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4000 BCE
The Medical Symbol
The medical symbol was taken from the Asclepius, who was the Greek god medicine and healing, and his symbol was a snake. -
Period: 4000 BCE to 400
Ancient Times
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2980 BCE
Imhotep
He was an Egyptian priest. He described and diagnosed over 200 diseases. -
460 BCE
Hippocrates
He maintained privacy standards for his patients and never deliberately harmed his patients. -
300 BCE
Diocles of Carystus
He wrote the first anatomy book. The book was called Diocles of Carystus -
131
Galen
He believed in the 4 bodily humors, that needed to be kept in check in order to be healthy. Documented importance of the spinal cord for movement. Preformed tracheotomies to help patients breathe. -
Period: 400 to 1400
Middle Ages
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754
First Pharmacy
The first Pharmacy was established in Baghdad. Drug stores continued being opened afterwards. -
900
Rhazes
Built on the ideas of Hippocrates. He also documented the difference between small pox and measles. -
1025
The Canon of Medicine
An encyclopedia of medicine in five books compiled by Persian philosopher Avicenna. It compiled all of the medical knowledge from the 17th and 18th centuries. -
1249
Roger Bacon
Roger Bacon invented spectacles. Essentially starting optics. -
1346
The Black Death
The Black Death epidemic happened and it wiped out about half of Europe between the years 1346–1353. -
Period: 1400 to
Renaissance
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Zacharius Janssen
Zacharius Janssen invented microscopes. This revolutionized medicine, being able to see past the naked eye. -
William Harvey
William Harvey wrote An Anatomical Study of the Motion of the Heart and of the Blood in Animals. This forms the basis for future research on blood vessels, arteries and the heart. -
Christopher Wren
Sir Christopher Wren experiments with blood transfusions from animals. First step towards understanding the blood. -
Anton van Leeuwenhoek
Anton van Leeuwenhoek discovers blood cells, and starts documenting them. He did this by improving the microscope in order to see smaller, with more detail. -
Anton van Leeuwenhoek
Anton van Leeuwenhoek uses his advanced microscope to observe bacteria. He also discovers protozoa and he called them "animalcules". -
Period: to
Industrial Revolution
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James Lind
James Lind publishes his Treatise of the Scurvy, explaining how citrus fruits being part of the diet can help prevent scurvy in sailors. This stopped many illnesses and helped many stay alive. -
Claudius Aymand
He performs the first successful appendectomy. This is amazing because it was BEFORE anesthetics were created. -
Edward Jenner
He develops the process of vaccination. He takes fluid from people with cowpox in order to prevent them from the much more dangerous disease of smallpox. -
Anestetics are created
Sir Humphry Davy creates the first anesthetics using nitrous oxide and preforms the first surgery without the patient feeling the pain of it. -
Rene Laennec
He invents the stethoscope. This is amazing because people can hear something inside the body without cutting it open or making and alteration. -
Period: to
Modern Era
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Elizabeth Blackwell
She becomes the first woman to gain a medical degree. She gets her degree from Geneva Medical College in New York. -
Charles Gabriel Pravaz and Alexander Wood
They invent the syringe. More importantly he invented the hollow needle. -
Louis Pasteur
He identified germs as the cause of illnesses. This was a big difference from thinking that is was a punishment from the gods and explained the behavior of disease. -
Karl Landsteiner
He discovered blood typing, and helped revolutionize blood transfusions. He stopped many, many people form dying due to being given the wrong type of blood. -
ECG
Dr. Paul Dudley White starts the use of the electrocardiograph. This helped to diagnose some heart diseases and helped to make sure a patient was doing well. -
Insulin
Insulin is used to treat diabetes. It is now taken from cows instead of dogs because it is closer to out natural insulin. -
Alexander Flemming
Sir Alexander Flemming discovers penicillin. This stops so many from death via illness in WWII. -
Ultrasounds
Ultrasounds were invented and can show the inside of a pregnant mother without harming the infant. This helps to ensure healthiness without having to cause harm and potentially harm the mother or child. -
Streptomycin
Selman A. Waksman discovers the antibiotic, and saves many lives in the end of WWII as well. Streptomycin comes from Streptomyces, a type off fungus. -
HeLa cells
HeLa cells are found. They are the first human cells to be immortal and to be used for experiments without a problem.
