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The first known surgery happened in Ancient Egypt.
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Hippocrates was born in Ancient Greece and is known as "The Father of Modern Medicine". He rejected the superstitions about illnesses and based his practices on observation, study, and logic. He made many medical advances and wrote a code of medical ethics which we still use today.
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Pedanius Dioscorides wrote De Materia Medica, a book about pharmacology. It described approximately 600 medical herbs and created around 1,000 medicines.
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Although radiation and radiation therapy wasn't thought of until later, some of the discoveries of medicine and cures during the Renaissance period helped shape the medical field and doctors, into what they are today.
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Andreas Vesalius releases "De humani corporis fabrica", a book that contained many detailed, anatomic sketches of the human body that he got by dissecting and examining corpses.
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Robert Hooke publishes the first book to illustrate insects, plants, and cells through the use of a microscope. This book started getting more scientists interested in microbiology. The book is also where the word "cell" was coined.
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James Lind, a Scottish naval surgeon discovers that citrus fruits prevent scurvy. He published "Treatise of the Scurvy" in 1753 identifying that citrus fruits prevent scurvy.
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In the 1890's, Niels Finsen developed a UV radiation treatment for skin tuberculosis.
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Radiotherapy or radiation therapy was discovered by Wilhelm Röntgen in 1895. He conducted many experiments which resulted into him discovering radiation (and x-rays too)
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In the late 1930's, a doctor named Ernest Lawrence created the first bone scan which allowed doctors and scientists to analyze issues with the bone such as infections, cancer, or fractures in the bone.
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In 1945, 2 american scientists, named Felix Bloch and Edward Percell, created the NMR which allowed scientists to study the properties and structures of molecules in the body.
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In 1972, a man named Godfrey Hounsfield created the CT scan using x-rays which creates cross-sectional imaging. He was eventually awarded the Nobel peace prize for his contributions to medicine.
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In 1973, 3 scientists, Edward Hoffman, Michael M. Ter-Pogossian, and Michael E. Phelps, invented the PET scan which is an imaging test to see how a persons organs and body functions and can help detect diseases before they show up.
