sts medical

• Health


  A state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity
• Technology


  The branch of knowledge that deals with the creation and use of technical means and their interrelation with life, society, and the environment, drawing upon such subjects as industrial arts, engineering, applied science, and pure science
• Health technology


  It is the prevention and rehabilitation, vaccines, pharmaceuticals and devices, medical and surgical procedures, and the systems within which health is protected and maintained
• Health technologies are used at every level of the health care system from the simplest to the most advanced
• Health technologies form the backbone of the services medicine can offer in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of illness and disease
• Diagnostics


  1. Relating to, or used in diagnosis. 2. Serving to identify or characterize; being a precise indication. A device or substance used for the analysis or detection of diseases or other medical conditions
• Medical professional in the field of diagnostic medicine

  Has the assignment to accurately classify symptoms, detect a patient's disease and to find the best available treatment option for the given illness
• Ancient beliefs about illness and disease


  • Punishment from the gods
  • Caused by evil spirits and demons
  • Herbs and plants used as medicine
  • Priests acted as physicians and treated sick people in the temple
  • Make up of the body was unknown
• Primitive times (4000 BC - 3000 BC)


  • Illness and diseases were a punishment from the gods
  • Tribal witch doctors treated illness with ceremonies
  • Herbs and plants used as medicines (morphine and digitalis)
  • Trepanation or trephining (surgically removing a piece of bone from the skull)
  • Average life span was 20 years
• Dark Ages (AD 400 - AD 800)


  • Emphasis on saving the soul and study of medicine was prohibited
  • Prayer and divine intervention were used to treat illness disease
  • Monks and priests provided custodial care for sick people
  • Medications were mainly herbal mixtures
  • Average life span was 20-30 years
• Ancient Chinese (1700 BC - AD 220)


  • Believed in the need to treat the whole body by curing the spirit and nourishing the body
  • Recorded a pharmacopoeia of medications based mainly on the use of herbs
  • Used therapies such as acupuncture
  • Began to search for medical reasons for illness
  • Average life span was 20-30 years
• Ancient Egyptians (3000 BC - 300 BC)


  • Physicians were priests
  • Blood letting or leeches used as medical treatment
  • Average life span was 20-30 years
• Ancient Greeks (1200 BC - 200 BC)


  • First to observe the human body and the effects of disease led to modern medical sciences
  • Believed illness is a result of natural causes
  • Used therapies such as massage, art therapy, and herbal treatment
  • Stressed diet and exercise as ways to prevent disease
  • Average life span was 25-35 years
• Ancient Romans (753 BC - AD 410)


  • First to organize medical care by providing care for injured soldiers
  • Later hospitals were religious and charitable institutions in monasteries and convents
  • First public health and sanitation systems by building sewers and aqueducts
  • Galen established belief that the body was regulated by four body humors blood, phlegm, black bile, and yellow bile
  • Life span was 25-35 years
• Middle Ages (AD 800 - AD 1400)

  • Renewed interest in medical practices of Greek and Romans
  • Major diseases included smallpox, diptheria, tuberculosis, typhoid, the plaque, and malaria
  • Arabs began requiring physicians pass examinations and obtain licenses
  • Average life span was 20-35 years
• Hippocrates


  Authored code of conduct for doctors known as the Hippocratic Oath that is the basis of medical practice today. Believed illness was not caused by evil spirits and stressed importance of good diet, fresh, air, cleanliness, and exercise
• Hippocrates is now known as the "Father of Medicine" due to his hypothesis that nutrition and cleanliness prevents illness and disease
• They used herbs and plants as medicines like foxglove plant, quinine, and morphine
• The Renaissance


  The "Rebirth of the science of medicine"
• Artists took strong interest during the Renaissance
• Medical thermometer devised by Italian physician Sanctorius
• The first diagnostic tool was invented during the Renaissance
• Dissection of body led to increased understanding of anatomy and physiology during the Renaissance
• Invention of printing press allowed medical knowledge to be shared during the Renaissance
• The first anatomy book was published by Andreas Vesalius (1514-1564) during the Renaissance
• Anton van Leeuwenhoek


  Invented the microscope lens that allowed visualization of organisms
• Anton van Leeuwenhoek scraped his teeth and observed the bacteria that causes tooth decay
• Developments in the 16th and 17th centuries

  • Cause of disease still not known, many people died from infections
  • Invention of the microscope allowed physicians to see disease-causing organisms
  • Apothecaries (early pharmicists) made, prescribed, and sold medications
  • Ambroise Pare (1510-1590), a French surgeon, known as the Father of Modern Surgery, established use of ligatures to stop bleeding
• Benjamin Franklin invented bifocals and found that colds could be passed from person to person
• Developments in the 18th century

  • Gabriel Fahrenheit (1686-1736) created the first mercury thermometer
  • John Hunter (1728-1793), established scientific surgical procedures and introduced tube feeding
• Ephraim McDowell (1771-1830) performed the first ovariotomy (surgical removal of the ovary) to remove a 22 pound tumor
• Edward Jenner (1749-1823) developed a vaccination for smallpox in 1796
• Rene Laennec (1781-1826) invented the stethoscope in 1819, the first stethoscope was made of wood
• Elizabeth Blackwell (1821-1910) was the first female physician in the United States in 1849
• Louis Pasteur


  Known as the Father of Microbiology. His germ theory proved that microorganisms cause disease. Proved that heat can be used to destroy germs through a process called pasteurization. Created a vaccine for rabies in 1885. Founded the basic rules for sterilization
• Joseph Lister (1827-1912) used carbolic acid on wounds to kill germs, he was the first doctor to use an antiseptic during surgery
• Florence Nightingale


  Known as the Founder of Modern Nursing. Established efficient and sanitary nursing units during the Crimean War in 1854. Invented the call bell system and use of dumbwaiters to deliver meals. Began the professional education of nurses
• Robert Koch (1843-1910) developed the culture plate method to identify pathogens and isolated the bacterium that causes tuberculosis
• Clara Barton


  Volunteer nurse for wounded soldiers during the Civil War. After Civil War, established a bureau of records to search for missing men. Campaigned for the USA to sign the Treaty of Geneva, which provided relief for sick and wounded soldiers. Formed American Red Cross in 1881 and served as its first president
• Rapid advancements in the 19th century due to discoveries of microorganisms, anesthesia, and vaccinations