History of Medicine

Primitive Times

4000 BCE

-Illness and diseases were
-Caused by evil spirits and demons
apunishment 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

Renaissance

1350 BCE

-Rebirth of Science of Medicine
-Body Dissections led to increased understanding of anatomy and physiology
-Invention of printing press allowed medical knowledge to be shared
-First anatomy book was published by Andreas Vesalius (1514-1564)
-Average life span was 30-40 years
-Disease cause STILL a mystery

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

Middle Ages

800 BCE

-Renewed interest in medical practices of Greek and Romans
-Bubonic Plague, 1300s killed 75% of population in Europe and Asia
-Major diseases included smallpox, diphtheria, tuberculosis, typhoid, the plaque, and malaria
-Medical Universities were established in the 9th Century
-Arabs began requiring physicians pass examinations and obtain licenses
-Average life span was 20-35 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 BCE

-Emphasis on saving the soul and study of medicine was prohibited
-Prayer and divine intervention were used to treat illness & disease
-Monks and priests provided 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

16th and 17th Century

1501

-Knowledge regarding the human body GREATLY increased
Invention of the microscope
-Allowed physicians to see disease-causing organisms.
HUGE advancement
-Apothecaries (early pharmacists) made, prescribed, and sold medications
-Average life span 35-45 years
-Cause of disease still not known – many people died from infections
-Some enlightenment though due to microscope

18th Century

1701

-Gabriel Fahrenheit (1686-1736) created the first mercury thermometer
-Smallpox vaccine discovered 1798
-John Hunter (1728-1793), established scientific surgical procedures and introduced tube feeding
-Benjamin Franklin invented bifocals
-Average life span 40-50 years

19th Century

1801

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

20th Century

1901

Diptheria – 1921
Tuberculosis – 1925
Pertussis – 1927
Typhus – 1937
Influenza – 1945
Oral Polio – 1962
Measles – 1963
Mumps – 1967
Rubella – 1970
Chicken Pox – 1974

20th Century

2000

RAPID GROWTH in Health Care
Increased knowledge about the role of blood in the body
ABO blood groups discovered
Found out how white blood cells protect against disease
New medications were developed
Insulin discovered and used to treat diabetes
Antibiotics developed to fight infections

Organ Transplants
Kidney - 1960
Liver & Heart - 1963
Heart – 1967
Implanted first artificial heart - 1982

21st Century Top 10

2001

-The first totally implantable artificial heart was placed in a patient in Louisville, Ky. In 2001
-Human Genome Project
-Smoke Free Laws
-Decrease in 2nd Hand Smoke
-Face Transplants – 2005
-Vaccines
-HPV - 2006
-Human Papillomavirus Vaccine
-Prevent Cervical Cancer
-Malaria – 2015
-Ebola - 2015