Turning points in the history of medicine

Get Revising

5th/4th century BC: Hippocrates develops theory of four humours

Ideas about natural causes of disease now as important/common as supernatural (rather than just common-sense ideas)

1 of 13

5th/4th century BC: Hippocrates develops clinical observation

Doctors have to follow rules/spread methods

2 of 13

1530s-1560s: Vesalius makes detailed anatomical drawings

Proved Galen wrong & challenged Greek/Roman ideas by human dissection

3 of 13

1530s-1560s: Paré tries new surgical methods

New surgery methods written down in books so ideas spread/ideas don't work very effectively until antiseptics developed

4 of 13

1620s-1650s: Harvey studies heart

Challenged Greek/Roman ideas & proved by experiments

5 of 13

1790s: Smallpox vaccination

Prevented infectious disease/leads to vaccinations against other diseases

6 of 13

1860s: Pasteur develops germ theory

Later developments in operations/cures/public health/hospitals become possible once link between germs/disease proved/understood

7 of 13

1840s: Simpson develops anaesthetics

More complex operations possible

8 of 13

1860s: Lister develops effective anaesthetics

Operations now safe way to treat illnesses/injury instead of last resort

9 of 13

1850s: Nightingale improves hospitals/nursing practices

Clean hospitals mean people who visit don't die/no longer last resort

10 of 13

1875: Public Health Act

Town conditions cleaner/leads to end of disease/improvements in living conditions, housing etc. later on

11 of 13

1911: Ehrlich creates first magic bullet

Cure for syphilis leads to chemical cures for other diseases

12 of 13

1928: Penicillin discovered

Cure for infectious disease developed/most now treatable with antibiotics

13 of 13

Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

Doctors have to follow rules/spread methods

Back

5th/4th century BC: Hippocrates develops clinical observation

Card 3

Front

Proved Galen wrong & challenged Greek/Roman ideas by human dissection

Back

Card 4

Front

New surgery methods written down in books so ideas spread/ideas don't work very effectively until antiseptics developed

Back

Card 5

Front

Challenged Greek/Roman ideas & proved by experiments

Back

View more cards

Get Revising

Turning points in the history of medicine