Common belief was disease & illness

were caused by evil spirits and demons Treatment was directed toward

eliminating evil spirits Religion plays an important role in

health care Common belief was illness & disease

were a punishment from the gods

4000 BC – 3000 BC Primitive Times

Believed illness/disease caused by supernatural spirits & demons

Tribal witch doctors treated illness with ceremonies to drive out evil spirits

Herbs & plants were used as medicines Trepanation, or boring a hole into the skull, was

used to treat insanity, epilepsy, & headache Average life span – 20 years

3000 BC – 300 BC Ancient Egyptians

Earliest to maintain health records Physicians were priests Imhotep may have been the first physician Embalming led to increased understanding of

anatomy & disease Gauze used to wrap bodies Antiseptics kept bodies from decaying Bloodletting or leeches were used Used magic & medicinal plants to treat disease Average life span was 20 – 30 years

1700 BC – AD 220 Ancient Chinese

Most religions did not allow dissection Believed in the need to treat the whole body

by curing the spirit & nourishing the body Used acupuncture to relieve pain & congestion Began to search for medical reasons for illness Average life span was 20 – 30 years

1200 BC – 200 BC Ancient Greeks

Began modern medical science by observing the human body and the effects of disease

Hippocrates is called the Father of Medicine Aristotle is called the founder of comparative

anatomy Believed illness is a result of natural causes Used therapies such as massage, art therapy, &

herbal treatment – which are still used today Stressed diet and cleanliness as ways to prevent

disease Average life span was 25 – 35 years

Ancient Greeks Hippocrates - Father of Medicine

no dissection, only observations took careful notes of signs/symptoms of

diseases disease was not caused by supernatural

forces wrote standards of ethics which is the

basis for today’s medical ethics

Ancient Greeks

Aesculapius staff and serpent

symbol of medicine temples built in his

honor became the first true clinics and hospitals

753 BC – AD 410 Ancient Romans

First to organize medical care by caring for soldiers Early hospitals developed when physicians cared for

ill people in their homes Later hospitals were religious & charitable

institutions Began public health & sanitation systems Galen, a physician, established many medical

beliefs Diet, exercise, and medications were used to treat

disease Average life span was 25 – 35 years

After the fall of the Roman empire, the study of medicine stopped

The Middle Ages brought renewed interest in the medical practices of the Greeks and Romans

Knowledge was translated and recorded in handwritten books

Medicine practiced only in convents & monasteries

Life & Death – in God’s hands

AD 400 – AD 800 Dark Ages

Emphasis was placed on saving the soul, and the study of medicine was prohibited

Prayer & divine intervention were used to treat illness & disease

Monks & priests provided custodial care for sick people

Medications were mainly herbal mixtures Average life span was 20 – 30 years

AD 800 – AD 1400 Middle Ages

Medical Universities were created Renewed interest in medical practice of Greeks

& Romans A pandemic of the bubonic plague (black death)

killed ¾ of the population of Europe & Asia Major diseases were smallpox, diptheria,

tuberculosis, typhoid, the plague, and malaria Arabs began requiring physicians pass exams

and obtain licenses Realization – diseases are contagious Average life span 20 – 35 years

This period is often called the

“rebirth of the science of medicine” Major sources of new information was

a result of accepting dissection Artists were able to draw the body

accurately The printing press resulted in the

publication of medical books

AD 1350 – AD 1650 Renaissance

Rebirth of the science of medicine Dissection of the body allows a better

understanding of anatomy & physiology Michelangelo & Leonardo da Vinci draw the body Development of the printing press allows

knowledge to be spread to others First anatomy book published Michael Servetus describes the circulatory

system in the lungs Roger Bacon promotes chemical remedies to

treat disease Average life span was 30 – 40 years

Physicians gained an increased knowledge of the human body

Major development was the microscope

The start of drugstores or pharmacies

16th & 17th Centuries

Causes of disease – still not known; many people died from infections & puerperal (childbirth) fever

Ambroise Pare, French surgeon, known as the Father of Modern Surgery

Gabriel Fallopius – identifies the fallopian tube

William Harvey described the circulation of blood to and from the heart in 1628

Apothecaries (early pharmacists) made, prescribed, and sold medications

Average life span was 35 – 45 years

18th Century

Gabriel Fahrenheit creates the first mercury thermometer in 1714

Benjamin Franklin invents bifocals & found colds can be passed from person to person

John Hunter, an English surgeon, establishes scientific surgical procedures & introduces tube feeding

Average life span was 40 – 50 years

Also known as the Industrial Revolution Major progress in medical science Formal training for nurses began Sanitary nursing care units began Infection control methods developed

19th Century

First successful blood transfusion on humans Handwashing was encouraged after autopsies &

before childbirth – idea was resisted by hospital/medical personnel

Dr. William Morton, an American dentist, began using ether as an anesthetic in 1846

Dr. James Simpson began using chloroform as an anesthetic in 1847

Paul Ehrlich develops methods of detecting & differentiating between various diseases

Dimitri Ivanofski discovers viruses in 1892 Average life span was 40 - 60 years

Shows the most rapid growth in health

care Health care plans help pay costs of care Standards are created to make sure

every individual has access to quality health care

Computer technology allows medicine to progress faster than ever

Health insurance plans & social reforms developed in the 1920s

Sigmund Freud forms the basis for psychology & psychiatry

Dr. George Papanicolaou develops the Pap test

Average life span was 60 – 70 years

20th Century

1666 - Anton van Leeuwenhoek invents the microscope

1796 - Edward Jenner develops a smallpox vaccination

1816 - Rene Laennec invents the stethoscope 1818 – James Blundel performs the first successful

blood transfusion in humans 1842 – Crawford Long develops ether anesthesia 1849 - Elizabeth Blackwell, first female physician in

US 1863 – International Red Cross established 1865 – Sir Joseph Lister uses asepsis in surgery 1869 – Gregor Mendel - laws of heredity

Florence Nightingale - founder of modern nursing 1873 - Elizabeth Garrett Anderson – first female

physician in Britain 1881-Clara Barton founds the American Red Cross 1885-Louis Pasteur proves microorganisms cause

disease; pasteurizes milk to kill bacteria; creates rabies vaccine

1893 – Aspirin is developed 1895 – Wilhelm Roentgen discovers X-rays

1901 – Blood groups discovered 1910 - Marie Curie isolates radium 1928 - Sir Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin 1937 – Smoking is linked to cancer 1944 - First kidney dialysis machine developed 1944 - DNA discovered 1952 - Jonas Salk develops the polio vaccine 1954 - First successful kidney transplant

1960 - Birth control pills approved by the FDA 1963 - Thomas Starzl performs first liver

transplant 1964 - James Hardy performs first lung transplant 1968 - Christian Barnard performs first

successful heart transplant 1975 - CAT scans developed 1975 - New Jersey Supreme Court rules parents

have the right to remove life support

1978 - First ‘test tube baby’ born in England 1981 – AIDS identified as a disease 1982 - Dr. William DeVries implants the first

artificial heart 1984 - HIV virus causing AIDS identified 1984 – First baby conceived from frozen embryo 1987 – Dr. Benjamin Carson separates

conjoined twins 1994 – Breast cancer gene identified 1997 – Dolly, the sheep was cloned

Credits

North Carolina Health Science Curriculum

South Carolina Health Science Curriculum

Health Science Career Exploration by Louise Simmers