History of Medicine - Hazel

By Hazelr
  • 4000 BCE

    4000 BC – 3000 BC Primitive Times

    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
  • 3000 BCE

    3000 BC - 300 BC - Ancient Egyptians

    • 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 year
  • 1700 BCE

    1700 BC - AD 220 Ancient Chinese

    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
  • 1200 BCE

    1200 BC - 200 BC 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
    Average life span was 25-35 years
  • 753 BCE

    753 BC - AD 410 Ancient Romans

    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
  • 800

    AD 800 - AD 1400 Middle Ages

    Renewed interest in medical practices of Greek and Romans
    1100: Arabs began requiring physicians pass examinations and obtain licenses
    1346-1353: 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
    Average life span was 20-35 years
  • 1350

    AD 1350 – AD 1650 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)
    Average life span was 30-40 years
    Disease cause STILL a mystery

  • AD 400 - AD 800 Dark Ages

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