https://padlet.com/nicole_lindbergh/56gcjfq6iaym A timeline of the History of Health Care.(note that it starts at the bottom due to a technical error) en-us 2017-01-29 20:11:15 UTC 2025-10-02 12:54:02 UTC hello@padlet.com nicole_lindbergh https://padlet.com/nicole_lindbergh/56gcjfq6iaym/wish/150114958 A timeline featuring the progression of advancement in health care beginning in prehistoric times to modern day.]]> 2017-01-29 20:14:28 UTC https://padlet.com/nicole_lindbergh/56gcjfq6iaym/wish/150114958 nicole_lindbergh https://padlet.com/nicole_lindbergh/56gcjfq6iaym/wish/150115271 During the early age of humanity, people had minimal understanding of the workings of the universe and were limited to what they could accomplish due to the lack of knowledge and material available to them. Therefore, when people got sick, in an effort to explain the nature of their illness, they blamed supernatural causes for disease and turned to witch doctors for treatment. Thus, the average life expectancy was 20 years-old. ]]> 2017-01-29 20:19:13 UTC https://padlet.com/nicole_lindbergh/56gcjfq6iaym/wish/150115271 nicole_lindbergh https://padlet.com/nicole_lindbergh/56gcjfq6iaym/wish/150115803 The first major advancement in human healthcare was achieved during the first major human civilization: Ancient Egypt. The Ancient Egyptians were the first people to keep health records, which were managed by the physician-priests and polymaths who served the Pharaoh and believed health was determined by the flow of channels of life inside the body, channels which steady treatment of leeches could purge. In this era, the architect and polymath Imhotep became the first physician, and the average life span was around 20-30 years]]> 2017-01-29 20:26:33 UTC https://padlet.com/nicole_lindbergh/56gcjfq6iaym/wish/150115803 nicole_lindbergh https://padlet.com/nicole_lindbergh/56gcjfq6iaym/wish/150116964 The next major advancement in health care came in one of the Ancient Greek city-states through the efforts of Hippocrates of Kos (460 BC - 377 BC), whose intellectual school established medicine as a profession and trade apart from its parent schools. Hippocrates earned the title "the Father of Medicine" for his treatment and diagnosis of disease, unique for its time, and his discovery that diseases were caused by a combination of factors, none of which related to the will of gods. The average life span for this time was 25-35 years. ]]> 2017-01-29 20:44:05 UTC https://padlet.com/nicole_lindbergh/56gcjfq6iaym/wish/150116964 nicole_lindbergh https://padlet.com/nicole_lindbergh/56gcjfq6iaym/wish/150117556 The Ancient Romans made significant advancements in the subject of health as a collective culture and through the insights of individuals. The Romans sanctioned the first organized health care system, supporting the first hospitals, public health and sanitation systems, and public baths. Individuals like Claudius Galen (129 - 199 AD) made concerted efforts to understand infectious disease and disease itself, coming up with the popular if incorrect theory of the four humors.]]> 2017-01-29 20:53:09 UTC https://padlet.com/nicole_lindbergh/56gcjfq6iaym/wish/150117556 nicole_lindbergh https://padlet.com/nicole_lindbergh/56gcjfq6iaym/wish/150117951 After the collapse of the Roman Empire, the continent of Europe fell into a period of little medical progress and general disrepair. Medicine was prohibited as focus turned to the healing of the soul versus the body. The average life span slipped to 20-30 years. ]]> 2017-01-29 20:58:40 UTC https://padlet.com/nicole_lindbergh/56gcjfq6iaym/wish/150117951 nicole_lindbergh https://padlet.com/nicole_lindbergh/56gcjfq6iaym/wish/150118278 Following the Dark Ages began the slow revival of European society through the rediscovery of the classics. Medical universities drawing upon the knowledge of the earlier Greek and Roman doctors arose during this time, but the Bubonic Plague swept through Europe in the 13th century, wiping out almost 75% of the European population, halting major progress. The average lifespan in Europe was around 20-35 years, although in the Middle East, Arab countries furthered pharmacology and began to force doctors to obtain licenses. ]]> 2017-01-29 21:02:31 UTC https://padlet.com/nicole_lindbergh/56gcjfq6iaym/wish/150118278 nicole_lindbergh https://padlet.com/nicole_lindbergh/56gcjfq6iaym/wish/150118961 Originating in Italy but quickly spreading throughout Europe, the Renaissance period saw the rapid acceleration and advancement of human knowledge, particularly in the field of medicine. Dissection of the body led to the first explorations of human anatomy, such as Andreas Vesalius's first-of-its-kind book, On the Fabric of the Human Body. Michael Servetus, Roger Bacon, Leonardo da Vinci, and Michelangelo also furthered the study of health. The average lifespan was 20-40 years. ]]> 2017-01-29 21:12:49 UTC https://padlet.com/nicole_lindbergh/56gcjfq6iaym/wish/150118961 nicole_lindbergh https://padlet.com/nicole_lindbergh/56gcjfq6iaym/wish/150119574 Ambroise Paré's practice of the scientific method on battlefield surgery led to numerous critical advancements in health care, earning him the title of the Father of Modern Surgery. His discoveries, particularly of artificial prostheses, for eyes and limbs, as well as ligatures, mark a critical moment for the study of health, as Paré's discoveries were precursors to modern practice. ]]> 2017-01-29 21:22:02 UTC https://padlet.com/nicole_lindbergh/56gcjfq6iaym/wish/150119574 nicole_lindbergh https://padlet.com/nicole_lindbergh/56gcjfq6iaym/wish/150120162 The invention of the microscope by Anton van Leeuwenhoek marks the first step towards the discovery of the cause of many diseases and the field of microbiology. Although van Leeuwenhoek's microscope was puny and hard to use, its use led to the discovery of single-celled organisms and initiated the modern age of medicine. ]]> 2017-01-29 21:31:25 UTC https://padlet.com/nicole_lindbergh/56gcjfq6iaym/wish/150120162 nicole_lindbergh https://padlet.com/nicole_lindbergh/56gcjfq6iaym/wish/150120529 The establishment of scientific surgical procedures, tube feeding, and vaccinations as viable options distinguishes this era as important to the progression of health care. Surgeons like John Hunter, Edward Jenner, and James Lind promoted inoculation, a precursor to vaccination, and more effective treatments to disease. The average lifespan for this period rose to 40-50 years as doctors began to understand the nature of disease more. ]]> 2017-01-29 21:37:14 UTC https://padlet.com/nicole_lindbergh/56gcjfq6iaym/wish/150120529 nicole_lindbergh https://padlet.com/nicole_lindbergh/56gcjfq6iaym/wish/150121219 Marking the early 19th Century were several crucial advancements which made the relatively long lifespan of 40-60 years possible. The first federal vaccinations in 1813 by the Austrian Empress Maria Therese promoted the life-saving practice; the first successful blood transfusions in 1818 advanced the profession of surgery, and for the first time auscultation was possible through the invention of the stethoscope in 1816 by Laennec. ]]> 2017-01-29 21:48:28 UTC https://padlet.com/nicole_lindbergh/56gcjfq6iaym/wish/150121219 nicole_lindbergh https://padlet.com/nicole_lindbergh/56gcjfq6iaym/wish/150121490 Duly important in the advancement of health care is the improvement of practitioners during the 19th century. For the first time, medical professionals began to offer humane treatment for the mentally ill, although the practice was not yet common place, and surgeons like Ignaz Semmelweis began to advocate sanitary surgical procedures to prevent the spread of infection. Also, the first nursing training program by Florence Nightingale standardized the care of nursing professionals, setting the precedent for modern nursing today. ]]> 2017-01-29 21:52:57 UTC https://padlet.com/nicole_lindbergh/56gcjfq6iaym/wish/150121490 nicole_lindbergh https://padlet.com/nicole_lindbergh/56gcjfq6iaym/wish/150121764 Paul Ehrlich, Robert Koch, and Louis Pasteur contributed significantly to the advancement of medicine through their pioneer research of microorganisms and immunities. Louis Pasteur's particular insight that microorganisms can cause disease is a critical development in the history of health care, a marked difference from the primitive belief enjoyed a mere four millennia before, that disease is divine retribution.]]> 2017-01-29 21:57:37 UTC https://padlet.com/nicole_lindbergh/56gcjfq6iaym/wish/150121764 nicole_lindbergh https://padlet.com/nicole_lindbergh/56gcjfq6iaym/wish/150122582 Walter Reed's identification of mosquitoes as vectors for yellow fever in 1900 marked a milestone in human history, particularly in bio-medicine. This critical insight began a century of rapid development in health care and introduced the concept of vectors, but also the practice of preventive health care as the U.S. Army through his suggestion began to eliminate the disease-carrying animal to stop the spread of yellow fever while they worked on the Panama Canal. ]]> 2017-01-29 22:12:22 UTC https://padlet.com/nicole_lindbergh/56gcjfq6iaym/wish/150122582 nicole_lindbergh https://padlet.com/nicole_lindbergh/56gcjfq6iaym/wish/150123035 In 1901, Miller Reese patented the first battery-powered hearing aid, the first of many advancements in geriatric care for older persons during the 20th Century. ]]> 2017-01-29 22:20:45 UTC https://padlet.com/nicole_lindbergh/56gcjfq6iaym/wish/150123035 nicole_lindbergh https://padlet.com/nicole_lindbergh/56gcjfq6iaym/wish/150123191 The discovery of producible insulin by Banting and Best in 1922 was critical not only for the thousands of people slowly starving to death due to diabetes, but as first of many important developments in pharmaceutical care. In 1928, Sir Alexander Fleming discovered the all-important antibiotic penicillin, perhaps the most important discovery of the millennium in terms of protecting human life, enabling all following advancements through the sterilization of surgery. ]]> 2017-01-29 22:24:08 UTC https://padlet.com/nicole_lindbergh/56gcjfq6iaym/wish/150123191 nicole_lindbergh https://padlet.com/nicole_lindbergh/56gcjfq6iaym/wish/150124056 A huge milestone in human history is Watson and Crick's discovery of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and its function in both microorganisms and in human biology. Through medical understanding of DNA, doctors can predict health risks based on family history and DNA analysis, as well as study disease overtime. ]]> 2017-01-29 22:41:26 UTC https://padlet.com/nicole_lindbergh/56gcjfq6iaym/wish/150124056 nicole_lindbergh https://padlet.com/nicole_lindbergh/56gcjfq6iaym/wish/150124579 In 1967, the first (successful) human heart transplant was given to a man in Cape Town, South Africa, a huge achievement for health care.]]> 2017-01-29 22:47:43 UTC https://padlet.com/nicole_lindbergh/56gcjfq6iaym/wish/150124579 nicole_lindbergh https://padlet.com/nicole_lindbergh/56gcjfq6iaym/wish/150125292 The last great milestone in the history of healthcare so far was the successful birth of the first synthetic clone, Dolly the Sheep. Her life, in which she gave birth to four healthy lambs, proved that cloning DNA was possible, and that life afterwords is entirely possible, raising important questions over the possibility of cloning in the future, for both animals and people.]]> 2017-01-29 23:00:12 UTC https://padlet.com/nicole_lindbergh/56gcjfq6iaym/wish/150125292