History of Medicine - Solomon Edwards

By Solomon Edwards
  • 4000 BCE

    Primative Times

    Primative Times
    • Illness and Disease were punishment from the gods or caused by demons
    • Witch doctors treated illnesses with ceremonies
    • Trepanation or trephining was used. This is where they would sergically remove a piece of bone from their skull.
    • Average live span was 20 years Bonus:
    • People belived that the body was a system of channels with things such as air and tears. They would use leeches or bloodletting if they became "clogged"
  • 3000 BCE

    Ancient Egyptians

    Ancient Egyptians
    • Physicians were all priests
    • Bloodletting and leeches were also used as medical treatment
    • Life span was 20-30 years Bonus:
    • Ancient Egyptians could diagnose diabetes and cancer
  • 1700 BCE

    Ancient Chinese

    Ancient Chinese
    • Believed in curing the whole body
    • Believed you could cure the spirit and nourish your body
    • Herbs were used as medications
    • Began to search for reasons of medical illness
    • Life span was 20-30 years Bonus:
    • We still use acupuncture to this day
  • 1200 BCE

    Ancient Greeks

    Ancient Greeks
    • Hippocrates was concidered the father of medicine as he was one of the first to observe the human body and the effects of diseases
    • Hippocrates believed that illness is a result of natural causes
    • Physicians believed in therapies such as massage, and stressed diet, hygiene and exercise as ways to prevent disease Bonus:
    • For chest diseases they would take barley soup, vinegar, and honey to bring up the phlegm
  • 753 BCE

    Ancient Romans

    Ancient Romans
    • They were the first to provide care to injured soldiers
    • Hospitals were religious institutions
    • First to build sewers in, to prevent disease
    • Four body humors; blood, phlegm, black bile, and yellow bile
    • Life span was 25-35 years Bonus:
    • They would use vinegar to clean up wounds
  • 400

    Dark Ages

    Dark Ages
    • Saving the soul was emphisized
    • Study of medicine was prohibited
    • Prayer and divine intervention were used to treat illness and disease
    • Monks and priests acted as doctors for sick people
    • Medications were mainly herbal
    • Life span was 20-30 Bonus:
    • Headache and aching joins were treated with sweet-smelling herbs
  • 800

    Middle Ages

    Middle Ages
    • Intrest in Greek and Roman studies were brought back
    • 1100: Arabs would use examinations to choose doctors
    • 1346-1353: Bubonic plague killed 75% of population
    • Medical Universities were established
    • Life span was 20-35 years Bonus:
    • Coriander was used to reduce fever
  • 1350

    Renaissance

    Renaissance
    • Science of Medicine was brought back
    • DIssections of the diseased led to more understanding of human anatomy and physiology
    • 1440: The printing press helped spread medical knowledge
    • Life span was 30-40 years Bonus:
    • People would grow gardens with mint for help with stomach aches
  • 1500

    16th and 17th centuries

    16th and 17th centuries
    • Understanding of the human body was immmensly increased
    • 1500's: Ambroise Pare invented the use of ligatures to stop bleeding
    • 1600's: Early phamacists known as apothecaries made, prescibed, and sold medications
    • 1670: Microscope was invented
    • Life span was 35-45 years Bonus:
    • Some medicines that they used were dangerous because they contained lead or mercury

  • 18th Century

    18th Century
    • 1714: First mercury themometer was created
    • 1760: Benjamin Franklin invented bifocals
    • 1778: The use of tube feeding was introdused
    • 1798: Smallpox vaccine was found
    • Life span was 40-50 years Bonus:
    • Aspirin was and still is the most used medicine

  • 19th Century

    19th Century
    • 1895: X-Ray Machine Invented
      • 1893: The first open heart surgery
      • 1816: Stethoscope was invented
      • 1860: Nurses began to train formally
      • Life span 40-60 years Bonus:
      • Due to advancements of the microscope we learned about germs and cells

  • 20th Century

    20th Century
    • 1901: Learned different blood groups, and how white blood cells fight disease
    • 1922: Insulin to fight diabetes was discovered
    • 1928: Penicillin was discovered to fight infections
    • 1953: DNA was discovered Inventions:
    • 1943: Kidney Dialysis Machine
    • 1953: Heart Lung Machine
    • 1910: Laparoscopic Surgery
    • 1970: Targeted Cancer Therapies
    • 1990: Smoke Free Laws
    • 1999: Stem Cell Reseach Advancements

  • 20th Century Continued

    20th Century Continued
    First Transplants:
    - 1956: First Bone Marrow
    - 1960: Kidney
    - 1963: Liver
    - 1967: Heart
    - 1982: Artificial Heart
    Major Vaccines:
    - 1921: Tuberculosis
    - 1945: Influenza
    - 1963: Measles
    - 1974: Chicken Pox
    - 1981-1992: Hapatitis A & B
    - 1996: HIV Medication Advancements
    Bonus:
    - The risks of smoking were seen in 1950, but nothing was done until 1990.

  • 21st Century

    21st Century
    • 2001: The very first completely implatable artificial heart was placed in a human
    • 2003: Human Genome Project was Completed; this mapped out human diseases
    • 2005: The first face transplants Major Vaccines:
    • 2006: HPV
    • 2015: Malaria
    • 2015: Ebola Bonus:
    • We now have Electronic Health Records, which allow all doctors to have your exact medical history