History of Medical Technology

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms, people, devices, and milestones in the history of medical technology as reflected in the lecture notes.

Hippocrates

Ancient Greek physician known as the Father of Medicine; author of the Hippocratic Oath; early diagnostic practices included urine tasting, auscultation of lungs, and observation of outward signs.

Hippocratic Oath

Ethical pledge attributed to Hippocrates guiding the professional conduct of physicians.

Galen

Greek physician who promoted the theory of the four humors and linked body fluids to health and seasons; described diabetes as 'diarrhea of urine'.

Four Humors

The ancient concept that health depends on a balance of blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile.

Uroscopy (uroscopy)

Medieval diagnostic practice examining urine to diagnose disease; urine was studied in decorative flasks; failure to analyze urine could lead to public punishment.

John Hutchinson

English physician who invented the spirometer to measure lung capacity (vital capacity).

Spirometer

Instrument used to measure lung volumes and capacities.

Sphygmomanometer

Device for measuring blood pressure; early work credited to Jules Herisson.

Stethoscope

Instrument for listening to internal body sounds (heart, lungs); invented by Rene Laennec in 1816.

Rene Laennec

French physician who invented the stethoscope in 1816.

Antonie van Leeuwenhoek

Dutch scientist known for pioneering microscopic observation; regarded as a founder of microbiology.

Ophthalmoscope

Instrument for examining the interior of the eye; developed by Hermann von Helmholtz around 1850.

Laryngoscope

Instrument to visualize the larynx; devised by Manuel Garcia in 1855.

X-ray

Imaging technique using ionizing radiation discovered by Wilhelm Roentgen in 1859; used to diagnose conditions like pneumonia and TB.

Electrocardiograph (ECG)

Device to record the electrical activity of the heart; developed by Willem Einthoven in 1903.

Drinker respirator

Iron lung device introduced by Philip Drinker in 1927 to assist respiration in polio patients.

Sylvia stretcher

Early ambulance stretcher associated with the first woman carried on it; introduced around 1927.

Heart-lung machine

Mechanical device enabling cardiopulmonary bypass during surgery; introduced around 1939.

Cardiac catheterization and angiography

Technique to visualize heart and vessels by inserting a cannula and injecting radiopaque dye; development culminated in 1941 with imaging of heart structures.

American society of clinical pathology

founded in 1922 to promote cooperation between physicians and clinical pathologists and to establish ethics and professional standards.

Louis Pasteur

HE contributed to immunology and vaccines; germ theory; rabies vaccine development.

Xavier Bichat

Bichat; identified tissues by type and contributed to the development of histology.

Agostino Bassi

; demonstrated a fungus caused disease in silkworms, an early milestone in microbiology.

Gregor Mendel

; formulated the laws of inheritance from breeding peas.

Joseph Lister

; pioneer of antiseptic technique and sterile surgery.

Robert Koch

; identified disease-causing bacteria (e.g., TB) and contributed to germ theory; formulated Koch’s postulates.

Elie Metchnikoff

; described phagocytes and immunity; significant in cellular immunity.

Ernst von Bergmann

; promoted sterile techniques and steam sterilization in surgery.

Karl Landsteiner

; discovered the ABO blood grouping system.

August Von Wassermann

; developed immunologic tests for syphilis (Wassermann test).

Howard Ricketts

; studied microorganisms (rickettsiae) that lie between bacteria and viruses and cause certain vector-borne diseases.

Hans Fischer

; contributed to understanding the chemical structure of heme and hemoglobin.

Jonas Salk

; developed the first widely used polio vaccine.

James Westgard

; introduced quality-control rules (Westgard Rules) for clinical laboratories.

Baruch S. Blumberg

; identified hepatitis B virus and contributed to its vaccine development.

PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction)

; developed by Kary Mullis to amplify DNA sequences.

Andre van Steirteghem

; pioneered intracytoplasmic sperm injection, an IVF technique.

James A. Thomson

; derived the first human embryonic stem cell line.