Medical History

By tong.chang
  • 400

    Hippocrates

    "Father of Medicine" and wrote code for ethics for physicians called Hippocratic Oath. 400 B.C.E
  • Period: 400 to Jan 1, 1400

    Dark and Middle Ages

    Used herbal medicine, study of medical science stopped for over 1000 years, medicine practiced only in monasteries and convents. Many plagues and epidemics- bubonic plague, smallpox, diphtheria, syphilis, tuberculosis.
  • Jan 1, 1000

    Medicine School

    First school of medicine established in Salerno, Italy.
  • Period: Jan 1, 1400 to

    The Renaissance

    Rebirth of Science.
    Medical schools were built.
    Printing press made books possible and knowledge was shared.
    Accepted the study of te body by dissection.
  • Period: Jan 1, 1500 to

    Sixteenth & Seventheenth Centuries

    Andreas Versalius and Leonardo Da Vinci dissected human bodies and made the first anatomical drawings.
    William Harvey described the circulation of blood and the pumping of the heart.
    Anton Von Leeuwenhoek invented the microscope.

  • 1700's

    First law requiring licensed medical practitioners.
    Obstetrics established as a separate branch of medicine.

  • Eighteenth Century

    Rene Laennec invented the stethoscope.
    Benjamin Franklin invented bifocals and found that colds could be passed from person to person.

  • Smallpox

    Edward Jenner developed a vaccine for smallpox.

  • 1800's

    First practical anesthetic, ether, introduced (1842).
    Diagnostic tools, such as microscope, thermometer, and x-rays, invented.
    Germ theory introduced (1879)
    Rabies vaccine discovered (1885)
  • Period: to

    Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries

    Joseph Lister- first doctor to use an antiseptic during surgery to prevent infection in the incision.
    Louis Pasteur- rabies vaccine, discovered that heating milk prevented the growth of bateria (pasteurization)
  • Period: to

    Addiction and Antitoxin

    Injectable opioids, such as opium, morphine, heroin, and cocaine brought addiction along with pain relief.

  • Pure Food and Drugs Act

    Provided federal inspection of meat products and forbade the manufature, sale, or transportation of food products and poisonous patent medicines.

  • First Woman Doctor

    Elizabeth Blackwell became the first woman to qualify as a doctor in the U.S. Inspired Florence Nightingale to pursue nursing.

  • American Red Cross

    Clara Barton founded the American Red Cross and was also known as the "Angel of the Battlefield".

  • X-Rays

    Wilhelm Roentgen discovered x-rays. Allowed doctors to see inside the body to discover what was wrong with the patient.

  • Blood Types

    Major blood types identified (O, A, B, and AB)

  • Radium

    Marie Curie isolated radium.

  • Penicillin

    Sir Alexander Fleming discovered Penicillin.

  • Electreat Mechanical Heart

    The Electreat Mechanical Heart was the first medical device seized under the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.

  • Polio

    Jonas Salk developed the Polio Vaccine.

  • Heart Transplant

    Christian Barnard performed the world's first heart transplant surgery.

  • Test Tube

    Louise Brown discovered "test tube" baby.

  • AIDS

    AIDS first recognized by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

  • Public Hygiene

    First strict measures for control of public hygiene instituted.