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4000 BCE
Primitive Times
People believed illness and diseases were caused by evil spirits and demons as a punishment from the gods. Witch doctors treated illnesses with ceremonies, herbs and plants were used as medicines. Trepanation or trephining is surgically removing a piece of bone from peoples skulls. They did this because they believed it would get the illness/spirits out of them. The average lifespan was only 20 years. -
3000 BCE
Ancient egyptians
Physicians were priests and health records were first recorded by the ancient Egyptians. Bloodletting or leeches were usually used as medical treatments. Average lifespan was 20-30 years. -
1700 BCE
Ancient Chinese
They believed in the need to treat the whole body by curing the spirit and nourishing the body. They recorded a pharmacopoeia(book) of medications based mainly on the use of herbs, and they also used therapies such as acupuncture. They started to look for medical reasons for illness. The average lifespan was 20-30 years. -
1200 BCE
Ancient Greeks
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. The average life span was 25-35 years. -
753 BCE
Ancient Romans
They were the first to organize medical care by caring 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 which were blood, phlegm, black bile, and yellow bile. The average life span was 25-35 years. -
400
Dark Ages
Emphasis on saving the soul and studying medicine was prohibited. Prayer and divine intervention were used to treat illness & disease. Monks and priests provide care for sick people. Medications were usually herbal mixtures. Disease Cause still blamed on circumstance, but no understanding The average life span was 20-30 years. -
800
Middle Ages
Renewed interest in medical practices of Greek and Romans. 1100: Arabs began requiring physicians pass examinations and obtain licenses. 1346-1353: The 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. The average life span was 20-35 years. -
1350
Renaissance
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). Disease cause was still a mystery. Average life span was 30-40 years. -
1500
16th Century
Knowledge about the human body increased by a lot. 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 -
17th Century
1670: Invention of the microscope which allowed physicians to see disease-causing organisms. This was a very big advancement. Cause of disease still not known, many people died from infections. Some enlightenment from the microscope. The average lifespan was 35-45 years. -
Thermometer
Gabriel Fahrenheit (1686-1736) created the first mercury thermometer. -
Bifocals
Benjamin Franklin invented bifocals -
Tube feeding
John Hunter established scientific surgical procedures and introduced tube feeding -
Small pox vaccine
Smallpox vaccine discovered, average lifespan 40-50 years. -
Stethoscope
Invention of the stethoscope. -
Nursing
Formal training for nurses began, women became active participants in health care. The average life span was 40-60 years. -
Open heart surgery
First ever open heart surgery, infection control developed once microorganisms were associated with disease. -
Rapid advancments
Rapid advancements due to discoveries of microorganisms, anesthesia, and vaccinations. X-Ray Machine Developed. -
ABO blood groups discovered
Found out how white blood cells protect against disease, new medications where developed. -
Laparoscopic Surgery
Laparoscopic Surgery, minimal invasive surgery. -
20th century vaccines
Diptheria – 1921
Tuberculosis – 1925
Pertussis – 1927
Typhus – 1937
Influenza – 1945
Oral Polio – 1962
Measles – 1963
Mumps – 1967
Rubella – 1970
Chicken Pox – 1974
Streptococcus Pneumonia – 1977
Meningitis – 1978
Hepatitis B – 1981
Hepatitis A – 1992
Lyme Disease – 1998
Rotavirus - 1998 -
Insulin was discovered
Insulin is used to treat diabetes -
New machines developed
Antibiotics developed to fight infections (penicillin) -
Kidney Dialysis Machine
The dialysis machine mixes and monitors the dialysate in your body. -
Heart lung machine
A heart-lung machine is something that temporarily takes over the work of the heart and/or lungs, providing blood and oxygen to the body. Surgical and diagnostic techniques developed to cure once fatal conditions. -
DNA structure discovered
Structure of DNA discovered and research in gene therapy begins -
First bone marrow transplant
First Bone Marrow Transplant which initiated Embryonic 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 the cancer cells. -
Test tube babies
They found out babies can be made in a different way without being sexual. -
Smoke free laws
Decrease in 2nd hand smoke. -
Advances in HIV Medication
Turned a “death sentence disease” into a manageable chronic disease – Normal Life Span -
Rapid advances in Stem Cell Research
Re-Create lost/damaged tissue -
Artificial Heart
The first totally functional artificial heart was placed in a patient in Louisville, Ky. -
Human Genome Project Completed
Mapped out human diseases in an effort to get an handle on genetic and autoimmune diseases. -
Face transplants
Face transplants became successful. -
Vaccines
2006: HPV (Human Papillomavirus Vaccine)
Prevent Cervical Cancer
2015: Malaria
2015: Ebola