History of Medicine Medical Foundations

Famous Scientist Worksheet Match the famous scientist to his or her contribution to medicine as your classmates present.

Topic: History of Medicine Early Beginnings Medicine in Ancient Times The Dark Ages and Middle Ages The Renaissance Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries The Eighteenth Century The Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries The Future of Medicine

EARLY BEGINNINGS Primitive human beings were superstitious and believed that illness and disease were caused by supernatural spirits. In an attempt to heal, tribal doctors performed ceremonies to exercise evil spirits. They also used herbs and plants as medicines.

MEDICINE IN ANCIENT TIMES The Egyptians were the earliest people to keep accurate health records. They were superstitious and called upon the gods to heal them. Priests acted as physicians. The ancient Chinese were first to use primitive acupuncture therapies. The ancient Greeks considered medicine to be an art, not just a profession. They began researching and eliminating superstition.

THE DARK AGES (A.D. 400-800) AND MIDDLE AGES (A.D. 800-1400) The Roman Empire was conquered by the Huns and the study of medicine was stopped. For 1000 years, medicine was only practiced in convents and monasteries. The primary treatment was prayer. Terrible epidemics caused millions of deaths bubonic plague = 60 million! Smallpox, diphtheria, syphilis, and tuberculosis were common.

THE RENAISSANCE A.D. 1350-1650 Universities and medical schools were used for research. Search for new ideas about disease rather than believing it is the will of God. Acceptance of dissection of the body for study. Development of printing press and publishing of books. These changes influenced the future of medical science.

SIXTEENTH AND SEVENTEENTH CENTURIES Apothecaries (early pharmacies) started. In medieval England, they traded drugs and spices from the East. The desire to learn continued, but quackery (pretending to cure diseases) was common. The causes of infection and disease were still not understood. Childbed fever and death from infection were common.

THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY Students went outside of the classroom to observe patients at the bedside. When a patient died, they dissected the body to understand the disease process. In 1849, Elizabeth Blackwell (1821-1910) became the first female physician in the United States.

THE NINETEENTH AND TWENTIETH CENTURIES Physicians used herbs, hashish, and alcohol to help relieve pain before anesthesia was invented. Many patients died from shock and pain. Nitrous Oxide (for dental care) and chloroform (for a deep sleep) were discovered. Immunizations, holistic health, patient education, telemedicine, noninvasive procedures, geriatrics

(THE ADVANCEMENT OF NURSING) Florence Nightingale attracted well-educated, dedicated women to the Nightingale School of Nursing.

THE FUTURE OF MEDICINE Cure of AIDS Decrease in malaria, influenza, leprosy, and African sleeping sickness. Cure for genetically transferred diseases. Improved treatment for arthritis and the common cold. Isolation of the gene that causes depression. Use of electronics to allow disabled persons to walk. Nutritional therapy to decrease the number of cases of schizophrenia.