MEDICAL
MILESTONES
A
chronology of the key events in medical history that changed our view of
death
| 400s
- 300s B.C. |
| Hippocrates
lives; clinical study of disease, anatomy and surgery begins;
earliest medical schools founded. |
| 1600s
- 1700s A.D. |
| Modern
anatomy begins; microscope comes into medical use; great
strides made in chemistry and pharmacy; high mortality
remains for amputations and childbirth; half
of all amputations end in death. |
| Late
1700s |
| Medical
diagnoses continue to be oversimplified as "fever" or
"inflammation;" supernatural causes such as divine retribution
for sins frequently blamed for diseases and death. |
| Early
1800s |
| Vaccinations
for smallpox and other diseases broadly available; stethoscope
invented; life expectancy at birth less than 40 years. |
| Late
1800s |
| Bacteriology
debuts; some hospitals open labs to study blood,
gastric contents, tissue samples, bodily fluids; infections
no longer blamed on "bad air;" surgery survival
rates improve dramatically. |
| Mid-1900s |
| Immunology
and virology flourish; life expectancy at birth in United
States rises to about 65 for men and 70 for women. |
| Post-World
War II |
| Life-extending
breakthroughs unfold; penicillin proves practical, ushers in
era of antibiotics; ventilators gain widespread use
in hospitals; polio vaccine developed; RNA, DNA
synthesized; first artificial heart replaces a human heart
in surgery; organ transplants successful; great strides
made in research and treatment of cancer, diabetes,
arthritis; human life expectancy rises as a global dialog
emphasizes quality of life as well as length; in 1946, the
World Health Organization adopts this statement in the preamble
to its Constitution, "Health is a state of complete physical,
mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease
or infirmity." |
| Late
1990s |
| Life
expectancy at birth in United States is 73 for men and
80 for women; U.S. infant mortality rate drops to 76
deaths per 10,000 live births, down from 260 in 1960. |
|
