History of Medicine- Emma Thomas

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 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

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

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

-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

Middle Ages

800

-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

Renaissance

1350

-Rebirth of Science of Medicine
-Body Dissections led to increased understanding of anatomy and physiology (Dissecting the Dead)
-Invention of the 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

16th and 17th Centuries

1501

-Knowledge regarding the human body GREATLY increased
-Invention of the microscope
-Allowed physicians to see disease-causing organisms.
-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

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

-RAPID GROWTH in Health Care
-Increased knowledge about the role of blood in the body
ABO blood groups discovered
-The structure of DNA and research in gene therapy (Ongoing)
-New medications were developed
Antibiotics developed to fight infections

-X-Ray created
-New Machines
Heart Lung machine
-Surgical and diagnostic techniques developed to cure once fatal conditions
-Bone Marrow Transplant - 1956
-Initiated Embryonic Stem Cell Research
-Test tube babies - 1978

20th Century Vaccines

1921

-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

21st Century

2000

-First artificial heart was placed in a patient in Louisville, Ky. In 2001
-Human Genome Project
-Map out human diseases in an effort to get an handle on genetic and autoimmune diseases
-Rapid advances in Stem Cell Research
-Advances in HIV Medication
-Targeted Cancer Therapies
-Identify and kill the cancer cells
-Laparoscopic Surgery
-Minimal Invasive Surgery
-Smoke Free Laws
-Face Transplants – 2005
-Current Vaccines
-Prevent Cervical Cancer
-Malaria – 2015
-Ebola - 2015