine, used to prevent cervical cancer)
2015: Malaria and Ebola