Historical Perspective and Modern Onset of Medical Technology

Vocabulary flashcards covering key people, events, institutions, concepts, and disciplines from the lecture on the historical and modern development of Medical Technology.

Hippocrates

Greek physician (c. 460 BC) regarded as the father of scientific medicine; linked anatomical observations with clinical findings and promoted drugs, surgery, and bloodletting.

Ebers Papyrus

Ancient Egyptian medical text (c. 1550 BC) describing intestinal diseases, parasites such as Ascaris lumbricoides and Taenia species, and treatments for hookworm.

Vivian Herrick

Modern scholar who analyzed the Ebers Papyrus and highlighted its early descriptions of intestinal parasitic infections.

Urinalysis

Examination of urine for diagnostic purposes; practiced since the medieval period and used to detect conditions like diabetes.

Ruth Williams

Author of “An Introduction to the Profession of Medical Technology,” who noted early observations of sweet, ant-attracting urine linked to diabetes.

Anna Fagelson

14th-century figure who documented the lab-acquired infection that caused Alexander Gillani’s death, marking early medical-technology awareness.

Anton van Leeuwenhoek

17th-century Dutch scientist who perfected single-lens microscopes and first described red blood cells and bacterial shapes.

Four Humors

Ancient/medieval concept of blood, yellow bile, phlegm, and black bile; health was thought to depend on their balance.

Rudolf Virchow

German pathologist (1821-1902) called the father of microscopic pathology; advanced cell theory and cellular study of disease.

Cellular Pathology

Virchow’s concept that disease originates at the cellular level, forming the basis of modern pathology.

Theory of Biogenesis

Virchow’s challenge to spontaneous generation, asserting that life arises only from existing life.

Apothecaries Act of 1815

British law that standardized medical training and qualifications for apothecaries, paving the way for laboratory-based medicine.

Calvin Ellis

Microscopist at Massachusetts General Hospital who first used the microscope routinely on patient specimens in the U.S.

William Occam

Physician who integrated laboratory findings as preliminary evidence in diagnosing patient diseases in the U.S.

“Learning by Doing” 1871 Reforms

1871 U.S. medical-education shift (Harvard, Pennsylvania, Michigan) emphasizing practical, hands-on training.

Johns Hopkins School of Medicine

Opened late 19th century; offered two years of basic sciences and pioneered formal laboratory instruction.

Silas H. Douglas

Chemist who founded a major teaching laboratory at the University of Michigan (c. 1857) using student experimentation.

William H. Welch

Physician who, with Michell Prudden, applied clinical pathology to diagnosis and advanced lab medicine in the late 1870s.

Michell Prudden

Collaborator of William Welch who helped integrate clinical pathology into medical diagnosis.

William Osler

Clinician who introduced microscopes and blood-counting machines to hospital labs and promoted routine lab tests.

George Dock

Physician who, with Osler, mandated routine laboratory examinations (urinalysis, blood tests) for hospital patients.

Johns Hopkins Clinical Laboratory (1896)

First formal clinical laboratory in the United States, institutionalizing laboratory science in hospitals.

Pennsylvania Laboratory Law (1915)

State legislation requiring all hospitals to maintain full-time laboratory facilities staffed by technicians.

Standard Two-Year Curriculum (1940)

U.S. educational standard establishing two years of college plus one year of lab training for a B.S. degree.

26th Medical Laboratory

Unit of the 6th U.S. Army that set up the first clinical laboratory in the Philippines (Quiricada Street, 1944).

Pio de Roda

Filipino bacteriologist who preserved and re-established the Manila laboratory after WWII, offering free training.

Mariano Icasiano

Manila’s first City Health Officer who assisted Pio de Roda in reviving the clinical laboratory in 1945.

Prudencio Sta. Ana

Physician who helped re-establish the Manila lab and later designed a syllabus for training medical technicians.

Tirso Briones

Collaborated with Pio de Roda and Sta. Ana to launch a six-month certified training course for medical technicians in 1954.

Willa Hilgert Hedrick

American missionary-physician who founded medical-technology education in the Philippines (Philippine Union College, 1954).

Philippine Union College

Institution that, with Manila Sanitarium Hospital, opened the first MedTech school in the Philippines.

Manila Sanitarium Hospital

Hospital where Hedrick and colleagues set up full laboratory facilities and a five-year BS MedTech program.

Antoinette McKelvey

Collaborated with Hedrick to prepare the first Philippine MedTech curriculum and laboratory setup.

Jesse Umali

First graduate (1956) of the BS Medical Technology program in the Philippines (Philippine Union College).

University of Santo Tomas (UST)

Offered an elective in 1957 that could lead to a BS in Medical Technology under Dr. Antonio Gabriel and Dr. Gustavo Reyes.

Centro Escolar University (CEU)

Philippine school where Purification Sunico-Suaco developed a MedTech course later recognized by the Bureau of Education.

Far Eastern University (FEU)

Started its School of Medical Technology in 1961 through Horacio Ylagan and Serafin J. Juliano.

Velez College

Cebu institution that opened its College of Medical Technology in 1967-1968, known for high board exam performance.

Ibarra T. Panopio

US-trained pathologist and first Dean of Velez College College of Medical Technology (served until 2010).

Commission on Higher Education (CHED)

Philippine agency mandating curriculum revisions for programs like Medical Technology.

Professional Regulation Commission (PRC)

Philippine body administering licensure exams; has recognized Velez College for high passing rates.

Philippine Association of Medical Technologists (PAMET)

National professional organization for medical technologists in the Philippines.

PAASCU Level I Accreditation

Status granted by the Philippine Accrediting Association of Schools, Colleges and Universities to Velez College’s MedTech program.

Clinical Chemistry

Medical Technology discipline analyzing blood and body fluids for biochemical components.

Hematology

Study of blood, blood-forming organs, and blood diseases; core subject in MedTech programs.

Immunohematology

Also called Blood Banking; focuses on blood typing, compatibility testing, and transfusion practices.

Clinical Microscopy

Analysis of urine and other body fluids for diagnostic purposes.

Histopathology

Microscopic examination of tissues to study the manifestations of disease.

Cytogenetics

Branch of genetics focusing on chromosome structure, function, and abnormalities—added to updated MedTech curricula.

Internship Training Program

Supervised clinical laboratory practice; 11-month program at Velez College versus typical six-month internships.

Feb 1944

The first clinical laboratory of the 26th medical laboratory of the 6th army provided 1 year training to highschool students then they proceeded in working as laboratory technicians.

June 1945

The staff of the 6th army endorsed the new clinical laboratory to the national department of health

President of the Philippine Union College

Dr. Reuben Manalaysay

President of the North Philippine Mission of the seventh day adventist

Rev. Warren

1945 First medical technology school in the Philippines

Dr. Reuben Manalaysay, Rev. Warren, and the director of the bureuof hospitals inaugurated the first medical technology school at the Philippine Union College, marking a significant advancement in medical education.

1956

Jesse Umali first student to graduate in the Philippine Union College and pursued medicine in Far eastern University

1957

Santo Tomas offered an elective course of BS pharmacy that could lead to BS in med tech

1960-1961

The Bureau of education finally approved the first three-year program as the academic course while the 4th year as the internship for graduates of medical technology.

Purification Sunico-Suaco

Delegated by Carmen Luna to develop Medtech course

1961

Dr. Horaccio Ylagan and Dr. Serafin J. Juliano, with authority granted by Dr. Laura H. Panganiban and Dr. Jesus B. Molasco, the far eastern university started its school of medtech.

1963

First graduates of fareastern university.

Number of first students in Velez

104 Females 31 Males