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460
First Physical Therapist
Hippocrates and Galenus are believed to be the first practitioners of physical therapy. (hydrotherapy) -
Period: 500 to Dec 31, 1300
Middle Ages
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Jan 1, 659
Dental Amalgrams
In China there was ancient text that they used a substance for tooth fillings which was made up of silver and tin. This is the first known filling -
Jan 1, 754
Pharmacies
The first pharmacy was established in Baghdad in the year 754. From these, the pharmacist prepares compounded medications as prescribed and ordered by the prescribing physician. -
1200
Eyeglass
We are not sure who invented eyeglasses to help correct vision, but by the end of 13th-century it seems that the product was well known in Italy. -
1231
Medical Education in Universities
In 1231 Frederick II promulgated a set of laws concerning medical education standards and licensure. Although these laws did not have an immediate effect on medical training and practice, his codification of the importance of premedical education probably reinforced and stabilized an educational method. -
Period: Jan 1, 1301 to
Renaissance
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1315
Anatomy and Dissection
Many historians have believed that knowledge about anatomy stagnated in the Middle Ages. Italian physician Mondino de Luzzi even conducted a public dissection for his students and spectators. The following year he would write Anathomia corporis humani, which is considered the first example of a modern dissection manual and the first true anatomical text. -
Jan 1, 1347
Black Death
One of the most devastating pandemics in human history. 75 to 100 million people died from the disease. cause by horrible hygiene and crowded living space. -
1377
Quarantine
In the year 1377 the city of Ragusa (now known as Dubrovnik) issued orders to combat the plague that included making arriving ships wait 30 days in the harbour before docking, so that authorities could be sure no one was infected. -
Jan 1, 1500
Cesarean Section
In some cases where the child was dead and so was the mother. But around the year 1500 we have the first written record of having both a mother and baby surviving a cesarean section. A Swiss farmer named Jacob Nufer performed the operation on his wife. -
Blood circulation
William Harvey showed the circulation of blood by cutting open animals and seeing the way it flows -
Period: to
Industrial Revolution
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Vaccines
Beginning with an attempt by Edward Jenner in 1796 to use inoculations to tame the infamous smallpox virus, the usefulness and popularity of vaccines grew very quickly. Throughout the 1800s and early 1900s, various vaccinations were created to combat some of the world’s deadliest diseases, including smallpox, rabies, tuberculosis, and cholera. -
Cholera
First appeared in Britain and brought to america during the industrial revolution. Spreads easily from small living spaces and poor sanitation and causes diarrhea and vomiting. -
Leukemia
In 1845 Leukemia was first discovered. it was first thought as just a blood disorder but further research proved that wrong. -
Germ Theory
In 1861, French microbiologist Louis Pasteur proved through a simple experiment that infectious disease was a result of an invasion of specific microscopic organisms - also known as pathogens - into living hosts. This new understanding marked a significant turning point in how diseases were treated, controlled and prevented. -
X-Ray
German physicist Wilhelm Conrad Rontgen invented the x-ray on accident. He was experimenting with electrical currents through glass cathode-ray tubes and discovered the x-ray. -
Period: to
Modern World
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First Antibiotic
Alexander Fleming discovered the first antibiotic which was penicillin. It was used to treat bacterial infections. marked the so called "golden era" of antibiotics. -
Organ Transplant
Dr Joseph Murray and Dr David Hume carried out the first kidney transplant. There were many attempts but this was the first the patient had survived. -
Brain Structures
In a key advance toward the improved understanding of brain structures, McLean researchers develop a procedure for extracting and identifying brain lipids -
Stem Cell Therapy
the potential of stem cells was discovered in the late 1970s, when they were found inside human cord blood. Stem cells can renew themselves through cell division and can be used to make any type of human cell. -
Alzheimer Treatment
McLean scientists discover the first evidence of a chemical abnormality in nerve-cell function in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s, a finding that ultimately leads to the first treatments for the disease approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. -
Period: to
21st Century
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Bio-Arterficial
Dr. Kenneth Matsumura created the first bio-artificial liver. This could lead to scientists creating artificial livers for transplantation or other techniques that enable a damaged liver to renew itself. -
Synthetic Cells
in 2010, the first completely new synthetic cells were created by stitching together chemicals to synthesise the full genome of a bacterium. This could open the way to new treatments in synthetic biology that could have applications in a range of industries, from biofuels to healthcare. -
Bionic Eye
In 2013, Second Sight, a California-based company, received approval from the US government to start marketing a bionic eye. The artificial eye uses a camera set into the user’s glasses, and the camera then transmits electrical messages wirelessly into the user’s retinal implant. -
Ebola Outbreak
This was the largest Ebola epidemic in history. It happened in West Africa. What made it so horrible was weak surveillance and poor public health infrastructure. 11,315 were reported dead by the virus -
Gene Therapy
Gene therapy is the modifying of someone’s DNA to treat disease, rather than just treating the symptoms like most drugs on the market. 2017 was the a landmark year for many gene therapy breakthroughs, including it being used to cure a teenage boy with sickle cell disease.
