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Over the years, many advancements and breakthroughs have been made since the beginnings of medicine. We have come a long way from the past, but we still have so much further to go in the medical field. Recent discoveries include the usage of 3D printing to print organ models to improve our understanding of the human body, and AI shows great potential for identifying cancer and early-stage heart disease, as well as assisting clinicans in designing treatment programs for patients to ease their symptoms. The amount of medical advancements in just these past 20 years is insane, and it is important to reflect back to the past to see who and what brought us here. The future that we hold seems to only point towards more confounding improvements that will enhance the quality of life for many.

Works cited:

Osmosis team. “The Top 10 Medical Advances in History.” osmosis.org, 10 July 2023, https://www.osmosis.org/blog/2023/07/10/the-top-10-medical-advances-in-history. Accessed 22 January 2024.

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Organ transplant

Throughout all of history, the idea of being able to transplant organs has been an appealing one. At first, inter-species transplantation was attempted, however that did not work. A few attempts have been made throughout the course of history but the people never lasted more than a few days. This changed in 1954, when surgeon Joseph Murray performed a kidney transplant between a pair of twins. The organ successfully survived for eight years. From then, we have been constantly working to make organ transplants safer. One of the things that makes organ transplants safer is developing better immunosuppressants. It is especially important that this transplant was performed on twins, because the body would not reject the organ. The fact that this happened helped doctors understand the effects of the immune system rejecting something foreign to it.

Works cited:

Hatzinger, M et al. “Die Geschichte der Nierentransplantation” [The history of kidney transplantation]. Der Urologe. Ausg. A vol. 55,10 (2016): 1353-1359. doi:10.1007/s00120-016-0205-3

“A Science Odyssey: People and Discoveries: First successful kidney transplant performed.” PBS, https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aso/databank/entries/dm54ki.html. Accessed 26 January 2024.

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Insulin

Sir Frederick G Banting and Charles H. Best discovered the existence of insulin in 1921. Insulin was first found in the dogs pancreas, and they continued to use different animals' pancreas to attempt to get insulin out of. To get this insulin, Banting figured a way to close the pancreatic ducts to " . . . get the degeneration of the pancreatic exocrine tissue and to obtain a pancreatic islet from the pure state." (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6205949/) This insulin was later purified by James B. Collip. The revelation of insulin was one of the medical fields greatest achievements after so many years of trying to figure it out. Diabetes can be traced back all the way to ancient Indian, Chinese, and Egyptian textbooks. Insulin sparked society to continue the pursuit of knowledge and treating diabetes.

Works cited:

Vecchio, Ignazio, et al. “The Discovery of Insulin: An Important Milestone in the History of Medicine.” NCBI, 23 October 2018, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6205949/. Accessed 26 January 2024.

Diabetes UK. “Who discovered insulin? | Diabetes research.” Diabetes UK, https://www.diabetes.org.uk/our-research/about-our-research/our-impact/discovery-of-insulin. Accessed 26 January 2024.

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Thomas splint

At the start of the World war 1, nearly 80% of soldiers with a broken thigh died. However, by utilizing the Thomas splint, 80% of soldiers suffering from a broken thigh could recover and continue living.

This splint was designed by Hugh Owen, but it wouldn't be until his nephew brought his invention to light on how helpful it would be in the war that it was really acknowledged.

Works cited:

Bell, Louise. “A revolution in treatment: the Thomas splint.” The National Archives blog, 1 December 2016, https://blog.nationalarchives.gov.uk/thomas-splint/. Accessed 25 January 2024.

Clarke, Owain. “World War One: Medical advances inspired by the conflict.” BBC, 7 August 2014, https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-28678392. Accessed 25 January 2024.

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Anesthesia

Whilst opium and other herbs were used as anesthesia before, in 1846 the first public display of modern anesthesia was shown in Massachusetts General Hospital. William T.G. Morton and John Collins Warren are the founders of anesthesia. After experimenting with a wide range of products, they settled on ether gas, as it was harmless to humans whilst numbing pain as patients undergo surgery.

Since then, we have greatly advanced anesthesiology and have a whole branch of science dedicated to it.

Works cited:

Long, Maude. “History of Anesthesia.” Wood Library-Museum of Anesthesiology, https://www.woodlibrarymuseum.org/history-of-anesthesia/. Accessed 26 January 2024.

Robinson, Daniel H., and Alexander H. Toledo. “Historical development of modern anesthesia.” PubMed, 25 June 2012, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22583009/. Accessed 26 January 2024.

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Smallpox Vaccine

Smallpox had been around for many thousands of years, tracing back to 3000 BC where scabs thought to be left by smallpox were unveiled on an Egyptian mummy. Throughout all of history, smallpox plagued towns and empires alike. One of the first things that people did to combat smallpox deaths, as the death rate was 3:10. The first method used to combat smallpox was variolation. People who never had smallpox had the smallpox scabs scratched into their arm, or they snorted the scabs. The beginning of actual vaccination started in 1796, when Edward Edward noticed something strange happening with milkmaids. He observed that if they had gotten cowpox, they were protected from smallpox. He only published his works in 1801 and vaccination gradually substituted variolation.

Further along in the future, this provoked the World Health Organization to exile smallpox everywhere. After some failed attempts, The Intensified Eradication Program started in 1977 to finish the job. In 1980, it was declared that the world was totally rid of smallpox. This is a wonderful and great achievement, showing how if we as humans come together and set our mind on something, we can cure societies ills.

Works cited:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID), Division of High-Consequence Pathogens and Pathology (DHCPP). “History of Smallpox | Smallpox | CDC.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 20 February 2021, https://www.cdc.gov/smallpox/history/history.html. Accessed 25 January 2024.

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Glasses/Spectacles

The first glasses were handheld, much like how a magnifying glass would work. It is rumored that they were invented in Florence, Italy. These glasses were made from two convex quartz crystals by dedicated glass makers. They even had tested your vision, so they could get a rough estimate on how thick to make the lense. To own these glasses was a symbol of status, wealth. and intelligence. We know the details of these old italian glasses due to Renaissance paintings.

Whilst glasses might not seem like such a big deal in the medical industry, just in the United States alone, more than 164 million people wear glasses. Glasses, contact lenses, and other vision correcting technology that has evolved from this helps so many people live their lives to the highest quality.

Works cited:

Pillay, Rayishnee, et al. “Historical Development, Applications and Advances in Materials Used in Spectacle Lenses and Contact Lenses.” NCBI, 29 September 2020, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7532918/. Accessed 26 January 2024.

Glasses.com. “When were eyeglasses invented and by whom?” Glasses.com, 19 January 2022, https://www.glasses.com/gl-us/blog/when-were-glasses-invented. Accessed 26 January 2024.

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Hippocrates

Hippocrates is known as the "Father of Medicine". His legacy is still greatly remembered today, however, no one actually knows just who he was. He set the ground rules for treatments today, by differentiating medicine from magic. He used rational thinking and objectivity to diagnose his patients. He brought around the idea of equilibrium, where the body is balanced and everything is working as it should be. Whilst his methods for obtaining this balance are definitely not correct, he set the foundation and was the first to define what diseases actually were, rather than blaming it on a god.

Works cited:

“Hippocrates - Libraries.” UAB Libraries, University of Alabama, https://library.uab.edu/locations/reynolds/collections/medical-greats/hippocrates. Accessed 24 January 2024.

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Spices as medicine

Throughout history all around the world spices & herbs are still cherished today for medicinal value. Written records of spices and their remedial purposes can be traced back in Egypt, through the Ebers Papyrus. Egyptian schools of herbalists have existed since 3000 BC. Nearly all of these spices that the Egyptians was sourced from India, implying some of the earliest spice trade. Egypt certaintly wasn't the only one using spices and herbs as treatments for various ills. For example, Ayurvedic medicine is still widely valued today for its longetivety benefits. Ayurvedic medicine holds spices in high regard for having effects to promote the well-being.

Works cited:

Penn State

Penn State University. “Herb and Spice History.” Penn State Extension, 14 March 2023, https://extension.psu.edu/herb-and-spice-history. Accessed 23 January 2024.

Mc Cormick Science Institute. “History of Spices.” McCormick Science Institute, https://www.mccormickscienceinstitute.com/resources/history-of-spices. Accessed 23 January 2024.

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After exploring the highs of medicine from many different time periods, it is clear how far we have come as a society. The human race has always been curious and innovative, always finding ways to preserve our own, and alleviate suffering. It is incredible how we have come from nothing to invent all of these wonderful medicines, technologies, and treatment plans. What scientists have done for us is remarkable, even back thousands of years ago. It was so interesting to learn about how one person, or one group of people with a similar goal could come together and establish something that would still be prevalent in today's age.

Works cited:

Harvard. “Timeline of Discovery | Harvard Medical School.” Harvard Medical School, https://hms.harvard.edu/about-hms/history-hms/timeline-discovery. Accessed 26 January 2024.