Individual Contributions to Medicine

Flashcards highlighting the key individuals, inventions, and major contributions in medical history from the provided lecture notes.

Hippocrates

Greek physician known as the "Father of medicine" who authored the Hippocratic oath, believed illness was not caused by evil, and stressed the importance of good diet, fresh air, exercise, and cleanliness.

Anton van Leeuwenhoek

Invented the microscope lens that allowed visualization of organisms and observed the bacteria that causes tooth decay after scraping his teeth.

Benjamin Franklin

Invented bifocals in the 18th century and found that colds could be passed from person to person.

Ephraim McDowell

Surgeon from Danville, KY who performed the first abdominal surgery, an ovariotomy to remove a 22 pound tumor.

Edward Jenner

Developed a vaccination for smallpox in 1796.

Rene Laennec

Invented the stethoscope in 1819, with the first stethoscope being made of wood.

Elizabeth Blackwell

Became the first female physician in the US in 1849.

Florence Nightingale

Established efficient sanitary conditions during the Crimean War in 1854, invented the call bell system and use of dumbwaiters to deliver meals, began professional education of nurses, and is known for modern nursing.

Louis Pasteur

Father of microbiology who proved germ theory, showed that heat destroys germs through pasteurization, founded basic rules for sterilization, and created a vaccine for rabies in 1885.

Joseph Lister

First doctor to use an antiseptic during surgery and used carbolic acid on wounds to kill germs.

Clara Barton

Volunteer nurse during the Civil War who established a bureau of records to search for missing men, formed the American Red Cross in 1981, and served as its first president.

Robert Koch

Developed the culture plate method to identify pathogens and isolated the bacterium that causes tuberculosis.

Wilhelm Roentgen

Discovered roentgenograms (X-rays) in 1895 and performed the first X-ray on his wife's hand.

Sigmund Freud

Discovered the conscious and unconscious part of the mind, providing the basis for psychology and psychiatry.

Sir Alexander Fleming

Made a discovery in 1928 that is considered one of the most important discoveries of the 20th century.

Jonas Salk and Albert Sabin

Discovered the polio vaccine, saving many people from a virus that paralyzed thousands of adults and children each year.

Francis Crick and James Watson

Described the structure of DNA and how it carries genetic information in 1953, built a 3D model of the DNA molecule, and shared the Nobel Prize in 1962.

Christian Barnard

Performed the first successful heart transplant in 1968.

Robert Jarvik

Creator of the first artificial heart, which was implanted on Dec 2, 1982 into Barney Clark (who lived for 112 days) and whose second patient lived for 620 days.

Ben Carson

Director of Pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital, famous for surgeries to separate Siamese twins, and refined hemispherectomy to stop seizures.

Ovariotomy

Surgery of the ovary; performed by Ephraim McDowell as the first abdominal surgery to remove a 22 pound tumor.

Pasteurization

A process proved by Louis Pasteur showing that heat can be used to destroy germs.

Hemispherectomy

A surgery on the brain refined by Ben Carson to stop seizures.