Every revolutionary medical discovery brought humans closer to understanding the complicated mysteries of the human body.
Humans have always feared and fascinated by Disease. Scientists have always tried to find a cure for any disease irrespective of adversities. Here is a chronological list of the top five medical discoveries that changed the world.
Stethoscope, invented in 1815:
The most familiar thing you will notice in every clinic is the stethoscope. This device helps in listening to the heartbeat of the patients. Before the invention of the stethoscope, doctors used to keep an ear on the chest of the patient. This was an improper and ineffective way of listening to the heartbeat.René Laënnec, a French physician, invented the stethoscope in 1815. He faced the problem of listening to the heartbeat of obese patients by following the traditional method. This inspired him to invent a device for easy and contactless heartbeat listening. The first stethoscope was a trumpet-shaped wooden tube, that help in the amplification of the sound of the heartbeat.
Anesthesia, invented in 1846:
Nowadays, performing any surgery is incomplete without anesthesia. Scientists have been trying hard to implement anesthesia for several centuries.But, a dentist, William T.G. Morton demonstrated successful ether anesthesia in 1846. This is regarded as the beginning of modern anesthesia. This eventually helped in conducting painless surgical procedures.
X-ray, invented in 1895:
Diagnosing and treating any bone-related injuries and diseases would have been extremely difficult without an X-ray.This machine was invented after the discovery of X-ray by Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen, a German physicist.However, this discovery was initially rejected by scientific society across the globe, later became popular after successful implementation in medical and other scientific fields. It was the first imaging medical device to be discovered. Later, other medical imaging techniques were discovered in the form of CT sac, MRI, and so on.
Antibiotics, invented in 1907, officially became popular in 1945:
Modern medicine was revolutionized by the discovery of antibiotics. The discovery of antibiotics and vaccination helped in eradicating various fatal diseases. The Antibiotics era started with the synthesis of Salvarsan. This is known as“Arsphenamine” in scientific literature.It was discovered by Paul Ehrlich and Alfred Bertheim in 1907. This chemical was successfully used in treating syphilis. The research on antibiotics and their use further continued after that. Alexander Fleming showed the antibacterial potential of Penicilliumfungus in 1928. This marks the start of the Penicillin era. The use of this antibiotic drug became popular after the second world war.
Organ transplant, invented in 1954:
The first successful transplant of the organ took place in 1954, when Dr. David HumeandDr. Joseph Murray performed kidney transplantationin Boston, USA. This marks a revolutionary incident in the medical incident. Later on, transplantation of other organs like the heart, lung,pancreas became popular. It enhances the chances of survival of patients suffering from deadly diseases. Let me share a triva, the first hand transplant took place in 1998, followed by the first face transplant in 2010.
Which discovery, according to you should be regarded as the greatest medical discovery?
