History of Medicine

By hannahkwan
  • 2600 BCE

    Egyptian Imhotep

    Egyptian Imhotep
    The Egyptian Imhotep describes the diagnosis and treatment of 200 diseases
  • 500 BCE

    Alcmaeon

    Alcmaeon
    Alcaemon of Croton distinguished veins from arteries.
  • 460 BCE

    Hippocrates

    Hippocrates
    He was the Greek father of medicine. He begins the scientific study of medicine and prescribes a form of medicine.
  • 280 BCE

    Herophilus

    Herophilus
    Herophilus studies the nervous system.
  • 130

    Galen

    Galen
    He was the Greek physician to gladiators and Roman emperors.
  • 910

    Smallpox

    Smallpox
    Rhazes identifies smallpox. Rhazes was a Persian physician.
  • 1010

    Avicenna

    Avicenna
    Avicenna writes The Book of Healing and the Canon of Medicine. The Book of Healing is a scientific encyclopedia
  • 1077

    Trota of Salerno

    Trota of Salerno
    Trota of Salerno was a medical writer.
  • 1220

    Schools of medicine

    Schools of medicine
    Schools of medicine were found in Europe.
  • 1249

    Roger Bacon

    Roger Bacon
    Roger Bacon invents spectacles. Spectacles are like glasses.

  • William Harvey

    William Harvey
    William Harvey publishes his discovery of how the blood circulates in the body.

  • Canine blood transfusions

    Canine blood transfusions
    Sir Christopher Wren experiments with canine blood transfusions.

  • Blood cells

    Blood cells
    Anton Van Leeuwenhook discovers blood cells.

  • Smallpox inoculations

    Smallpox inoculations
    Giacona Pylarini gives the first smallpox inoculations.

  • Treatise of the Scurby

    Treatise of the Scurby
    James Lind publishes his Treatise of the Scurby. It states that citrus fruits prevent scurby.

  • Appendectomy

    Appendectomy
    Claudius Amyand performs the first successful appendectomy.

  • Vaccination for smallpox

    Vaccination for smallpox
    Edward Jenner develops the process of vaccination for smallpox. They were the first vaccines for any disease.

  • Nitrous oxide

    Nitrous oxide
    Sir Humphrey Savy discovers the anesthetics properties of nitrous oxide.

  • Stethoscope

    Stethoscope
    Rene Laennec invents the stethoscope.

  • Transfusion of human blood

    Transfusion of human blood
    James Blundell performs the first successful transfusion of human blood.

  • Germs

    Germs
    Louis Pasteur identifies germs as a cause of disease.

  • Aspirin

    Aspirin
    Felix Hoffman develops aspirin.

  • Insulin used

    Insulin used
    Insulin is used to treat diabetes.

  • Penicillin is discovered

    Penicillin is discovered
    Penicillin is discovered, but it will be 20 years before it is used to combat infection and disease. It starts to get used in the 1940s. It is a group of antibiotics.

  • Hela cells

    Hela cells
    Hela cells were discovered in 1951. They are a type of cell that was used for scientific research.

  • Smallpox

    Smallpox
    Smallpox is eradicated.

  • HIV

    HIV
    It is identified that HIV is the virus that caused AIDS.

  • Fingerprinting method

    Fingerprinting method
    Alec Jeffereys devises a genetic fingerprinting method.

  • Kidney dialysis machine

    Kidney dialysis machine
    Willem J. Kolff invented the artificial kidney dialysis machine.

  • Vaccine for cancer

    Vaccine for cancer
    First vaccine to target a cause of cancer.