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2600 BCE
Imhotep
Egyptian physician Imhotep describes the diagnosis and treatment of 200 diseases. This is one of the earliest records of the treatment and diagnosis of patients. -
460 BCE
Hippocrates
Hippocrates was a Greek physician now known as the father of medicine. While he wrote many writings on the exam and treatment of patients, he is best known for his strict code of ethics that we call the Hippocratic Oath. -
300 BCE
Diocles
Diocles, a Greek mathematician and geometer writes the first known anatomy book. This helped to lay the grounds for more improved and detailed anatomy research later in history. -
60
De Materica Medica
Pedanius Dioscorides writes "De Materica Medica", a pharmacopoeia of herbs, and what medicines could be obtained from them. -
130
Galen
Galen was a Roman physician of Greek origin who treated gladiators. He is best known for discovering the four bodily humors: blood, phlegm, yellow and black bile. -
754
First Pharmacy
The first pharmacy was established in Baghdad, Iraq under the Abbasid Caliphate during Iraq's Golden Age. Because of this, several advances were made in the pharmaceutical field in the Middle East, such as the uses of chemical compounds. -
910
Rhazes
Rhazes, a Persian physician, built his own ideas on those of Hippocrates. Rhazes was the first person to identify the differences between small pox and measles. -
1010
Avicenna
Another notable Persian physician was Avicenna. Avicenna compiled five volumes of books on both Greek and Arabic medicine titled "The Book of Healing and the Canon of Medicine." -
1249
Roger Bacon
Roger Bacon was an English philosopher that later became a teacher at Oxford University. Notable creations of Bacon's include the first spectacles and the scientific method. -
1315
Mondino de Luzzi
In 1314, Luzzi conducts a public dissection on the human body. One year later, he publishes "Anathomia Corpis Humani", a well known and highly regarded anatomy book. -
1543
Andreas Vesalius
Andreas Vesalius was a Flemish anatomist, physician, and during the 16th century. His best known work is "De Fabrica Corporis Humani." -
First Microscope
Zacharius Jannssen and his father, both spectacle makers invented the first microscope. This first model was a long, cylinder tube containing a variety of different lenses, which began to show physicians that there is life that the naked eye cannot see. -
Blood Research
William Harvey publishes a work titled "An Anatomical Study of the Motion of the Heart and of the Blood in Animals." This formed a basis for future research on blood vessels, arteries, and the heart. -
Blood Transfusions
Sir Christopher Wren experiments with canine blood transfusions. However the fist successful blood transfusion will not be made until 1816 (see event #18) -
Discovery of Blood Cells
Dutch scientist and businessman Antonie van Leeuwenhoek was an representative during the Dutch Golden Age of science and technology. He is most noted for his discovery of blood cells -
First Successful Appendectomy
French surgeon Claudius Aymand completed the first successful appendectomy. An appendectomy is the surgical removal of the appendix. While this procedure no longer seems so daunting, especially since the appendix is not needed, in this period of time this was a medical breakthrough. -
Smallpox Vaccination
The smallpox vaccine, the first ever vaccine for any disease, was discovered by Edward Jenner. Jenner had discovered that people in a village who had been exposed to cowpox (a similar but less harmful disease) had an immunity to the smallpox disease. After thorough research and some experimentation, Jenner concluded that there was a connection between the two diseases, and created the vaccine. -
James Blundell
As previously mentioned, blood transfusions were originally tested on canine patients. However in 1816, British obstetrician James Blundell completed the first successful blood transfusion. Previous blood transfusions had not worked because physicians had not understood the concept of blood compatibility. -
Ether
Ether, a general anesthetic, was first used by Crawford W. Long, an American surgeon and pharmacist. The drug Diethyl Ether is an organic compound that is colorless and highly flammable. This drug is often used as a solvent in laboratories and starting fluid for certain engines. -
Nitrous Oxide (Laughing Gas)
William Morton, a dentist, is the first to use and publish the process of using anesthetic properties of nitrous oxide, better known as laughing gas. This gas is used on patients who need procedures such as getting their wisdom teeth removed. -
Elizabeth Blackwell
British born physician Elizabeth Blackwell was the first ever woman to gain a medical degree from Geneva Medical College in New York. After graduating, Blackwell became a leading public health activist. -
Discovery Behind Disease
In 1857, Louis Pasteur comes to discover that germs are the cause of disease. Previous to discovering germs were the cause of disease, Pasteur also discovered pasteurization, where bacteria is destroyed by heating beverages then allowing them to cool. -
Aseptic Technique
The Aseptic (meaning free of contamination caused by harmful bacteria) Technique was first used by Joseph Lister (who later created Listerine mouthwash). Lister insisted on clean tools and hands between patients. His washed these using carbolic acid, which is often used in modern day household cleaning products. -
First Contact Lenses
While Leonardo da Vinci introduced the idea of contact lenses in his "Codex of the Eye" (1508), the first physical pair of contact lenses were created by Adolf Gaston Eugen Fick and Otto Wichterle. The creation of the contact lenses was also influenced by astronomer Sir John Herschel proposed idea of making a mold of the eye. -
X - Rays
While working on the effects of cathode rays, Wilhem Roetgen, he accidentally discovered x-rays instead. In this discovery, Roetgen found that x-rays would pass through the tissue, allowing you to see the bones and metals. -
Aspirin
German chemist Felix Hoffman's most notable discovery was aspirin, a medicine used by many to this day. The aspirin of modern times was found in the 1890's in the form of acetylsalic acid that was often distributed to physicians to treat their patients. -
Band-Aids
The first Band- Aid brand adhesive bandages were created by Earle Dickson and his wife, Josephine. The couple recognized the need for bandage that could easily stick to the skin for minor injuries, such as cuts and burns that Josephine and their children often suffered from. -
Discovery of the First Antibiotic
Scottish biologist Alexander Flemming discovered penicillin, which is made from the Penicillium Notatum mold, at St. Mary's hospital in London, England. At this time, Flemming had been experimenting with the influenza virus, but discovered the Penicillium Notatum mold, and that it could cure several illnesses, thus beginning research on future antibiotics. -
The First Influenza Vaccine is Discovered
The first approved flu vaccine was discovered by Jonas Salk and Thomas Francis. This flu vaccine was originally created to protect U.S. soldiers from disease during World War Two, and even led to the discovery of the polio vaccine by Dr. Sulk in 1955. -
HeLa Cells
HeLa cells are from an immortal cell line derived from cancer cell that has to breakthroughs in herpes, leukimia, influenza, hemophilia, Parkinson's disease, cancer, AIDS, cloning, vitro fertilization, the effects of radiation/toxic substances, and even certain types of genetic diagnoses.
