Indian medicine can be traced back 10,000 years, traditional Chinese medicine has existed almost as long, and records of Egyptian medicine show similar long-standing interpretations. We may not agree with the opening up of one’s skull, as was done in ancient medicine, as a feasible way of treating an illness.
Full Answer
How old is the history of Medicine?
3300 BC – During the Stone Age, early doctors used very primitive forms of herbal medicine. 3000 BC – Ayurveda The origins of Ayurveda have been traced back to around 4,000 BCE. c. 2600 BC – Imhotep the priest-physician who was later deified as the Egyptian god of medicine.
How has the practice of medicine changed over the years?
The practice of medicine changed in the face of rapid advances in science, as well as new approaches by physicians. Hospital doctors began much more systematic analysis of patients' symptoms in diagnosis. Among the more powerful new techniques were anaesthesia, and the development of both antiseptic and aseptic operating theatres.
When did the medical tradition begin and end?
The Western Medical Tradition: 800 BC to AD 1800 (1995); excerpt and text search Bynum, W.F. et al. The Western Medical Tradition: 1800-2000 (2006) excerpt and text search McGrew, Roderick.
When did the medical profession start in America?
Professionalization was very slow before 1750, by which time there were a handful of cities of more than 20,000 population, each of which had physicians trained in England and Scotland, as well as a growing number of locally trained men. Cotton Mather of Boston was the first significant figure in American medicine.
When did medical treatment begin?
Modern medicine, or medicine as we know it, started to emerge after the Industrial Revolution in the 18th century.
What is the oldest medical treatment?
The bark of the willow tree contains one of the oldest medicinal remedies in human history. In its modern form, we call it aspirin. More than 3,500 years ago, the ancient Sumerians and Egyptians used willow bark as a traditional medicine for pain relief.
What was the first medicine?
According to the information that was provided by the Egyptian script, Edwin Smith Papyrus, the person named Imhotep, was the world first doctor. The first modern medicine was morphine which was developed by a German scientist named Friedrich Serturner.
How did medicine start?
Put simply, we saw that medicine is the art, science, study, and practice of preserving one's health via drugs and surgery. Medicine probably began as folk medicine in our very early history. Ancient Egypt gave us medical texts and an important physician, Imhotep, regarded by many as the father of medicine.
How did medicine change?
The practice of medicine changed in the face of rapid advances in science, as well as new approaches by physicians. Hospital doctors began much more systematic analysis of patients' symptoms in diagnosis. Among the more powerful new techniques were anaesthesia, and the development of both antiseptic and aseptic operating theatres. Effective cures were developed for certain endemic infectious diseases. However, the decline in many of the most lethal diseases was due more to improvements in public health and nutrition than to advances in medicine.
When were medical schools first established?
The first medical schools were opened in the 9th century, most notably the Schola Medica Salernitana at Salerno in southern Italy. The cosmopolitan influences from Greek, Latin, Arabic, and Hebrew sources gave it an international reputation as the Hippocratic City. Students from wealthy families came for three years of preliminary studies and five of medical studies. The medicine, following the laws of Federico II, that he founded in 1224 the University ad improved the Schola Salernitana, in the period between 1200 and 1400, it had in Sicily (so-called Sicilian Middle Ages) a particular development so much to create a true school of Jewish medicine.
What was the mid 20th century?
Advanced research centers opened in the early 20th century, often connected with major hospitals. The mid-20th century was characterized by new biological treatments, such as antibiotics. These advancements, along with developments in chemistry, genetics, and radiography led to modern medicine.
Why did the Hong Kong College of Medicine start?
The Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese was the forerunner of the School of Medicine of the University of Hong Kong, which started in 1911. Because of the social custom that men and women should not be near to one another, the women of China were reluctant to be treated by male doctors.
Who is the father of modern medicine?
Hippocrates. A towering figure in the history of medicine was the physician Hippocrates of Kos (c. 460 – c. 370 BCE), considered the "father of modern medicine.". The Hippocratic Corpus is a collection of around seventy early medical works from ancient Greece strongly associated with Hippocrates and his students.
Who was the founder of Egyptian medicine?
Imhotep in the 3rd dynasty is sometimes credited with being the founder of ancient Egyptian medicine and with being the original author of the Edwin Smith Papyrus, detailing cures, ailments and anatomical observations. The Edwin Smith Papyrus is regarded as a copy of several earlier works and was written c. 1600 BCE.
When was the anatomy of the eye written?
Arabic manuscript, Anatomy of the Eye, by al-Mutadibih, 1200 CE . The Islamic civilization rose to primacy in medical science as its physicians contributed significantly to the field of medicine, including anatomy, ophthalmology, pharmacology, pharmacy, physiology, and surgery.
When did herbal medicine start?
3300 BC – During the Stone Age, early doctors used very primitive forms of herbal medicine. 3000 BC – Ayurveda The origins of Ayurveda have been traced back to around 4,000 BCE. c. 2600 BC – Imhotep the priest-physician who was later deified as the Egyptian god of medicine. 2500 BC – Iry Egyptian inscription speaks of Iry as eye-doctor ...
When was the first medical college in the world?
1850 – Female Medical College of Pennsylvania (later Woman's Medical College ), the first medical college in the world to grant degrees to women, is founded in Philadelphia. 1858 – Rudolf Carl Virchow 13 October 1821 – 5 September 1902 his theories of cellular pathology spelled the end of Humoral medicine.
What was the name of the papyrus that was used as a medicine in ancient Greece?
1800 BC – Kahun Gynecological Papyrus. 1600 BC – Hearst papyrus, coprotherapy and magic. 1551 BC – Ebers Papyrus, coprotherapy and magic. 1500 BC – Saffron used as a medicine on the Aegean island of Thera in ancient Greece. 1500 BC – Edwin Smith Papyrus, an Egyptian medical text and the oldest known surgical treatise (no true surgery) no magic.
When were pills invented?
500 BC - Pills were used. They were presumably invented so that measured amounts of a medicinal substance could be delivered to a patient. 510–430 BC – Alcmaeon of Croton scientific anatomic dissections. He studied the optic nerves and the brain, arguing that the brain was the seat of the senses and intelligence.
Who used the rational approach to the causes and cure of disease?
200 BC – the Charaka Samhita uses a rational approach to the causes and cure of disease and uses objective methods of clinical examination. 124–44 BC – Asclepiades of Bithynia. 116–27 BC – Marcus Terentius Varro Germ theory of disease No one paid any attention to it.
Who published the Antiseptic Principle of the Practice of Surgery?
1867 – Lister publishes Antiseptic Principle of the Practice of Surgery, based partly on Pasteur's work. 1870 – Louis Pasteur and Robert Koch establish the germ theory of disease. 1878 – Ellis Reynolds Shipp graduates from the Women's Medical College of Pennsylvania and begins practice in Utah.
Who said it is not a learned physician who sings incantations over pains which should be cured
496–405 BC – Sophocles "It is not a learned physician who sings incantations over pains which should be cured by cutting.". 420 BC – Hippocrates of Cos maintains that diseases have natural causes and puts forth the Hippocratic Oath. Origin of rational medicine.
How long does it take for a drug to be approved?
Clinical trials alone can take six to seven years. This whole process for one drug, including the inevitable scientific setbacks and failures, is estimated at $2.6 billion. This cost assumes the likelihood that a medicine or treatment will successfully make it out of clinical trails is relatively low at about 12 percent.
What is the leader in medical innovation?
America is the leader in medical innovation and discovery. Partnerships between the private sector, government, universities and non-profits all contribute to an ecosystem that supports and creates these new discoveries. According to the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation ’s ranking of “biopharma innovation” the United States ranks number one in this area.
What is the history of medicine?
The history of medicine in the United States encompasses a variety of periods and approaches to health care in the United States from colonial days to the present, ranging from early folk remedies to the increasing professionalization and managed care of modern medicine.
What were the major advances in medicine in the 18th century?
By the 18th century, Colonial physicians, following the models in England and Scotland, introduced modern medicine to the cities . This allowed some advances in vaccination, pathology, anatomy and pharmacology.
What was the health care system in the colonial era based on?
Colonial era health care was based primarily on traditional medicines and traditional cures. Professionalization was very slow before 1750, by which time there were a handful of cities of more than 20,000 population, each of which had physicians trained in England and Scotland, as well as a growing number of locally trained men. Cotton Mather of Boston was the first significant figure in American medicine.
What diseases did the indigenous people suffer from?
The indigenous people lacked genetic resistance to such new infections, and suffered overwhelming mortality when exposed to smallpox, measles, malaria, tuberculosis and other diseases. The depopulation occurred years before the European settlers arrived in the vicinity and resulted from contact with trappers.
When did nursing become a profession?
Main article: History of nursing in the United States. Nursing became professionalized in the late 19th century, opening a new middle-class career for talented young women of all social backgrounds. The School of Nursing at Detroit's Harper Hospital, begun in 1884, was a national leader.
When was the first medical school in Philadelphia?
In Philadelphia, the Medical College of Philadelphia was founded in 1765, and became affiliated with the university in 1791. In New York, the medical department of King's College was established in 1767, and in 1770, awarded the first American M.D. degree.
When did New Orleans open its first hospital?
The city of New Orleans, Louisiana opened two hospitals in the early 1700s. The first was the Royal Hospital, which opened in 1722 as a small military infirmary, but grew to importance when the Ursuline Sisters took over the management of it in 1727 and made it a major hospital for the public, with a new and larger building built in 1734. The other was the Charity Hospital, which was staffed by many of the same people but was established in 1736 as a supplement to the Royal Hospital so that the poorer classes (who usually could not afford treatment at the Royal Hospital) had somewhere to go.
What diseases were discovered in the 20th century?
Infectious diseases and chemotherapy. In the 20th century, ongoing research concentrated on the nature of infectious diseases and their means of transmission. Increasing numbers of pathogenic organisms were discovered and classified. Some, such as the rickettsias, which cause diseases like typhus, are smaller than bacteria; some are larger, ...
What was Germany's medical history?
Germany was well to the forefront in medical progress. The scientific approach to medicine had been developed there long before it spread to other countries, and postgraduates flocked to German medical schools from all over the world. The opening decade of the 20th century has been well described as the golden age of German medicine. Outstanding among its leaders was Paul Ehrlich.
What was the search for treatments for infectious diseases?
The search for treatments was aimed at both vaccines and chemical remedies.
What was the life expectancy in the 1980s?
After steady increases, by the 1980s the life expectancy had reached 71.4 years for males and 77.2 years for females. Other industrialized countries showed similar dramatic increases. By the 21st century the outlook had been so altered that, with the exception of oft-fatal diseases such as certain types of cancer, ...
What was the 20th century?
Medicine in the 20th century. The 20th century produced such a plethora of discoveries and advances that in some ways the face of medicine changed out of all recognition. In 1901 in the United Kingdom, for instance, the life expectancy at birth, a primary indicator of the effect of health care on mortality ...
Who discovered streptomycin?
However, in 1944 Selman Waksman, Albert Schatz, and Elizabeth Bugie announced the discovery of streptomycin from cultures of a soil organism, Streptomyces griseus, and stated that it was active against M. tuberculosis. Subsequent clinical trials amply confirmed this claim.
Who was the scientist who discovered the effects of chemical substances on disease organisms?
He experimented with the effects of various chemical substances on disease organisms. In 1910, with his colleague Sahachiro Hata, he conducted tests on arsphenamine, once sold under the commercial name Salvarsan.
When did modern medicine start?
Modern medicine, or medicine as we know it, started to emerge after the Industrial Revolution in the 18th century. At this time, there was rapid growth in economic activity in Western Europe and the Americas. During the 19th century, economic and industrial growth continued to develop, and people made many scientific discoveries and inventions.
What are the challenges of modern medicine?
One is the upsurge of antibiotic resistance, partly in response to the overuse of antibiotics and also because pathogens, or germs, are adapting to resist them. Another is the increase in pollution and environmental hazards.
What are the new inventions?
New inventions included the electrocardiograph, which records the electrical activity of the heart over time. Communications: As postal services and other communications improved, medical knowledge was able to spread rapidly. Political changes: Democracy led to people demanding health as a human right.
What diseases did the match industry have?
These included lung disease, dermatitis, and “phossy jaw,” a type of jaw necrosis that affected people working with phosphorous, usually in the match industry. Urban sprawl: Cities started to expand rapidly, and certain health problems, such as typhus and cholera, became more common as a result.
When was the first penicillin shot invented?
1923–1927: Scientists discovered and used the first vaccines for diphtheria, pertussis (whooping cough), tuberculosis (TB), and tetanus. 1928: Sir Alexander Fleming, a Scottish biologist and pharmacologist, discovered penicillin, which came from the mold Penicillium notatum.
Who invented the pasteurization technique?
Boiling and cooling a liquid, he explained, would remove the bacteria. Together, Louis Pasteur and Claude Bernard (1813–1878) developed a technique for pasteurizing liquids. Claude Bernard was also the first scientist to suggest using “blind” experiments to make scientific observations more objective.
Who discovered X-rays?
He later received the first Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. 1895: Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen , a German physicist, discovered X-rays by producing and detecting electromagnetic radiation in this wavelength range. 1897: Chemists working in the German company Bayer AG produced the first Aspirin.
How many drugs have been approved by the FDA?
Targeted therapies have been the focus of cancer research over the last decade; more than 25 drugs have been approved by the FDA.
When was the first partial face transplant done?
The first partial face transplant was done in Amiens, France, in 2005. Five years later, doctors in Spain completed the world's first full-face transplant on a man who severely damaged his face in an accident -- giving him a new nose, lips, teeth and cheekbones during 24 hours of surgery.
When was the Human Genome Project completed?
Human Genome Project —. In April 2003, scientists announced they had completed a draft sequencing of the human genome, or all the genes that make up our DNA. This established the order of the more than 3 billion letters in what's often called "the book of life.".
When was Lybrel approved?
In 2007, the FDA approved Lybrel, the first oral contraceptive designed to stop a woman's period indefinitely. With these drugs on the market, women now have more choices when it comes to when -- or if -- they have a monthly cycle. Photos: 10 medical advances in the last 10 years.
What was the beginning of medicinal plants?
The beginnings of the medicinal plants’ use were instinctive, as is the case with animals.[1] . In view of the fact that at the time there was not sufficient information either concerning the reasons for the illnesses or concerning which plant and how it could be utilized as a cure, everything was based on experience.
Who wrote about medicinal plants?
Pliny the Elder (23 AD-79), a contemporary of Dioscorides, who travelled throughout Germany and Spain, wrote about approximately 1000 medicinal plants in his book “Historia naturalis.”. Pliny's and Dioscorides’ works incorporated all knowledge of medicinal plants at the time.[9]
What were the herbs used in the Middle Ages?
In the Middle Ages, the skills of healing, cultivation of medicinal plants, and preparation of drugs moved to monasteries. Therapy was based on 16 medicinal plants, which the physicians-monks commonly grew within the monasteries as follows: sage, anise, mint, Greek seed, savory, tansy, etc.
When were stabilization methods for fresh medicinal plants proposed?
In early 20th century, stabilization methods for fresh medicinal plants were proposed, especially the ones with labile medicinal components. Besides, much effort was invested in study of the conditions of manufacturing and cultivation of medicinal plants.[27,28]
Who was the first pharmacist to list drugs with similar or identical action?
The most distinguished Roman physician (concurrently a pharmacist), Galen (131 AD–200), compiled the first list of drugs with similar or identical action (parallel drugs), which are interchangeable—“De succedanus.”.
What are the active substances in medicinal plants?
With the upgrading of the chemical methods, other active substances from medicinal plants were also discovered such as tannins, saponosides, etheric oils, vitamins, hormone s, etc.[26] In late 19th and early 20th centuries, there was a great danger of elimination of medicinal plants from therapy.
Overview
The Middle Ages, 400 to 1400
Byzantine medicine encompasses the common medical practices of the Byzantine Empire from about 400 CE to 1453 CE. Byzantine medicine was notable for building upon the knowledge base developed by its Greco-Roman predecessors. In preserving medical practices from antiquity, Byzantine medicine influenced Islamic medicine as well as fostering the Western rebirth of medicine during the Renaissance.
Prehistoric medicine
Although there is little record to establish when plants were first used for medicinal purposes (herbalism), the use of plants as healing agents, as well as clays and soils is ancient. Over time, through emulation of the behavior of fauna, a medicinal knowledge base developed and passed between generations. Even earlier, Neanderthals may have engaged in medical practices. As tribal culture specialized specific castes, shamans and apothecaries fulfilled the role of healer. The first known dentistry dates to c. 7000 BCE in Baluchistan where Neolithic dentists used flint …
Early civilizations
The ancient Mesopotamians had no distinction between "rational science" and magic. When a person became ill, doctors would prescribe both magical formulas to be recited as well as medicinal treatments. The earliest medical prescriptions appear in Sumerian during the Third Dynasty of Ur (c. 2112 BCE – c. 2004 BCE). The oldest Babylonian texts on medicine date back to the Old Babylonian period in the first half of the 2nd millennium BCE. The most extensive Bab…
Greece and Roman Empire
Around 800 BCE Homer in The Iliad gives descriptions of wound treatment by the two sons of Asklepios, the admirable physicians Podaleirius and Machaon and one acting doctor, Patroclus. Because Machaon is wounded and Podaleirius is in combat Eurypylus asks Patroclus to cut out this arrow from my thigh, wash off the blood with warm water and spread soothing ointment on the wound. Asklepios, like Imhotep, became to be associated as a god of healing over time.
Renaissance to early modern period 16th–18th century
The Renaissance brought an intense focus on scholarship to Christian Europe. A major effort to translate the Arabic and Greek scientific works into Latin emerged. Europeans gradually became experts not only in the ancient writings of the Romans and Greeks, but in the contemporary writings of Islamic scientists. During the later centuries of the Renaissance came an increase in experimental investigation, particularly in the field of dissection and body examination, thus ad…
19th century: rise of modern medicine
The practice of medicine changed in the face of rapid advances in science, as well as new approaches by physicians. Hospital doctors began much more systematic analysis of patients' symptoms in diagnosis. Among the more powerful new techniques were anaesthesia, and the development of both antiseptic and aseptic operating theatres. Effective cures were developed for certain endemic infectious diseases. However, the decline in many of the most lethal disea…
20th century and beyond
The ABO blood group system was discovered in 1901, and the Rhesus blood group system in 1937, facilitating blood transfusion.
During the 19th century, large-scale wars were attended with medics and mobile hospital units which developed advanced techniques for healing massive injuries and controlling infections rampant in battlefield conditions. During the Mexican Revolution (1910–1920), General Pancho …
Overview
This is a timeline of the history of medicine and medical technology.
Antiquity
• 3300 BC – During the Stone Age, early doctors used very primitive forms of herbal medicine.
• 3000 BC – Ayurveda The origins of Ayurveda have been traced back to around 4,000 BCE.
• c. 2600 BC – Imhotep the priest-physician who was later deified as the Egyptian god of medicine.
Medicine after Hippocrates
• c. 400 BC – 1 BC – The Huangdi Neijing (Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine) is published, laying the framework for traditional Chinese medicine
• 4th century BC – Philistion of Locri Praxagoras distinguishes veins and arteries and determines only arteries pulse
• 375–295 BC – Diocles of Carystus
After Galen 200 AD
• d. 260 – Gargilius Martialis, short Latin handbook on Medicines from Vegetables and Fruits
• 4th century Magnus of Nisibis, Alexandrian doctor and professor book on urine
• 325–400 – Oribasius 70 volume encyclopedia
• 362 – Julian orders xenones built, imitating Christian charity (proto hospitals)
1200–1499
• 1203 – Innocent III organized the hospital of Santo Spirito at Rome inspiring others all over Europe
• c. 1210–1277 – William of Saliceto, also known as Guilielmus de Saliceto
• 1210–1295 – Taddeo Alderotti – Scholastic medicine
1500–1799
• early 16th century:
• 1500?–1561 Pierre Franco
• Ambroise Paré (1510–1590) pioneered the treatment of gunshot wounds.
• 1518 – College of Physicians founded now known as Royal College of Physicians of London is a British professional body of doctors of general medicine and its subspecialties. It received the royal charter in 1518
1800–1899
• 1800 – Humphry Davy announces the anaesthetic properties of nitrous oxide.
• 1803–1841 – Morphine was first isolated by Friedrich Sertürner, this is generally believed to be the first isolation of an active ingredient from a plant.
• 1813–1883 – James Marion Sims vesico-vaganial surgery Father of surgical gynecology.
1900–1999
• 1901 – Karl Landsteiner discovers the existence of different human blood types
• 1901 – Alois Alzheimer identifies the first case of what becomes known as Alzheimer's disease
• 1903 – Willem Einthoven invents electrocardiography (ECG/EKG)