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4000 BCE
Primitive Healthcare
Major Contributions of the primitive period include:
1.Illness and disease were punishment from the Gods
2. Tribal Doctors treated disease with rituals
3. Herbs and plants used as medicine
4. Trephining used to create hole in the skull
5. Average life span of 20 years -
300 BCE
Ancient Egyptians
The ancient Egyptians contributions included:
1. Physicians were priests
2. Bloodletting or leeches used as medical treatment
3. Average life span- 20 years
4. Believed Gods, angels, and demons played a large role in healing
5. Profession of a doctor of medicine emerged -
220 BCE
Ancient Chinese
The Ancient Chinese contributed:
1. Believed in the need to treat the whole body by treating the body and the soul
2. Recorded a pharmacopoeia of medications based mainly on the use of herbs
3. Used therapies such as acupuncture
4. Began to search for medical reasons for illness
5. Average life span was 20-30 years -
200 BCE
Ancient Greeks
Ancient Greeks Contributed
1.First to observe the human body and the effects of disease – led to modern medical
sciences.
2. Believed illness is a result of natural causes
3. Used therapies such as massage, art therapy, and herbal treatment
4. Average life span 25-35 years
5. Diverse collection of methods and beliefs -
410
Ancient Romans
Romans contributions included:
1. Established first hospital (caring for solders in their homes)
2. First public health and sanitation systems by building sewers and aqueducts
3. Average life span 25-35 years
4. Highly Influenced by Greek medicine
5. Were more worried about the quality of life of their people -
800
Dark Ages
- Began after the fall of the Roman Empire 2.Emphasis on saving the soul and study of medicine was prohibited
- Monks and priests treated patients with prayer
- Average life span 20-30 years
- People thought the earth was flat.
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1400
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages Contributions include:
1. Renewed interest in medical practices of Greek and Romans
2. Bubonic Plague killed 75% of population in Europe and Asia
3. Average life span 20-35 years
4. Hospitals emerged
5. Pharmacies were established -
Renaissance
- Dissection of body led to increased understanding of anatomy and physiology
- Invention of printing press allowed medical knowledge to be shared
- Average life span 30-40 years
- Before this period, medicine in Europe was largely based on theories
- Shift toward scientific understanding
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16th and 17th Century
- Cause of disease still not known – many people died from infections
- Invention of the microscope allowed physicians to see disease-causing organisms.
- Apothecaries led to development of pharmacies
- First vaccination developed – smallpox
- Average life span 35-45 years
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18th, 19th, 20th, 21st Centuries
18th Century-
1.Gabriel Fahrenheit (1686-1736) created the first mercury thermometer
2. John Hunter (1728-1793), established scientific surgical procedures and introduced tube feeding
3. Benjamin Franklin invented bifocals
4. Average life span 40-50 years
19th Century-
1. Formal training for nurses began
2.Infection control developed once microorganisms were associated with disease
3. Viruses discovered in 1892
4. Women became active participants in health care
5. Average life span 40-60 years -
18th, 19th, 20th, 21st Century
20th-
1. Increased knowledge about the role of blood in the body
2. ABO blood groups discovered
3. Found out how white blood cells protect against disease
4. New medications were developed
5. New machines developed -
18th, 19th, 20th, 21st Centuries
21st-
1. Advanced Cell Technology announced it cloned a human embryo in 2001 but the embryo did not survive
2. The U.S. FDA approved the use of the abortion pill RU-486 IN 200
3. The standards for Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information, required under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) of 1996 went into effect in 2003
4.The Medicare Prescription Drug Improvement and Modernization Act
5. Vaccinations for cervical cancer and herpes zoster
