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Anesthesia
In 1846, American dentist William Morton introduced Ether as an anesthetic. In the practice of medicine, anesthesia or anaesthesia is a state of temporary induced loss of sensation or awareness. -
Tuberculosis Vaccine
Tuberculosis is an infectious disease caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but can also affect other parts of the body.The vaccine was first administered to humans in 1921 and remains the only vaccine against tuberculosis in general use. -
Heart and Lung Machine
In May 1953, John Gibbon was the first to successfully operate a heart and lung surgery. This created a large foundation for the modern cardiac surgery that is performed all over the world. -
First Blood Bank
Bernard Fantus starts the first blood bank at Cook County Hospital in Chicago, using a 2% solution of sodium citrate to preserve the blood. Refrigerated blood lasts 10 days. -
DNA FIngerprinting
In September 1984, Dr. Alec Jeffreys, a geneticist at the University of Leicester in Great Britain was studying hereditary diseases in families. He was focusing on methods to resolve paternity and immigration disputes by demonstrating the genetic links between individuals. -
Separation of Conjoined Twins
Patrick and Benjamin Binder (born February 2, 1987) were conjoined twins, joined at the head, born in Germany in early 1987, and separated at Johns Hopkins Hospital on September 7, 1987, by Ben Carson -
Facial Transplant
The first partial face transplant surgery on a living human was performed on Dinoire on 27 November 2005 by Professor Bernard Devauchelle -
Over the Counter Birth Control
On August 24, 2006, the FDA approved nonprescription behind-the-counter access to Plan B from pharmacies staffed by a licensed pharmacist for women 18 or older -
Bionic Limbs
The i-LIMB Hand is the brand name of world's first commercially available bionic hand invented by David Gow and his team at the Bioengineering Centre of the Princess Margaret Rose Hospital in Edinburgh, and manufactured by Touch Bionics. -
XStat
This year, the FDA approved the XStat, a syringe-like device that injects tiny sponges into deep wounds. Once they make contact with blood, the sponges expand and close up the wound until the person can receive more medical attention. The XStat got initial approval for military use last year, but can now be used for life-threatening situations at home.
