Surgery and Public Health Timeline

Flashcards about the timeline of surgery and public health milestones.

James Blundell

Conducted the first blood transfusions and published his research in 1818.

Nitrous oxide

First used as an anesthetic in 1844.

Robert Liston

Successfully used ether in surgery in 1846.

James Simpson

Introduced chloroform as an anesthetic in 1847.

John Snow

Developed the chloroform inhaler in 1848.

Louis Pasteur

Published his germ theory in 1861.

Joseph Lister

Pioneered antiseptic surgery using carbolic acid spray in 1865.

Wilhelm Roentgen

Invented the X-ray machine in 1895.

Karl Landsteiner

Discovered blood types A, B, AB, and O between 1900-1901.

Richard Weil

Used sodium nitrate for blood storage in 1915.

Bruce Robertson

Developed a syringe transfusion method in 1915.

Francis Rous and James Turner

Extended blood storage to 4 weeks with citrate glucose in 1916.

Rhesus blood group

Discovered in 1939, improving blood transfusion safety.

Edwin Chadwick

Published Sanitary Conditions of the Labouring Population report in 1842.

Public Health Act

Introduced in 1848, marking the first government effort to improve public health.

John Snow (cholera)

Identified cholera as a waterborne disease during the Broad Street outbreak in 1854.

Joseph Bazalgette

Commissioned to design London’s sewer system after the Great Stink in 1858.

Sanitary Act of 1866

Mandated inspections of water supplies and drainage.

Public Health Act of 1875

Made clean water and proper sanitation compulsory.

Free School Meals Act

Introduced in 1906.

Children's Act of 1908

Enforced child protection laws.

National Insurance Act

Provided sick pay and unemployment payments in 1911.

Beveridge Report

Proposed tackling poverty and disease post-WW2 in 1942.

NHS Launch

Officially launched in 1948, offering free healthcare.