Medical Timeline

  • Small Pox Vaccine

    Benjamin Waterhouse introduced the smallpox vaccine. It helped many patients.
  • Anesthesia

    John Collins Warren demonstrates the first public use of anesthesia. This was a major thing that is still used today.
  • Iron Lung

    Philip Drinker invented the iron lung to help polio-paralyzed patients breathe. This was a big step in saving many polio patients
  • Syphilis Test

    William Hinton developed a blood test for the detection of syphilis.
  • Artificial kidney

    Carl Walter, John Merrill, and George Thorn perfected the artificial kidney for medical use. Which helped many people who had kidney disorders.
  • Kidney Transplant

    Surgeon Joseph Murray performed the first successful kidney transplant on identical twins.
  • Human limb reattachment

    A surgical team performs a replantation of a severed arm, achieving the first successful reattachment of a human limb.
  • Human blood storage

    Innovators made for the first time the long-term storage of human blood. Now people can have blood drives to help people.
  • Intra-aortic balloon catheter

    Cardiac surgeons collaborate in the development of an intra-aortic balloon catheter.
  • Insulin Resistance Receptors

    Discovers alterations in the receptors associated with insulin resistance found in obesity and type 2 diabetes.
  • MRI

    Radiologists pioneer the use of magnetic resonance imaging to diagnose illness and injury. This was a huge invention that helps many people and athletes today.
  • Artificial Skin

    Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Shriners Burns Institute created the first artificial skin made from living cells.
  • Oncomouse

    Genetic scientists created the first genetically engineered mouse model of cancer called oncomouse.
  • Early-Onset Alzheimer’s

    Researchers contributed to the discovery of the first gene associated with inherited early-onset Alzheimer’s disease.
  • Tattoo removal

    Researchers develop laser treatment for the removal of tattoos. Some people want this because people can remove there tattoos if the artist messes up.
  • Adult live-donor liver transplant

    Surgeons performed the first adult live-donor liver transplant in New England.
  • Telesurgery

    The first telesurgery was performed by Jacques Marescaux. This was a big step because surgeons can now do surgery without being there.
  • Uterus Transplant.

    The first successful Uterus transplant from a donor in Turkey.
  • 3D-Printed Heart

    A 3D-printed heart from a human patient's cells. This was a big step because people with heart problems could now have a 3D-printed one.
  • Vaccine for COVID-19

    The first vaccine for COVID-19 was introduced. This was important and many people wanted it.