history of medicine

Introduction
Medicine and surgery before 1800
- Early medicine and folklore
- The ancient Middle East and Egypt
- Traditional medicine and surgery in Asia
  - India
  - China
  - Japan
- The roots of Western medicine
  - Early Greece
  - Hippocrates
  - Hellenistic and Roman medicine
- Christian and Muslim reservoirs of learning
  - Translators and saints
  - Arabian medicine
- Medieval and Renaissance Europe
  - Salerno and the medical schools
  - The spread of new learning
- The Enlightenment
  - Harvey and the experimental method
  - The futile search for an easy system
  - Medicine in the 18th century
The rise of scientific medicine in the 19th century
- Physiology
- Verification of the germ theory
- Discoveries in clinical medicine and anesthesia
- Advances at the end of the century
Medicine in the 20th century
- Infectious diseases and chemotherapy
  - Ehrlich and arsphenamine
  - Sulfonamide drugs
  - Antibiotics
    - Penicillin
    - Antituberculous drugs
    - Other antibiotics
- Immunology
  - Antibacterial vaccination
    - Typhoid
    - Tetanus
    - Diphtheria
    - BCG vaccine for tuberculosis
  - Immunization against viral diseases
  - The immune response
- Endocrinology
  - Insulin
  - Cortisone
  - Sex hormones
- Vitamins
- Malignant disease
- Tropical medicine
Surgery in the 20th century
- The opening phase
  - The situation encountered
  - Changes before World War I
    - Abdominal surgery
    - Neurosurgery
    - Radiology
- World War I
- Between the World Wars
  - The problem of shock
  - Anesthesia and thoracic surgery
- World War II and after
  - Support from other technologies
  - Heart surgery
  - Organ transplantation

References & Edit History Related Topics

Images & Videos

Smallpox vaccination

Trepanning, or trepanation

Chinese manuscript showing acupuncture points

Ivory diptych of Asclepius

Hear about the ancient Greek's holistic approach to medicine and how it can help us rethink on the relevant medical issues of today

Detail from School of Athens by Raphael

Related Questions

Smallpox vaccination — Smallpox vaccination Edward Jenner vaccinating his child against smallpox; colored engraving.

history of medicine

Written by

Robert G. RichardsonAll

Fact-checked by

Britannica Editors

history of medicine, the development of the prevention and treatment of disease from prehistoric and ancient times to the 21st century. Unwritten history is not easy to interpret, and, although much may be learned from a study of the drawings, bony remains, and surgical tools of early humans, it is difficult to reconstruct their mental attitude toward the problems of disease and death. It seems probable that, as soon as they reached the stage of...

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