History of Medicine - Emily White

By Emily F White
  • 4000 BCE

    Primitive Times

    Primitive Times
    • Illnesses were caused by evil spirits/demons and were also punishments of god. -Witch doctors treated illnesses with ceremonies. -Morphine, digitalis, and other plants were used as medicines.
    • Trepanation and trephinng were also popular. -Life span = 20 years
  • 3000 BCE

    Ancient Egyptians

    Ancient Egyptians
    -Physicians were priests at the time.
    -Ancient Egyptians would recorded the first Health Records.
    -Leeches and bloodletting were used for medical treatment.
    -Life span= 20-30 years
  • 1700 BCE

    Ancient Chinese

    Ancient Chinese
    -Believed they needed to treat their whole body by curing the spirit as well as nourishing the body.
    -Used therapies like acupuncture.
    -Searched medical reasons for illnesses.
    -Life span= 20-30 years
  • 1200 BCE

    Ancient Greeks

    Ancient Greeks
    -Hippocrates (also known as the Father of Medicine) was believed to be the first to observe the human body.
    -Believed illnesses were caused by natural causes
    -Used therapies such as massages, art therapy, herbal treatment, etc.
    -Life span= 25-35 years.
  • 753 BCE

    Ancient Romans

    Ancient Romans
    -Organized medical care for the first time by caring for wounded soldiers.
    -First to have public health and sanitation systems due to building aqueducts and sewers.
    -The belief that the body was regulated by 4 humors which were blood, yellow bile, black bile, and phlegm.
    -Life span= 25-35 years.
  • 400

    Dark Ages

    Dark Ages
    -Saving the soul and the study of medicine was prohibited.
    -Divine intervention and prayer is what was used to treat diseases and illnesses.
    -Medications were mostly herbal mixtures.
    -The cause of disease was blamed on circumstance.
    -Life span= 20-30 years.
  • 800

    Middle Ages

    Middle Ages
    • Renewed interests in medical practices from the Greeks and Romans. -Bubonic Plague killed 75% of the population in Europe and Asia. -Other major diseases consisted of small pox, tuberculosis, the plague, malaria, etc. -Life span= 20-35 years.
  • 1350

    Renaissance

    Renaissance
    -The rebirth of science of medicine.
    -Cause of disease was still a mystery
    -Body dissections increased the understanding of anatomy and physiology
    -Andreas Vesalius published the first anatomy book.
    -Life span= 30-40 years
  • 1500

    16th and 17th century

    16th and 17th century
    -Knowledge of the human body increased.
    -Many people died from infections.
    -Cause of death is unknown still.
    -Microscope was invented which allowed physicians to see disease causing organisms.
    Life span= 35-45 years

  • 18th century

    18th century
    -First mercury thermometer was created by Gabriel Fahrenheit.
    -Smallpox vaccination was discovered.
    -Benjamin Franklin invented bifocals.
    -Life span= 40-50 years.

  • 19th Century

    19th Century
    -Discoveries of anesthesia, vaccinations, and microorganisms.
    -X-ray machines were developed.
    -The stethoscope was invented.
    -The first open heart surgery was preformed.
    -Life span= 40-60 years.

  • 20th century

    20th century
    -New machines were developed such as the Kidney Dialysis Machine, Heart Lung Machine, etc.
    -ABO blood groups were discovered.
    -First Bone Marrow Transplant took place.
    -Organ transplants such as kidney, liver, heart, and artificial heart.
    -Test tube babies were developed.

  • 20th - 21st Century

    20th - 21st Century
    -Smoke Free Laws caused a decrease in 2nd hand smoke.
    -Targeted Cancer Therapies helped identify and kill cancer cells.
    - Advances in HIV medications helped turn deathly diseases into managable diseases.
    -Life span= Normal

  • 21st Century

    21st Century
    -The first implantable heart was placed in a patient in 2001.
    -Face Transplants started in 2005.
    -Vaccines for HPV, Malaria, Ebola, etc. were invented.