History of Medicine - (Caleb Montero)

By Caleb Montero
  • 4000 BCE

    Primitive Times

    Primitive Times
    *Illness What evil spirit or punishment from the gods
    *Witch doctors treated illness
    *Herbs and plants used as medicine
    *Trepanation used... surgically removing a piece of bone from the skull
    *Average lifespan of 20 years
  • 200 BCE

    Ancient Greeks

    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
  • 30 BCE

    Ancient Egyptians

    Ancient Egyptians
    *Physicians were priests
    *Health records were first recorded by the ancient Egyptians
    *Bloodletting or leeches used as medical treatment
    *Average lifespan was 20-30 years
  • 220

    Ancient Chinese

    Ancient Chinese
    *Believed in the need to treat the whole body by curing the spirit and nourishing the body
    *Recorded a pharmacopeia 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
  • 410

    Ancient Romans

    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

    Dark Ages

    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
  • 1400

    Middle Ages

    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: smallpox, diphtheria, tuberculosis, typhoid, the plague, and malaria
    *1220-1255: Medical Universities were established
    *Average life span was 20-35 years

  • 16th and 17th centuries

    16th and 17th centuries
    *Knowledge regarding the human body GREATLY increased
    *1500’s: Ambroise Pare, a French surgeon, known as the Father of Modern Surgery established use of ligatures to stop bleeding
    *1600’s: Apothecaries (early pharmacists) made, prescribed, and sold medications
    *1670: Invention of the microscope
    Allowed physicians to see disease-causing organisms.
    HUGE advancement
    *Average life span 35-45 years
    *Cause of disease still not known – many people died from infections

  • Renaissance

    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

  • 18th Century

    18th Century
    *1714: Gabriel Fahrenheit (1686-1736) created the first mercury thermometer
    *1760: Benjamin Franklin invented bifocals
    *1778: John Hunter established scientific surgical procedures and introduced tube feeding
    *1798: Smallpox vaccine discovered
    *Average life span 40-50 years

  • 19th Century

    19th Century
    *Rapid advancements due to discoveries of microorganisms, anesthesia, and vaccinations
    *1895: X-Ray Machine Developed
    *1893: First Open Heart Surgery
    *Infection control developed once microorganisms were associated with disease
    *1816: Invention of the stethoscope
    *1860: Formal training for nurses began
    *Women became active participants in health care
    *Average life span 40-60 years

  • 20th Century

    20th Century
    *1901: ABO blood groups discovered
    *Found out how white blood cells protect against disease
    *New medications were developed
    *1922: Insulin discovered and used to treat diabetes
    *1928: Antibiotics developed to fight infections (penicillin)
    *New machines developed
    *1943: Kidney Dialysis Machine
    *1953: Heart Lung Machine
    *Surgical and diagnostic techniques developed to cure once fatal conditions
    *1953: Structure of DNA discovered and research in gene therapy begins

  • 20th century (continued)

    20th century (continued)
    *1956: First Bone Marrow Transplant
    *Initiated Embryonic Stem Cell Research
    *1978: Test tube babies
    *Organ Transplants
    *1960: Kidney
    *1963: Liver
    *1967: Heart
    *1982: Artificial Heart

  • 20th Century vaccines

    20th Century vaccines
    Diptheria – 1921
    Tuberculosis – 1925
    Pertussis – 1927
    Typhus – 1937
    Influenza – 1945
    Oral Polio – 1962
    Measles – 1963
    Mumps – 1967
    Rubella – 1970
    Chicken Pox – 1974

  • 20th- 21st Century

    20th- 21st Century
    *1910: Laparoscopic Surgery
    *Minimal Invasive Surgery
    *1970’s: Targeted Cancer Therapies
    *Interfere with the spread of cancer by blocking cells involved in tumor growth
    *Identify and kill the cancer cells
    *1990: Smoke Free Laws
    *Decrease in 2nd Hand Smoke
    *1996: Advances in HIV Medication
    *Turned a “death sentence disease” into a manageable *chronic disease – Normal Life Span
    *1999: Rapid advances in Stem Cell Research
    *Re-Create lost/damaged tissue