History of major advances in medicine

Medicine

History of medicine - highlights
epidemics – well known through all of the human history
Until 16th century every disease in epidemic proportion = "pestis" or "pestilentia"

History of medicine - highlights
Bernard de Gordon in 14th c. in "Lilium medicinae" describes communicable diseases like: leprosy, anthrax, trachoma, acute fever, scabies, epilepsy, but does not mention plague, which was a pandemic known as “black death"

History of medicine - highlights
Plague pandemic started in 1332 in India, spread through China and Russia to Constantinople and Italy
In the middle of 14th c.- whole Asia, Europe and north Africa
…wasteland, extinct cities, corps lying around, with no one to bury them

History of medicine - highlights
“black death" most prominent in Dalmatia (Split, Zadar, Dubrovnik)
In Dubrovnik in 1377 – first quarantine in the world – 40 days of isolation and observation prior to unloading the cargo and people

History of medicine - highlights
During 14th and 15th century – other epidemics: variola, disentery, scurvy, laprosy…

History of medicine - highlights
Girolamo Fracastoro – theory about invisible germs that spread and cause diseases
Through direct contact, via objects, ability to spread far from the source
Refutes Galen’s "miasm theory” (poisonous air and fumes)

Girolamo Fracastoro
"De contagione et contagiosis morbis“ in 1543 – claims that germs multiply, are poisonous, could be destroyed by fire
Recommends regular body hygene, clean environment, water and food sanitation, disinfection

History of medicine - highlights
In Italy, Spain…
at the end of 15th century and in 16th c. – new epidemic in Europe – syphilis

History of medicine - highlights
Microscope discovery
Antony van Leeuwenhoek in 1670

Antony van Leeuwenhoek
Leeuwenhoek analyzed blood, saliva, bones, muscles, human eye lens, ect.
Achieved magnification up to 40-160 times, later up to 270 times

History of medicine - highlights
In 18th c. doctor from Slovenia Marko Anton Plenčić supports the theory about small living creatures which cause communicable diseases
He hypothesized that different creature causes different, specific disease
Described human immunity, susceptibility, incubation, disease carriers, some diseases (scarlet fever, variola)

History of medicine - highlights
At the end of 18th c. British doctor Edward Jenner noticed that women who milk cows often get cow pox (much more benign than smallpox) and never get smallpox, as a consequence

Edward Jenner
After 20 years of observation – experiment on 8yrs old boy James Phipps
Jenner took the pus from the hand of a women with cow pox and applied it to the boy – after 6 weeks the boy was exposed to smallpox – didn’t get smallpox
Published a book about vaccination in 1798 (vacca=cow)

History of medicine - highlights
Only in 19th century bacteria have been discovered
Pollender discovered one of the largest bacteria - anthrax in the blood of dead animals

History of medicine - highlights
Louis Pasteur – foundations for modern theory about causes of communicable diseases
discovered yeasts
introduced pasteurization for wine and milk

Louis Pasteur
Investigated other pathogenic microorganisms
Noticed how anthrax culture loses virulence – when applied to healthy animal it didn’t cause the disease
Created vaccine to immnunize rams against anthrax
In 1881. discovered streptococcus and staphylococcus bacteria

Louis Pasteur
In 1885 L. Pasteur introduced vaccination agains rabies
Dried spinal cord from dogs died of rabies Pasteur applied for 9yrs old boy Joseph Meistera, who was bitten by a rabid dog – the boy was saved
Thanks to Pasteur, countless lives were saved all over the world

History of medicine - highlights
During 19th c. in England – great cholera epidemic
John Snow – a doctor perticulary interested in this epidemics in 1854 creates hypothesis that cholera was transmitted via water

History of medicine - highlights
1882 Robert Koch discovered M. tuberculosis
1890 discovered tuberculin, first considered cure, later became diagnostic tool
tuberculosis was a pandemic at the end of 19th c. due to poor social and economic conditions

Robert Koch
Koch also investigated other microorganisms: cholera, plague, malaria, typhus, amoebiasis

History of medicine - highlights
At the end of 19th c. Koch and Pasteur formed new discipline -
microbiology

History of medicine - highlights
Beginning of 20th c. – discovery of viruses
1908 - Karl Landsteiner - poliomyelitis virus
1912 - Wilhelm Grueter – herpes virus

History of medicine - highlights
In 1907 Paul Erlich introduced chemotherapy (chemicals that selectively destroy microorganisms, without causing damage to the host)
1923 – systematic prophylactic BCG vaccine

History of medicine - highlights
1928 Alexander Fleming accidental finding that the presence of molds blocked coccus culture growth
Penicillium notatum - penicillin

History of medicine - highlights
Only from 1940s penicillin was applied during WWII against coccus bacteria, C. diphtheriae, anthrax, tetanus
Over following years – discoveries of other antibiotics, most important was streptomycin (Selman A. Waksman – coined term antibiotic)

History of medicine - highlights
Discovery of microorganisms, antibiotics and vaccines – led to disappearance of fatal epidemics of the past
Further progress in medicine, social sciences, technology and economy - led to increased life expectancy in wealthy populations, and change in morbidity and mortality patterns

History of medicine - highlights
During middle of 20th c. – increase in cardiovascular diseases morbidity and mortality in developed countries
Leading causes of death, accompanied with cancers and accidents (traffic)

Framingham study
started in 1948 in USA – most famous and longest cohort study of cardiovascular diseases risk factors

Smoking effects in 1940s?
http://www.youtube.com
More Doctors Smoke Camels Than Any Other Cigarette

Smoking effects
Countless experiments and studies investigated smoking effects
In 1951 famous study among British doctors began – smoking and lung cancer association? (R Doll and AB Hill)

History of medicine - highlights
Second half of 20th c. research topics:
- Oral antidiabetic therapy
- Ionizing radiation and leukaemia
- Sacharin and bladder carcinoma
Thalidomide effects
Estrogen supplementation and endometrial cancer, and breast cancer
- Passive smoking
- HIV/AIDS
- Risk factors for accidents
……….

Top achievements in medicine?
http://science.discovery.com/convergence/100discoveries/big100/medicine.html
http://www.healthfiend.com/weeklytop/top-10-greatest-medical-discoveries-of-all-time/