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460 BCE
Hippocrates
He wrote many writings on the exam and treatment of patients. He made a strict code to maintain patient privacy and to never deliberately harm patients which are also considered the Hippocratic oath. He became known as the founder of medicine and was regarded as the greatest physician of his time. -
300 BCE
Medical Symbol
The medical symbol is a snake and it came from the Greek god of healing, Asclepius. Priest healers adopted the rod of Asclepius as their symbol. Modern adaptation is still a healthcare symbol. -
300 BCE
Diocles
Diocles wrote the first known anatomy book. -
280 BCE
Herophilus
Herophilus studied the nervous system. Herophilus is recognized as the first person to perform systematic dissection of the human body. -
130
Galen
Galen was a roman physician to the gladiators. He documented the importance of the spinal cord for movement of limbs and performed a tracheotomy to cure breathing difficulties. Galen is most famous for putting forward the theory that illness was caused by an imbalance of the four humors: blood, phlegm, black bile and yellow bile. -
872
Religion and medicine
Both Christian and Muslim teachings encourage the care of those in need. One example was Islamic hospitals with wards for different illnesses, trained nurses, and stores of medicine. Christian monasteries founded to treat the sick. Local healers served (many women). Treatment was mostly rest and prayer. -
910
Rhazes
Rhazes was a Persian physician who built upon ideas of hippocrates. He documented the differences between smallpox and measles. -
1010
The Canon of Medicine
The Canon of medicine is the book of healing and was compiled by Persian philosopher Avicenna. It has five volumes about Greek and Arabic medicine. Dominant teachings of medicine until 17th and 18th century. -
1249
Regulations
Norman King Roger II decrees a license is required to practice medicine. Women were not allowed to practice. -
1489
Leonardo da vinci
Leonardo da Vinci dissects corpses. -
1540
Barber Surgeons
Barber-Surgeons cut more than hair. They practiced "bloodletting", cupping, pulling teeth, and enemas.They also served for the military and treated battle wounds. They amputated limbs and burned the stump to seal vessels. -
1543
Anatomy
Anatomy was formerly forbidden by the church. It corrected many ideas. The first accurate work on anatomy was by Flemish anatomist Andreas Vesalius. -
Zacharius
Zacharias Janssen invents the microscope. -
William Harvey
William Harvey was the first person to correctly describe blood's circulation in the body. He showed that arteries and veins form a complete circuit. The circuit starts at the heart and leads back to the heart. 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. -
Anton van Leeuwenhoek
Anton van Leeuwenhoek observes bacteria. Van Leeuwenhoek discovered "protozoa" - the single-celled organisms and he called them "animalcules". He also improved the microscope and laid foundation for microbiology. -
Claudius Aymand
Claudius Aymand performs the first successful appendectomy -
Edward Jenner
Edward Jenner develops the process of vaccination for smallpox, the first vaccine for any disease. -
Sir Humphry Davy
Sir Humphry Davy discovers the anesthetic properties of nitrous oxide -
Rene Laennec
Rene Laennec invents the stethoscope. -
James Blundell
James Blundell performs the first successful transfusion of human blood. -
Joseph Lister
Joseph Lister develops the use of antiseptic surgical methods and publishes Antiseptic Principle of the Practice of Surgery. -
Robert Koch
Robert Koch and Louis Pasteur establish the germ theory of disease. Discovered that microorganisms are the source of some disease- founder of modern bacteriology. Koch discovers the TB bacillus. -
Wilhelm Conrad
Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen discovers X rays. Types of x-rays for noninvasive diagnosis were made like CT, MRI, ultrasound, and etc. -
Karl Landsteiner
Karl Landsteiner introduces the system to classify blood into A, B, AB, and O groups -
Earle Dickson
Earle Dickson Invented the Band-Aid. -
Doctor Karl Theodore Dussik
Doctor Karl Theodore Dussik publishes the first paper on medical ultrasonics - ultrasound -
HeLa Cells
HeLa cells is a cell type in an immortal cell line used in scientific research. The line was derived from cervical cancer cells taken from Henrietta Lacks, a patient who died of her cancer. -
Structure of DNA
It is a common misconception that James Watson and Francis Crick discovered DNA in the 1950s. In reality, DNA was discovered decades before by Rosalind Franklin. James Watson and Francis Crick also worked on the structure of the DNA molecule. -
Dr. Christiaan Barnard
Dr. Christiaan Barnard performs the first human heart transplant. -
Alec Jeffreys
Alec Jeffreys devises a genetic fingerprinting method.
