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Period: 4000 BCE to 3000 BCE
Early Beginnings
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3900 BCE
Disease Caused by
Evil spirits -
3600 BCE
Treatments for Sickness
Exorcise evil spirits -
3100 BCE
Medicines Used Today
Digitalis is in pill form, intravenously, or by injection today. In early times people chewed the leaves of the foxglove plant to strengthen and slow the heartbeat.
Quinine comes from the bark of the cinchona tree. It controls fever, relieves muscle spasms, and helps prevent malaria.
Belladonna and atropine are made from the nightshade plant. They relieve muscle spasm, especially in gastrointestinal pain.
Morphine is made from the opium poppy. Addicting, helps with severe pain. -
Period: 2999 BCE to 399
Ancient Times
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2900 BCE
Ancient Egyptians
Earliest people to keep accurate health records. Called upon the gods to heal them. Priests were the physicians. Used medicines for healing. -
1900 BCE
Ancient Chinese
First to use primitive acupuncture therapies. Learned to treat a variety of illnesses and diseases with stone tools. -
900 BCE
Ancient Greeks
Medicine is art not just profession. First to study that illness is caused by nature not spirits. Religious customs did not allow dissection. Hippocrates studied the body and wrote the Oath of Hippocrates. -
100
Ancient Romans
First to organize medical care. Physicians wore death masks to protect themselves from sickness. Kept a room in the house for the ill to separate the sick and healthy. Started hospitals. -
Period: 400 to 800
Dark Age
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500
Stopped the study of medicine, why?
The Church believed life and death was in God’s hands. Primary treatment was prayer. -
700
How did they treat disease?
Prayer, herbal mixtures, and care was custodial. -
Period: 800 to 1400
Middle Ages
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1100
Epidemics
Caused millions of deaths, 60 million alone from Bubonic Plague. -
Period: 1350 to
The Renaissance
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1450
Rebirth?
The Renaissance saw a rebirth of learning. Building of universities and medical schools for research.
Acceptance of dissection of the body for study.
Development of printing press and the publishing of books, allowing greater access to knowledge from research. -
Period: 1501 to
16th and 17th Centuries
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1515
Leonardo da Vinci
Studied and recorded the anatomy of the body. -
1550
Gabriele Fallopius
Discovered the fallopian tubes of the female anatomy. -
1563
Bartolommeo Eustachio
Discovered Eustachian tube, tube from ear to throat. -
William Harvey
Studied physiology, able to describe the circulation of blood and the pumping of the heart -
Antonie von Leeuwenhoek
Invented microscope, found the bacteria that causes tooth decay. -
Apothecaries
Early pharmacies -
Period: to
18th Century
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Benjamin Franklin
Discovered bifocals, and that colds are contagious. -
Medical Students Learning
Students could study patients at bedside. Could dissect patient after death. Wider range of students studying medicine. -
Joseph Priestley
Discovered the element oxygen and respiration. -
Edward Jenner
Discovered (first) method of vaccination for smallpox. Discovery led to immunization and preventive medicine in public health. -
René Laënnec
Invented the stethoscope. Increased ability to hear the heart and lungs, allowing doctors to tell if a disease was present. -
Period: to
19th and 20th Centuries
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Ignaz Semmelweis
Identified the cause of childbed fever (puerperal fever). Large number of women died during birth because physicians did not wash after leaving the death rooms. (Uncleanliness) -
Florence Nightingale
Attracted well-educated, dedicated women to be nurses instead of the old and dying because “they were useless for anything else.” -
Louis Pasteur
“Father of Microbiology.” Discovered microorganisms, and proved they cause disease. Discovered pasteurization. Created a vaccine for rabies. -
Dmitri Ivanovski
Discovered microorganisms too small to be seen with a microscope; viruses. -
Joseph Lister
Used carbolic acid on wounds to kill germs that cause infection. First doctor to use an antiseptic during surgery. -
Ernst von Bergmann
Developed asepsis; a method to keep an area germ-free before and during surgery. -
Robert Koch
Developed culture plate method to identify pathogens and also isolated the bacterium that causes tuberculosis. Also introduced importance of cleanliness and sanitation to prevent the spread of disease. -
Paul Ehrlich
Discovered the effect of medicine on disease-causing microorganisms. Brought about the use of chemicals to fight disease. Found treatment for syphilis. -
Wilhelm Roentgen
Discovered x-rays -
Anesthesia
Early physicians used herbs, hashish, and alcohol to help relieve pain of surgery. Even choked patients to cause unconsciousness. Many died from shock and pain. Nitrous oxide, ether, and chloroform were discovered and had the ability to put people into a deep sleep so they don’t experience pain during surgery. -
Sir Alexander Fleming
Found that penicillin killed life-threatening bacteria. -
Sigmund Freud
Discovered the conscious and unconscious parts of the mind. Determined that the mind and body work together. His studies were the basis of psychology and psychiatry. -
Gerhard Domagk
Discovered sulfonamide compounds. These compounds were the first medications effective in killing bacteria. -
Jonas Salk
Discovered that a dead polio virus would cause immunity to poliomyelitis. This vaccine saved many people from death or crippling. -
Albert Sabin
Used a live polio virus vaccine, which is more effective. -
Francis Crick & James Watson
Discovered the double helix of DNA. Their model explained how DNA replicates and how hereditary information is coded on it. -
Christian Barnard
Performed the first successful heart transplant. -
Ben Carson
Separated Siamese twins, and performed hemispherectomies; surgeries on the brain to stop seizures. -
Period: to
21st Century
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3d Printing
3D printer products have gained popularity for use in surgical procedures in a number of medical specialties. They enable the creation of patient-specific anatomical models, surgical guides, and implants, enhancing surgical precision and planning. Surgeons also benefit from customized tools, improving efficiency. -
Completion of the human genome draft
In 2003 scientists completed the first ever draft that sequenced the human genome. Information from DNA is used to develop new ways to treat, cure, or even prevent thousands of diseases affecting humankind. -
Virtual Reality
Over 200 hospitals in the United States are now using VR to help patients in a number of ways, including:
To help patients visualize and understand their treatment plans
To distract children who are excessively nervous about blood tests, flu shots, or other routine procedures
To manage pain through distraction
To immerse a patient in a peaceful environment to improve breathing and relaxation
To allow stroke patients to practice and relearn daily activities -
Artificial Organs
Because of accidents, diseases, and birth defects, there’s a constant need for organ transplants to continue a life. Currently, our only option is organ donation. While this is a great way to correct a problem, it takes either a living donor or a donor who has died to make this possible. -
Functional MRI’s
Functional MRIs, or fMRIs, are making it possible for doctors and scientists to virtually read minds. Regular MRIs allow doctors to see how the brain looks, whereas fMRIs allow them to see what the brain does.