Health History and Trends Flashcards
4000 BC-3000 BC Primitive Times
Believed that illness and disease caused by supernatural spirits and demons. Tribal witch doctors treated illness with ceremonies to drive out evil spirits. Herbs and plants used and medicines and some, such as morphine for pain and digitalis for the heart, are still used today. Trepanation to trephining, boring a hole in the skull, was used to treat insanity, epilepsy, and headache. Average life span was 20 years.
3000 BC-300 BC
Ancient Egyptians
Earliest people mown to maintain accurate health records. Called upon the gods to heal them when disease occurred. Physicians were priests who studied medicine and surgery in temple medical schools. Believed body was a system of channels for air, tears, blood, urine, sperm, and feces. If channels became “clogged,” bloodletting or leeches were used to “open” them. Used magic and medicinal plants to treat disease. Average life span was 20 to 30 years.
Imhotep
(2725 BC, Ancient Egypt) first physician
1700 BC-220 AD
Ancient Chinese
Religious prohibitions against dissection resulted in inadequate knowledge of the body structure. Carefully monitored the pulse to determine the condition of the body. Believed in the need to treat the whole body by curing the spirit and nourishing the body. Used acupuncture, or puncture of the skin by needles, to relieve pain and congestion. Also used moxibustion (a powdered substance was placed on the skin and then burned to cause a blister) to treat disease. Began the search for medical reasons for illness. Average life span was 20 to 30 years.
1200 BC-200 BC
Ancient Greeks
Began modern medical science by observing human body and effects of disease. Believed illness is a result of natural causes. Used therapies such as massage, art therapy, and herbal treatment which are still used today. Stressed diet and cleanliness as ways to prevent disease. Average life span was 25 to 35 years.
Alcmaeon
(6th century BC, Ancient Greece) biochemist who identified the brain as the physiological site of the senses
Hippocrates
(460-377 BC, Ancient Greece) Father of Medicine; Developed organized mat hod to observe the human body. Recorded the signs and symptoms of many diseases. Created a high standard of ethics, the Oath of Hippocrates, used by physicians today.
Aristotle
(384-322 BC, Ancient Greece) dissected animals and is called founder of comparative anatomy
753 BC-410 AD
Ancient Romans
First to organize medical care by providing care for injured soldiers. Early hospitals developed when physicians cared for ill people in rooms in their homes. Later hospitals were religious and charitable institutions housed in monasteries and convents. Began public health and sanitation systems (e.g. aqueducts carried clean water to cities, sewers carried waste materials away to prevent disease, filtering systems in public baths prevent disease, and marshes were drained to reduce the incidence of malaria). Diet, exercise, and medications wee used to treat disease. Average life span was 25 to 35 years.
Claudius Galen
(129-199 AD, Ancient Rome) physicians who established many medical beliefs: body regulated by four fluids or humors (blood phlegm, black bile, and yellow bile); imbalance in humors resulted in illness; described symptoms of inflammation and studied infectious diseases; dissected animals and determined function of muscles, kidney, and bladder
400-800 AD
Dark Ages
Emphasis was placed on saving the soul and the study of medicine was prohibited. Prayer and divine intervention were used to treat illness and disease. Monks and priests provided custodial care for sick people. Medications were mainly herbal mixtures. Average life span was 20 to 30 years.
800-1400 AD
Middle Ages
Renewed interest in the medical practice of Greeks and Romans. Physicians began to obtain knowledge at medical universities in the 9th century. A pandemic (worldwide epidemic) of the bubonic plague (black death) killed ¾ of the population of Europe and Asia. Major diseases were smallpox, diphtheria, tuberculosis, typhoid, the plague, and malaria. Arab physicians used their knowledge of chemistry to advance pharmacology. Arabs began requiring that physicians pass examinations and obtain licenses. Average life span was 20 to 35 years.
Rhazes (al-Razi)
(Middle Ages, Persia) Arab physician, known as Arab Hippocrates. Based diagnoses on observations of the signs and symptoms of disease. Developed criteria for distinguishing between smallpox and measles in 910 AD. Suggested blood was the cause of many infectious diseases. Began the use of animal gut for suture material.
Avenzhoar
(12th Century, Middle Ages) Arab physician who described the parasite causing scabies
1350-1650 AD
Renaissance
Rebirth of the science of medicine. Dissection of the body began to allow a better understanding of anatomy and physiology. First chairs (positions of authority) of medicine created at Oxford and Cambridge in England in 1440. Development of the printing press allowed knowledge to be spread to others. Average life span was 30 to 40 years.
Michelangelo & Leonardo Da Vinci
(15th & 16th Centuries, Renaissance) used dissection in order to draw the human body more realistically
Andreas Vesalius
(1514-1564, Renaissance) published first anatomy book
Isaac Judaeus
(Renaissance) wrote first book on dietetics (the science or art of applying the principles of nutrition to the diet)
Michael Servetus
(1511-1553, Renaissance) Described the circulatory system in the lungs. Explained how digestion is a source of heat for the body.
Roger Bacon
(1214-1294, Renaissance) Promoted chemical remedies to treat disease. Researched optics and refraction (bending of light rays).
16th and 17th Centuries
Causes of disease still not known and many people died from infection and puerperal (childbed) fever. Scientific societies, such as the Royal Society of London, were established. Apothecaries (early pharmacists) made, prescribed and sold medications. Average life span was 35 to 45 years.
Ambroise Pare
(1510-1590) French surgeon, known as Father of Modern Surgery. Established use of ligatures to bind arteries and stop bleeding. Eliminated use of boiling oil to cauterize (stop bleeding of) wounds. Improved treatment of fractures and promoted use of artificial limbs.
Gabriel Fallopius
(1523-1562) Identified the fallopian tubes in the female. Described the tympanic membrane in the ear.
William Harvey
(1578-1657) described the circulation of blood to and from the heart in 1628
Anton van Leeuwenhoek
(1632-1723) invented the microscope in 1666
Bartolomeo Eustachio
identified the eustachian tube leading from the ear to the throat
18th Century: average life span
Average life span was 40 to 50 years
Gabriel Fahrenheit
(1686-1736) created the first mercury thermometer in 1714
Joseph Priestly
(1733-1804) discovered the element oxygen in 1774
John Hunter
(1728-1793) English surgeon. Established scientific surgical procedures. Introduced tube feeding in 1778.
Benjamin Franklin
(1706-1790) invented bifocals for glasses
Dr. Jesse Bennet
performed first successful Caesarian section operation to deliver an infant in 1794
James Lind
prescribed lime juice containing vitamin O to prevent scurvy in 1795