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Period: 500 to Dec 31, 1300
Middle Ages
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754
The first pharmacy
Under the Abbasid Caliphate during the Islamic Golden Age, the first pharmacies, or drug stores, were established in Baghdad. -
910
Persian physician Rhazes identifies smallpox
He is the first to identify smallpox, as distinguished from measles, and to suggest blood as the cause of infectious disease. -
1000
Avicenna explains the brain
Avicenna presented detailed knowledge about skull fractures and their surgical treatments. Avicenna is regarded by some as the father of modern medicine. Avicenna also discovered the cerebellar vermis, which he simply called the vermis, the caudate nucleus both terms are still used in neuroanatomy today. He was also the first person to associate mental deficits with deficits in the brain's middle ventricle or frontal lobe. -
1300
Leeches in Medicine
Similar to bloodletting, leeches were utilized to draw out the "bad blood" that medieval physicians believed caused many of their patients' ailments. -
1300
The invention of glasses
Salvino D'Armati invents glasses in Florence Italy. Glasses helped people read and see better. -
Period: Jan 1, 1301 to
Renaissance
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1348
The Black Death
The black death killed over 40% of the population in Europe in 1348. This event in time inspired many doctors and medical related people to research about medicine, leading to medical advances. Without this event, this planet might not have the vaccines to cure many of the new viruses that cause sickness today. -
Zacharius Jannssen invents the microscope
This invention increases the level of success of treatment and increases skills of medical professionals. With better resolution, surgeon or dentists etc., can perform better treatments. It also helps in finding cause and cures for diseases. Over years, various types of magnifying tools were developed, which effectively increased their importance in medical field. -
“An Anatomical Study of the Motion of the Heart and of the Blood in Animals”
William Harvey publishes An Anatomical Study of the Motion of the Heart and of the Blood in Animals which forms the basis for future research on blood vessels, arteries and the heart -
The Great Plague of London
The last major epidemic of the bubonic plague to occur in England. It killed an estimated 100,000 people--almost a quarter of London's population--in 18 months -
Anton van Leeuwenhoek discovers blood cells
The number and types of cells in the blood can indicate disease and infection. Today looking at red blood cells can tell you if you have an infection, what kind it is and even if you have cancer. When red blood cells were discovered, though, they were thought unimportant. -
Period: to
Industrial Revolution
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First medical school in the United states
The first medical school in the United States was opened at the College of Philadelphia by John Morgan and William Shippen Jr. -
The first successful cesarean section in the U.S
Elizabeth Bennett delivers a daughter by cesarean section, becoming the first woman in the United States to give birth this way and survive. -
Rene Laennec invents the stethoscope
By the 1850s, the stethoscope had become one of the doctor’s vital tools. Learning to listen and diagnose the sounds from the chest became an important part of a doctor’s training. Laennec invented the stethoscope while consulting an overweight woman and he thought it was improper and inadequate to place his head on her chest and listen directly. Common practice back then was for the doctor to place their head directly on the chest. -
The first pharmacy school is established
The establishment of the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, which was America’s first school of pharmacy. -
The first cancer dedicated hospital is established
Stands on the southwest corner of Central Park West and 106th Street in New York City. In the back of the castle, The hospital was established by J. Marion Sims and a number of philanthropists. -
Period: to
Modern World
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Methotrexate is developed.
Lederle Laboratories develops methotrexate, one of the earliest anti-cancer agents with the ability to destroy cancer cells. -
Jonas Salk develops the first polio vaccine
Polio attacks the nervous system and can cause varying degrees of paralysis. In 1953 Stalk announced his findings. In 1954 clinical trials began. In 1955 it was announce that the vaccine was effective and safe. -
The first digital blood pressure device is released
Panasonic released the first digital oscillometric device. These sphygmomanometers measure the pressure imparted onto the cuff by the blood pushing through the constricted artery over a range of cuff pressures. This data is used to estimate the systolic and diastolic blood pressures. -
Smallpox is erradicated
Smallpox was eradicated in 1977. It was one of the most infectious and deadly diseases in the world, killing billions of people all over the world. A vaccine was discovered in 1796 by Edward Jenner. -
Nutrition Labeling and Education Act
This law required nutrition information on all packaged foods and regulated the use of health claims on labels. -
Period: to
21st Century
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Electronic health records
The need to convert medical records to EHRs was recognized nationally with the creation of the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) of Health Information Technology (IT). Shortly after, EHRs were incorporated into the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH), providing “higher payments to health care providers that meet ‘meaningful use’ criteria, which involve using EHR for relevant purposes and meeting certain technological requirements.” -
New way to use skin cells to create embryonic stem cells
Scientists discover how to use human skin cells to create embryonic stem cells. Stem cell scientists have reprogrammed human skin cells into cells with the same unlimited properties as embryonic stem cells without using embryos or eggs. Reprogramming adult stem cells into embryonic stem cells could generate a potentially limitless source of immune-compatible cells for tissue engineering and transplantation medicine -
Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team
The Department of Justice and HHS Secretary created the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team, which focuses on preventing and reducing Medicare and Medicaid fraud. Since then, the DOJ has recovered more than $16.4 billion in healthcare fraud cases. -
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
A Democratic-controlled Congress and President Barack Obama pass the largest health insurance expansion in 45 years without a single Republican vote. The law requires citizens to have health insurance and bars insurers from denying coverage. Half the law is devoted to encouraging delivery system reform. -
The first wearable artificial kidney begins clinical human trials
The FDA approves the first human clinical trials in the United States for a wearable artificial kidney designed by Blood Purification Technologies Inc. out of Beverly Hills, California.
