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4000 BCE
Primitive Times
-Illness and diseases were believed to be...
1. Caused by evil spirits and demons
2. A punishment from the Gods
-Tribal witch doctors treated illness with ceremonies to drive out evil spirits
-Plants and herbs were used as medicines (morphine and digitalis)
-Trepanation or trephining was the surgical removal of a piece of bone from the skull
1. Used to alleviate pressure on the brain
-Average life span was 20 years -
3000 BCE
Ancient Egyptians
-Physicians were priests
-The first health records were recorded by the ancient Egyptians
-Bloodletting or leeches were used as a medical treatment
1. They thought the removal of blood would prevent diseases
-The average life span was 20-30 years -
1700 BCE
Ancient Chinese
-Chinese believed in the need to treat the whole body by curing the spirit and nourishing the body
1. Recorded a pharmacopeia of medications based mainly on the use of herbs
2. Used therapies such as acupuncture ( stimulation of the nervous system)
-Began to search for medical reasons for illness
-Average life span was 20-30 years -
1200 BCE
Ancient Greeks
-Hippocrates (Father of Medicine) and other physicians
1. First to observe the human body and the effects of disease-led to modern medical sciences
2. Believed illness is a result of natural causes
3. Used therapies such as massage, art therapy, and herbal treatment
4. Stressed diet, hygiene, and exercise as ways to prevent diseases
-Average life span was 25-35 years -
753 BCE
Ancient Romans
-First to organize medical care by providing care for injured soldiers
-Hospitals were later religious and charitable institutions in monasteries and convents
-First public health and sanitation systems by building sewers and aqueducts
-Galen established the belief that the body was regulated by four body humors; blood, phlegm, black bile, and yellow bile
-Life span was 25-35 years -
400
Dark Ages
-Emphasis on saving the soul and the study of medicine was prohibited because ideas about the origin of diseases were based on destiny, sin, and heavenly influences
-Prayer and divine intervention were used at treatments
-Monks and priests provide custodial care for the sick people
-Medications were mainly herbal mixtures
-Average life span was 20-30 years
-Disease cause still blamed on circumstance, but no understanding -
800
Middle Ages
-Renewed interest in medical practices of Greek and Romans
-1100: Arabs began requiring physicians to pass examinations and obtain licenses
-1346-1353: Bubonic Plague killed 75% of the population in Europe and Asia
-Major diseases included
1. Smallpox, diphtheria, tuberculosis, typhoid, the plague, malaria,
-1220-1225: Medical Universities were established
-Average life span was 20-35 years -
1350
Renaissance
-Rebirth of Science of Medicine
-Body Dissections led to an increased understanding of anatomy and physiology
-1440: The invention of the printing press allowed medical knowledge to be shared
-1543: The first anatomy book was published by Andreas Vasalius (1514-1564)
-Average life span was 30-40 years
-Disease cause is still a mystery -
1500
16th and 17th Centuries
-Knowledge regarding the human body GREATLY increased
-1500s: Ambroise Pare, a French surgeon, known as the Father of Modern Surgery established the use of ligatures to stop bleeding
-1600s: Apothecaries (early pharmacists) made, sold, and prescribed medications.
-1670: Microscope was invented
1. Allowed physicians to see disease-causing organisms
2. HUGE advancement
-Average life span is 35-45 years
The causes of illnesses are still unknown -
18th Century
-1714: Gabriel Fahrenheit (1686-1736) created the first mercury thermometer
-Benjamin Franklin invented bifocals
-1778: John Hunter established scientific surgical procedures and introduced tube feeding
-Smallpox vaccine was discovered
-Average life span is 40-50 years -
19th Century
-Rapid advancements due to discoveries of microorganisms, anesthesia, and vaccinations
-1895: X-ray machine invented
-1893: First open heart surgery
-1816: Stethoscope invented
-1860: Formal training for nurses began
1. Women became active participants in healthcare
-Average life span 40-60 years -
20th Century
-Rapid growth in healthcare
-1901: ABO blood types discovered
-New medications developed
1. 1922: Insulin discovered and used to treat diabetes
2. 1928: Antibiotics developed to fight infections
-New machines developed
1. 1943: Kidney Dialysis Machine
2. 1953: Heart Lung Machine
-1953: Structure of DNA was founded -
20th-21st Century-Top 10
-1910: Laparoscopic Surgery
1. Minimal Invasive Surgery
-1970’s: Targeted Cancer Therapies
1. Interfere with the spread of cancer by blocking cells involved in tumor growth
2. Identify and kill the cancer cells
-1990: Smoke-Free Laws
1. Decrease in 2nd Hand Smoke
-1996: Advances in HIV Medication
1. Turned a “death sentence disease” into a manageable chronic disease – Normal Life Span
1999: Rapid Advances in Stem Cell Research -
20th Century Vaccines
-Diphtheria (1921)
-Tuberculosis (2925)
-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) -
20th Century (continued)
-1956: First bone marrow transplant
-1978: Test tube babies (a baby conceived outside the uterus)
-Organ transplants
1. 1960: Kidney
2. 1963: Liver
3. 1967: Heart
4. 1982: Artificial heart -
21st Century- Top 10
-2001: The first totally implantable artificial heart was placed in a patient in Louisville, Ky. In
-2003: Human Genome Project Completed
Mapped out human diseases in an effort to get a handle on genetic and autoimmune diseases
-2005: Face Transplants
1. Vaccines
-2006: HPV (Human Papillomavirus Vaccine)
1. Prevent Cervical Cancer
-2015: Malaria
-2015: Ebola