-
4000 BCE
Primitive Time
Illness and Disease were punishments
Tribal Witch Doctors treated illness with ceremonies
Herbs and Plants used as medicine
Trepanation to create a hole in the skull -
3100 BCE
Ancient Egyptians
physicians were priest
blood letting or leaches used as medical treatment
average life span 20 years -
1700 BCE
Ancient Chinese
Believed in the need to treat the whole body
Recorded a pharmacoposeia
used therapies such as acupuncture
average life span 20 - 30 years -
1200 BCE
Ancient Greeks
First to observe the human body and the effects of disease
Believed illness is a result of natural causes
Used therapies such as massage, art therapy, herbal treatmen
average life span 25-35 years -
753 BCE
Ancient Romans
Established first hospital
First Public Health and sanitation system
built sewers and aqueducts
Average life spans 25- 35 years -
400
Dark Ages
Began after the fall of Roman Empire
Emphasis on saving the soul
study of medicine was prohibited
Monks and priests treated patients with prayer -
800
Middle Ages
Renewed interest in medical practices in Greek and Romans
Bubonic Plague killed 75% population
average life span 30-40 years -
1350
Renaissance
Dissection of body led to increased understanding of anatomy and physiology
invention of printing press allowed medical knowledge to be saved
average life span 30-40 years -
1500
16 and 17 centuries
cause of disease still unknown
many die from infections
apothecaries led to discoveries
first vaccination developed (small pox)
average life span 35-45 years -
18, 19, 20 and 21st centuries
formal training of nurses
mercury thermoeter invented
Ben Franklin invented bifocals
many new machines invented (kidney dialysis, heart lung machine)
Average life span 40-60 years
