250 of the most fascinating milestones in medicine From the Magician-Doctors to Robotic Surgeons

• Magician-Doctor (10,000 BC)

• Surgical sutures (3000 BC)

• Bloodletting (1500 BC)

• The pulmonary circulation of al-Nafis (1242)

• Biological weapons (1346)

• Leonardo's anatomical drawings (1510)

• Classification of cranial nerves (1664)

• Separation of conjoined twins (1689)

• Autopsy (1761)

• The causes of cancer (1761)

• Hospitals (1784)

• Liberating the insane (1793)

• Alternative medicine (1796)

• Hysterectomy (1813)

• Medical specialization (1830)

• Subcutaneous syringe (1853)

• Antiseptics (1865)

• Modern brain surgery (1879)

• Health insurance (1883)

• Cocaine as a local anesthetic (1884)

• The discovery of viruses (1892)

• Radiation therapy (1903)

• Genes and sex determination (1905)

• The 1906 Meat Inspection Act (1906)

• Research on the soul (1907)

• Human growth hormone (1921)

• Medical self-experimentation (1929)

• Jung's analytical psychology (1933)

• Informed consent (1947)

• The cause of sickle cell anemia (1949)

• The structure of DNA (1953)

• Birth control pill (1955)

• Placebo effect (1955)

• Levodopa for Parkinson's Disease (1957)

• Laser (1960)

• Angioplasty (1964)

• Computed tomography (CT) (1967)

• Reverse transcriptase and AIDS (1970)

• Statins (1973)

• Near-death experiences (1975)

• The first test-tube baby (1978)

• Laparoscopic surgery (1981)

• Gene therapy (1990)

• Robotic surgery (2000)

• Face transplantation (2005)

• Human cloning (2008)

• And many more

Introduction 10

10,000 BC Magician-Doctor 16

6500 BC Trepanation 18

4000 BC Urinalysis 20

3000 BC Surgical sutures 22

2800 BC Glass eye 24

2400 BC Circumcision 26

2000 BC Ayurvedic medicine 28

1600 BC Edwin Smith surgical papyrus 30

1500 BC Bloodletting 32

1000 BC The big toe of Greville Chester 34

600 BC Eye surgery 36

600 BC Sewer systems 38

400 BC The Hippocratic Oath 40

300 BC Huangdi Neijing 42

100 BC Mithridates' antidote and the Theriaca 44

70 Abortion 46

70 On the materia medica of Dioscorides 48

190 Galen's Teaching 50

900 The complete book of al-Razi 52

1025 The Canon of Medicine of Avicenna 54

1161 The expulsion of Jewish doctors 56

1210 The barber's pole 58

1242 The pulmonary circulation of al-Nafis 60

1284 Reading glasses 62

1346 Biological weapons 64

1510 Leonardo's anatomical drawings 66

1522 The burning of Doctor Wert 68

1527 Paracelsus burns medical books 70

1543 De Humani Corporis Fabrica 72

1545 "Rational Surgery" by Pare 74

1552 Surviving masterpieces of Eustachius 76

1563 De Praestigiis Daemonum 78

1564 Condom 80

1580 Embryotomy 82

1597 Tissue transplantation 84

1601 Synopsis of acupuncture 86

1618 The designs of Pietro da Cortona 88

1628 Circulatory system 90

1642 The murder and source of Virchow 92

1652 Lymphatic system 94

1664 Classification of cranial nerves 96

1665 Miniature 98

1678 The discovery of sperm 100

1679 Brunner's glands 102

1683 A zoo inside us 104

1687 The discovery of Sarcoptes scabiei 106

1689 Separation of conjoined twins 108

1707 Heart rate measuring watch 110

1726 Mary Toft's rabbits 112

1733 The osteography of Chisldeen 114

1747 The tables of the human body of Albinus 116

1753 A treatise on scurvy 118

1761 Autopsy 120

1761 The causes of cancer 122

1761 "The cries of tortured organs" by Morgagni 124

1764 Cerebrospinal fluid 126

1772 Exploring the labyrinth 128

1774 Hunter's pregnant uterus 130

1784 Hospitals 132

1784 Lavoisier's respiration 134

1785 Dactylitis 136

1792 Ambulance 138

1793 Liberating the insane 140

1796 Alternative medicine 142

1796 Phrenology 144

1798 The smallpox vaccine 146

1809 The function of the cerebellum 148

1811 The Bell-Mazenti Act 150

1812 The use of ice as an anesthetic 152

1812 Female medical students 154

1813 Hysterectomy 156

1816 Stethoscope 158

1817 The ligation of the abdominal aorta 160

1825 Leech therapy 162

1829 Blood transfusion 164

1830 Medical specialization 166

1832 The Anatomy Act of 1832 168

1832 Intravenous saline solutions 170

1833 The observations of St. Martin's stomach 172

1842 General anesthesia 174

1842 The health condition of the working population of Great Britain 176

1846 "Measles in the Faroe Islands" by Panam 178

1846 Spirometry 180

1847 American Medical Association 182

1847 Semmelweis' handwashing 184

1848 Appendectomy 186

1850 Ophthalmoscope 188

1851 Plaster bandages 190

1853 Subcutaneous syringe 192

1854 The handle of the Broad Street pump 194

1854 Nursing 196

1855 Cell division 198

1857 The treatment of epilepsy 200

1858 Gray's Anatomy 202

1861 Cerebral localization 204

1862 The germ theory 206

1863 Red Cross 208

1864 Dental drill 210

1865 Antiseptics 212

1865 Mendel's genetics 214

1866 Medical thermometer 216

1872 Thyroid surgery 218

1873 The cause of leprosy 220

1879 Modern brain surgery 222

1881 Sphygmomanometer 224

1882 Cesarean section 226

1882 Koch's lecture on tuberculosis 228

1882 The theory of phagocytosis 230

1883 Health insurance 232

1883 Salpingectomy 234

1884 Cocaine as a local anesthetic 236

1890 Antitoxins 238

1890 Surgical gloves made from latex 240

1891 The neuron doctrine 242

1892 The discovery of viruses 244

1892 Osteopathy 246

1893 The discovery of adrenaline 248

1894 The cause of bubonic plague 250

1895 D.D. Palmer and chiropractic 252

1895 X-rays 254

1897 The cause of malaria 256

1899 Aspirin 258

1899 Defibrillator 260

1899 Hearing aids 262

1899 Psychoanalysis 264

1902 Caduceus 266

1902 The chromosomal theory of inheritance 268

1902 Inborn errors of metabolism 270

1902 The cause of trypanosomiasis 272

1902 Vessel suturing 274

1903 Electrocardiogram 276

1903 Radiation therapy 278

1904 Halsted's surgery 280

1905 Corneal transplantation 282

1905 Genes and sex determination 284

1906 The "analytical" discovery of vitamins 286

1906 Allergies 288

1906 Alzheimer's disease 290

1906 The 1906 Meat Inspection Act 292

1906 Proprietary medicines 294

1906 The cause of Rocky Mountain spotted fever 296

1907 The internment of Typhoid Mary 298

1907 Research on the soul 300

1910 Water chlorination 302

1910 Ehrlich's magic bullets 304

1910 The Flexner Report and medical education 306

1914 Common cold 308

1914 Toothpaste with fluoride 310

1914 Neurotransmitters 312

1916 Heparin 314

1920 Leukoplast 316

1921 Human growth hormone 318

1922 The eradication of rickets 320

1922 The commercialization of