History of Medicine - Edwin Echasa

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 Egyptian

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

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

Ancient Romans

753

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

Ancient Greeks

1200

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

Renaissance

1650

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

17th Centuries

1700

owledge 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
Ambroise Pare (1510-1590), a French surgeon, known as the Father of Modern Surgery established use of ligatures to stop bleeding
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

1800

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

1900

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 year

20th Century

2000

Increased knowledge about the role of blood in the body.
Found out how white blood cells protect against disease
The structure of DNA and research in gene therapy which is still ongoing.
New machines developed:
-X-Ray
-Kidney Dialysis Machine
Surgical and diagnostic techniques developed to cure once fatal conditions
First Bone Marrow Transplant - 1956
Initiated Embryonic Stem Cell Research
Test tube babies - 1978
Organ Transplants:
Kidney, 1960; Liver & Heart, 1963; Heart, 1967.

21st Century

2100

• The first totally implantable artificial heart was placed in a patient in Louisville, Ky. In 2001.
• Map out human diseases in an effort to get an handle on genetic and autoimmune diseases.
• Re-Create lost/damaged tissue
• Advances in HIV Medication
• Turned a “death sentence disease” into a manageable chronic disease – Normal Life Span
• Targeted Cancer Therapies
• Identify and kill the cancer cells
• Smoke Free Laws which helped decrease in 2nd hand smoke.