History of Healthcare: Key Figures and Medical Breakthroughs

Joseph Lister

Used disinfectants and antiseptics during surgery to prevent infection

Louis Pasteur

Originated the process of the Pasteurization of milk to kill bacteria; Germ Theory

Anton van Leeuwenhoek

Invented the microscope

Florence Nightingale

Founder of modern nursing; helped at a military hospital during the Crimean War

Rene Laennec

Invented the Stethoscope

Clara Barton

Formed the American Red Cross in 1881; Nurse during the Civil War

Ben Carson

Performed the first successful conjoined twins separation

Gregor Mendel

Discovered the basic principles of heredity and genetics;

Edward Jenner

Known as the "Father of Immunology" Pioneered the concept of vaccinations; creating smallpox vaccine from cowpox

Hippocrates

Ancient Greek physician known as the "Father of Medicine" Credited with writing the code of ethics known as the Hippocratic oath

Joseph Murray

Performed the first kidney transplant on a non-related patient using immunosuppressive therapy

Frederick Hopkins

Discovered essential nutrient factors (Vitamins)

William Kouwenhoven

"Father of CPR" Pioneered understanding electricity and the heart (defibrillation)

William Harvey

First to recognize and describe full circulation of the blood in the human body

Wilhelm Conrad Rontgen

Discovered X-rays while experimenting with cathode rays

Watson and Crick

Discovered the molecular structure of DNA (double helix model)

Frederick Banting

One of the first to extract insulin from the pancreas (first done in dogs)

Alexander Flemming

Discovered Penicillin

James Lind

Cured scurvy with the use of Vitamin C from citrus fruits (Vitamin C deficiency)

Henry Judah Heimlich

Invented the Heimlich valve during the Vietnam war and the Heimlich maneuver which helps choking victims

William Morton

Dental surgeon who gave the first successful public demonstration of ether anesthesia during surgery

James Blundell

Performed the first successful blood transfusion in humans

Karl Landsteiner

Classified blood into 4 groups and discovered when different blood types are mixed red blood cells can clump/clot

Elizabeth Blackwell

First woman to receive a medical degree; Founded the NY Infirmary for women and children

Robert Jarvik

Invented the first implantable artificial heart

Godfrey Hounsfield

Invented the computed axial tomography (CAT) scan

Ignaz Semmelweis

Discovered the cause of childbed fever (sepsis); Introduced antisepsis to medicine

Marie Curie

Pioneered the research of radioactivity; Discovered radium and polonium

Robert Gallo and Luc Montagnier

Discovered the cause of the Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) virus (HIV)

Sir Humphry Davy and Horace Wells

Davy Discovered the effects of Nitrous Oxide; Wells pioneered the use of surgical anesthesia (nitrous oxide)