History of Medicine Timeline - Deen Gilgen

  • 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 years
  • 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
  • 18 BCE

    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
  • 16

    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
  • 19

    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
  • 20

    20th-21st Century – Top 10

    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
  • 20

    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
  • 20

    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
  • 20

    20th Century Vaccines

    Diptheria – 1921 Streptococcus Pneumonia – 1977
    Meningitis – 1978
    Hepatitis B – 1981
    Hepatitis A – 1992
    Lyme Disease – 1998
    Rotavirus - 1998
    Tuberculosis – 1925
    Pertussis – 1927
    Typhus – 1937
    Influenza – 1945
    Oral Polio – 1962
    Measles – 1963
    Mumps – 1967
    Rubella – 1970
    Chicken Pox – 1974
  • 21

    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 an handle on genetic and autoimmune diseases
    2005: Face Transplants
    Vaccines
    2006: HPV (Human Papillomavirus Vaccine)
    Prevent Cervical Cancer
    2015: Malaria
    2015: Ebola
  • 400

    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
  • 753

    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
  • 1200

    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
  • 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