Medical Innovations

John Hunter

Feb 13, 1728

Born and Died: 13 February 1728 – 16 October 1793
Where are they from: Lanarkshire, Scotland
Contribution: Hunter was against the practice of 'dilation' of gunshot wounds. This practice, which involved the surgeon deliberately expanding a wound with the aim of making the gunpowder easier to remove. Although sound in theory, in the unsanitary conditions of the time it increased the chance of infection, and Hunter's practice was not to perform dilation.

Edward Jenner

May 17, 1749

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/jenner_edward.shtml
Born and Died: 17 May 1749/ 26 January 1823
Where are they from: Berkeley, Gloucestershire England
Contribution: Jenner was an English doctor, the pioneer of smallpox vaccination and the father of immunology.

Humphry Davy

Dec 17, 1778

Born and Died: December 17, 1778/ May 29, 1829
Where are they from: Penzance, Cornwall, England
Contribution: Humphry Davy was an English chemist who is best known for his contributions to the discoveries of chlorine and iodine. In 1799, he was appointed chemical superintendent of the Pneumatic Institution to study the therapeutic uses of various gases. After investigating the composition of oxides and acids of nitrogen, he made several reports of the effects of inhaling nitrous oxide.

Rene Laennec

Feb 17, 1781

Born and Died: 17 February 1781/ 13 August 1826
Where are they from: Quimper, France
Contribution: was a French physician who invented the stethoscope in 1816.The introduction of auscultation—a new method to diagnose diseases was his biggest contribution to medical science. This method involves listening and identifying various sounds made by different body organs. Before the invention of this method, Laennec's diagnostic method involved placing his ear on the chest of his patients.

James Simpson

Jun 7, 1811

Born and Died: June 7, 1811/ May 6, 1870
Where are they from: Bathgate, Linlithgowshire, Scottland
Contribution: Scottish obstetrician who was the first to use chloroform in obstetrics and the first in Britain to use either. Simpson persisted in the use of chloroform for relief of labour pains, against opposition from obstetricians and the clergy.

Florence Nightingale

May 12, 1820

Born and Died: May 12, 1820/ August 13, 1910
Where are they from: Florence, Italy
Contribution: During the Crimean War, she and a team of nurses improved the unsanitary conditions at a British base hospital, reducing the death count by two-thirds. Her writings sparked worldwide health care reform.

Louis Pasteur

Dec 27, 1822

http://www.biography.com/people/louis-pasteur-9434402
Born and Died: December 27, 1822-September 28, 1895
Where are they from: Dole, France
Contribution: Dr. Louis Pasteur discovered that microbes were responsible for souring alcohol and came up with the process of pasteurization, where bacteria is destroyed by heating beverages and then allowing them to cool. His work in germ theory also led him and his team to create vaccinat

Joseph Lister

Apr 5, 1827

Born and Died: April 5, 1827/ February 10, 1912
Where are they from: Upton, England
Contribution: observed that 45-50% of amputation patients died from sepsis. In 1865, he learned of Louis Pasteur's theory that microorganisms cause infection. Using phenol as an antiseptic, he reduced mortality in his ward to 15 percent within four years. Founder of antiseptic medicine.

Robert Koch

Dec 11, 1843

Born and Died: 11-Dec-1843/ 27-May-1910
Where are they from: Clausthal-Zellerfeld, Germany
Contribution: German physician and early bacteriologist Robert Koch discovered the cause of several infectious diseases, put to rest the previously-prevalent medical belief that most diseases were caused by "bad air"/ In 1890 he presented what is now called Koch's postulates, four elementary rules still used for determining whether a given bacteria is the cause of a specific disease.

Wilhelm Roentgen

Mar 27, 1845

http://www.famousscientists.org/wilhelm-rontgen/
Born and Died: March 27, 1845/ February 10, 1923
Where are they from: Lennep -Lower Rhine Province of Germany
Contribution: the first person to systematically produce and detect electromagnetic radiation in a wavelength range today known as x-rays or Röntgen rays. His discovery of x-rays was a great revolution in the fields of physics and medicine and electrified the general public.