5 Significant Medical Advances in History

Vaccines and antibiotics have enabled modern medicine to treat diseases that were previously fatal. The germ theory of disease provided a scientific explanation for these ailments and led to the near-eradication of deadly epidemics.

Doctors were blind to many injuries and illnesses before German physicist Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen invented X-ray. X-rays are now used to diagnose fractures, tumors and infections.

1. The Invention of Antibiotics

A staple in modern medicine, antibiotics are used to treat bacterial infections. The most famous example of an antibiotic is penicillin, which was discovered in 1928 by Alexander Fleming. Fleming was experimenting with petri dishes full of Staphylococcus bacteria when he noticed that a small amount of mold in one of the dishes stopped the growth of the bacteria.

Prior to the invention of antibiotics, many bacterial diseases were deadly. Simple infections, like strep throat and ear infections, could quickly kill. Even if an infection didn't kill, it often left patients with debilitating side effects, such as permanent hearing loss or partial paralysis.

After Fleming's discovery, the world of antibiotics exploded. Selman Waksman discovered a number of antibiotics, including streptomycin, which was effective against tuberculosis. However, it wasn't until 1940 that Howard Florey and Ernst Chain developed purified penicillin that was able to be used as a medical treatment. This was the first mainstream antibacterial medication.

The advent of antibiotics ushered in an age of disease control that was unprecedented. Epidemiology, a science that uses statistics and observation to find patterns, causes, and sources of illnesses in populations, was born. This field was pioneered by John Snow, who used epidemiology to determine that a cholera outbreak in London in 1854 was caused by contaminated drinking water.

X-rays are another of the most important medical advances in history. German physicist Wilhelm Röentgen invented X-ray technology in 1895 and it revolutionized the diagnosis of many different ailments. Today, X-rays are commonly used to diagnose broken bones, tumors, and other ailments. X-rays are also used to monitor pregnancy, bone density, and heart health. They are a key component of modern medical care and have saved millions of lives.

2. The Invention of Penicillin

An accidental discovery in 1928 triggered the antibiotic revolution that forever changed the world of medicine. Dr Alexander Fleming, working on a staphylococcus culture plate in his laboratory at St Mary’s Hospital in London, noticed that a particular mold growing on the petri dish was inhibiting bacteria from multiplying, and that it also killed some of the bacteria it touched. Fleming recognized this as the first antibiotic and named it penicillin.

Although antimicrobial substances such as moulds had been used in folk medicine since ancient times, Fleming was the first to experimentally determine that the mould secreted a substance that stopped bacteria from growing. He published his findings in the British Journal of Experimental Pathology in 1929, but little notice was taken of them at the time.

A few years later, Fleming’s colleague Howard Florey and Jewish German emigre Ernst Chain developed methods to reliably produce crude penicillin extracts from the Penicillium notatum mold. They used these to test on mice infected with deadly Streptococcus, finding that half the animals died of overwhelming sepsis while the others survived and made full recoveries when they were given penicillin injections.

Eventually, the Oxford team produced enough penicillin to begin clinical trials on humans. The results were remarkable, and the antibiotic quickly became a life-saving drug that significantly reduced the number of infections, deaths, and amputations among troops in World War II. Fleming, Florey, and Chain received the 1945 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their work. There are now numerous antimicrobial drugs derived from the Penicillium fungus, and they are used to treat a wide range of infections and diseases. Less than 1 percent of people are dangerously allergic to penicillin.

3. The Invention of CAT Scan

The computed tomography scan, also known as a CT scan, is an advanced medical imaging technique that uses x-rays and digital computer technology to create detailed images of body structures. The resulting images are like virtual “slices” of the body and can show bone, blood vessels, soft tissue or organs.

A CT scan is a noninvasive procedure that does not expose the patient to radiation. It is a very useful diagnostic tool for detecting cancers, tumors, injuries and other diseases. It can help doctors see the size, location and extent of a disease in its early stages and can also help them decide on an effective treatment plan.

CT scans can also be used to diagnose vascular diseases such as aortic aneurysms and pulmonary embolism. They are also helpful for assessing lung diseases, including pneumonia, emphysema and lung cancer.

A CAT Scan is sometimes referred to as a EMI scan, which was the name of the company that developed the equipment. It is a common procedure performed worldwide and has become an integral part of diagnosing diseases and identifying illness growth.

4. The Invention of X-Ray

Few discoveries—with the possible exception of penicillin—have had as profound an impact on mankind as X-rays. X-rays allow doctors to see inside the human body without opening the patient, and were accidentally discovered in 1895 by Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen while working with a cathode ray tube in his lab at the University of Wurzburg, Germany.

While shielding his tube with heavy black paper, he noticed that an incandescent green light escaped, and passed through the paper to illuminate a fluorescent screen nearby. He soon realized that this mysterious radiation would pass through most substances and leave shadows of underlying objects on the screen. Because he didn’t know what they were, he named them X-rays (pronounced “x-ray”).

After further experimentation, Roentgen discovered that X-rays penetrated flesh but not higher-density materials like lead and bone, and that they could be photographed to produce a striking image of the internal structure of the body. This was the birth of radiology.

Within a year of Roentgen’s announcement, X-rays were in use by medical professionals across Europe and the United States. They were used to diagnose broken bones, pneumonia, foreign bodies, and other diseases. They even made their way onto a warfront during the Balkan War, allowing doctors to locate gunshot wounds and identify internal injuries.

In 1913, physicist William Coolidge replaced the cathode ray tubes in X-ray equipment with vacuum tubes that create continuous X-ray emissions, and separate the intensity and energy of the rays. This allowed doctors to reduce the amount of X-ray exposure to patients and help limit long-term cumulative exposure. In addition to reducing the number of X-rays, these new tubes also produced clearer images, and required fewer chemicals to develop the film.

5. The Invention of Computed Tomography

The invention of computed tomography, also known as a CT scan or CAT scan, was one of the most significant advances in medical imaging. It replaced a number of other more invasive procedures such as pneumoencephalograms and catheter angiography, and allowed physicians to quickly diagnose many serious conditions.

The technology behind a CT scan is similar to that of an X-ray, sending radiation through the body and creating computerized images of its internal structure. However, while X-rays provide excellent information about bones due to their density, they are ineffective for soft tissues such as the brain. This was partly because early X-ray machines were limited by mechanical techniques, which allowed only one point of view at a time and did not allow for the manipulation of the image to focus on specific layers of tissue.

In 1967, EMI engineer Godfrey Hounsfield was experimenting with pattern recognition and reconstruction techniques when he realized that, by scanning an object from multiple angles and measuring the varying levels of X-ray attenuation, the object's internal structures could be reconstructed into an image. This paved the way for the development of CT, which Hounsfield began to develop with physicist Allan McLeod Cormack.

Both Hounsfield and Cormack received the 1979 Nobel Prize in Medicine and Physiology for their work on computed tomography. It is interesting to note that neither of them had a doctorate in medicine or science, and instead both were engineers with a background in electrical engineering. This shows how important it is to have a mix of people working in any field, as the initial innovation that makes a disruptive advance possible often comes from individuals outside of the field itself.