History of Medical Technology

Vocabulary flashcards covering the key figures, inventions, timeline events, and institutional milestones in the global and local history of medical technology.

Hippocrates

Greek physician, philosopher, author of the Hippocratic oath, and 'Father of Medicine' who practiced as early as 300 BC to 180 AD and proposed assessing disease through body fluids.

The Four Humors

Blood, Phlegm, Black bile, and Yellow Bile; proposed by Hippocrates and Galen as a method of assessing disease by measuring body fluids.

Uroscopy

Also known as 'water casting' in Medieval Europe, a practice where patients submitted urine samples in decorative flasks for examination.

Stethoscope

The first diagnostic medical breakthrough, invented by Rene Laennec in 1816 to acquire information about the lungs and heartbeats.

Microscope (1840)

Medical tool developed due to advances in lenses and lowered costs; originally invented by Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek.

Opthalmoscope

The first visual technology, invented by Herman Von Holz in 1850.

Laryngoscope

A device devised by Manuel Garcia in 1855 using two mirrors to view the larynx.

X-ray

Technology invented in 1859 by Wilhelm Roentgen when he discovered radiation could penetrate solid objects of low density; used to diagnose pneumonia, pleurisy, and tuberculosis since WW1.

Electrocardiograph

Device invented by William Einthoven in 1903 to measure electrical charges during the beating of the heart.

Kenny Method

Pioneering work for physical therapy devised by Elizabeth Kenny in 1910 for treating Polio using hotpacks and muscle manipulation.

Drinker Respirator

Artificial respirator invented by Philip Drinker in 1927 to help patients with paralytic anterior poliomyelitis recover normal respiration.

Heart - Lung Machine

Visual technology invented in 1939 by Hermann von Holmonz.

Cardiac Catheterization & Angiography

Procedure certified in 1941 that allowed seeing heart and lung vessels by inserting a cannula into an arm vein and injecting radiographic dye.

William Pepper Laboratory of Clinical Medicine

University of Pennsylvania laboratory opened in 1895 to highlight the service role of clinical laboratories.

John Kolmer

Author of 'The Demand for and Training of Medical Technologists' (1918) who called for a method to certify medical technologists in the US.

American Society of Clinical Pathology (ASCP)

Organization founded in 1922 with the objective to promote cooperation between physicians and pathologists.

Manila Public Health Laboratory

The first Clinical Laboratory in the Philippines, established in 1945 by the 6th Infantry Division of the US Army at Quiricada St., Sta. Cruz, Manila.

Dr. Pio de Roda

Physician who, with Dr. Mariano Icasiano, reopened the Manila Public Health Laboratory in 1945 and later conducted a training program for laboratory workers with Dr. Prudencia Sta. Ana.

Dr. Prudencia Sta. Ana

Doctor who prepared a 6-month formal syllabus with a completion certificate for aspiring laboratory trainees in 1947.

Mrs. Willa Hedrick

Leader under whom Manila Sanitarium Hospital opened the first school of Medical Technology in the Philippines in 1954.

Dr. Jesse Umali

The first graduate of the Medical Technology program from Philippine Union College.

Edward Jenner

Scientist who discovered vaccination in 1796 to establish immunity to smallpox, making a major impact in Immunology.

Agostino Bassi

Scientist who produced disease in worms by injection of organic material in 1835, marking the beginning of bacteriology.

Marie Francois Xavier Bichat

Scientist who identified organs by their types of tissues, contributing significantly to Histology.

Elie Metchnikoff

Nobel Prize-winning scientist who discovered the process of phagocytosis in 1886.

Ernst von Bergmann

Introduced steam sterilization in surgery in 1886.

Karl Landsteiner

Distinguished blood groups in 1906 through the development of the ABO blood group system.

Rickettsiae

Microorganisms whose range lies between bacteria and viruses, discovered by Howard Ricketts.

James Westgard

Introduced the Westgard Rules for quality control in the clinical laboratory in 1973.

Kary Mullis

Developed the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) in 1985.

Andre van Steirteghem

Introduced intracytoplasmic sperm injection (IVF) in 1992.