Introduction
The 1900s were a revolution for medical practices; the 1900s saw the creation of penicillin, band aids, defibrillators, powered prosthesis, and the use of insulin and Novocain. The advancements in the 1900s helped save thousands upon thousands of lives and some of these practices and tools are still used today. However, some practices have drawbacks and others were so insane and stupid that they have caused more harm than good.
Pre-World War One |
Sir Fredrick Gowland Hopkins |
In the years prior to World War One, medical practices from the 1800s and to a lesser extent the 1700s were still being used. However in 1901 Austrian-American Karl Landsteiner discovered blood types and creates the A.B.O blood typing system. He receives the Nobel prize for his discovery in 1930. In 1906 Sir Fredrick Gowland Hopkins suggests the existence of vitamins. He concludes they are essential to health. He won the Nobel prize in 1929. With the help of Landsteiner's A.B.O system the first successful human blood transplant is done in 1907 by Reuben Ottenberg American physician. In 1913, Dr. Paul Dudley White becomes one of America's first cardiologists and one of the first to use the electrocardiograph, exploring its potential as a diagnostic tool. After this point World War One had begun and there was little time or money to be developing new medical technology up until the 1920s and afterward.
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Alfred Einhorn |
NovocaineNovocaine is the oldest man-made local anesthetic and most important until the 1940's. It was first produced in 1905 by German chemist, Alferd Einhorn. Einhorn gave the anesthetic the name Novocaine. Einhorn invented it to be used for amputations and was disappointed when he discovered dentists where using it for procedures and discouraged dentists from using it. When Novocaine reached the bloodstream it would breakdown and cause certain bi-products to form. This caused allergic reactions in many patients and was taken off the market. Because Novocaine caused these allergies scientists wanted to make a drug that decreased allergy results, but it took quite a while to take effect. Believe it or not before any anesthetic was invented, medical professionals used large quantities of alcohol.
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1920-1999
Edward Mellanby |
During the recovery of the world after World War One, Edward Mellanby proves the existence of vitamin D after its existence was theorized along with other vitamins by Sir Fredrick Gowland Hopkins in 1906. Mellanby also discovers that a lack of this nutrient in the human body causes rickets. In 1922 Insulin is first used to treat diabetes. In 1935 the vaccine for Yellow Fever is invented. In 1937 Bernard Fantus starts the first blood bank at Cook County Hospital in Chicago, IL. In the year 1932 during the re-emergence of the respiratory infection of pertussis(Whooping Cough), Pearl Kendrick and Grace Eldering of the Michigan Department of Health began researching a vaccine for whooping cough. Pertussis had claimed the lives of around 6,000 children in the U.S, more than measles, scarlet fever, and diphtheria. After failures of many other scientists Kendrick and Eldering create the first DTP combination vaccine in 1942. in 1943, Selman A. Waksman, a microbiologist , discovers the antibiotic streptomycin used in the treatment of tuberculosis. In 1945 the first vaccine is invented for Influenza. In 1952, Paul Zoll develops the first cardiac pacemaker to control and regulate heartbeat. In 1954, the first kidney transplant is done on identical twins by Doctor Joseph Murray. In 1955 Jonas Salk develops the first vaccine for Polio.
The first vaccine for measles is invented in 1964 and the first vaccine for mumps is invented in 1967. Once more in 1967, South African doctor, Dr. Christiaan Barnard performs the first human heart transplant. In 1970 the first vaccine for rubella is invented. In 1974 the first vaccine chicken pox is invented. In 1978 the first test tube baby is born in the United Kingdom. In 1980 The World Health Organization announces that Smallpox has been eradicated. It is the first organism to be intentionally be eradicated from the Earth. In 1983 HIV the virus that causes AIDS is identified In 1996 the first cloned mammal from an adult cell ever to live, a sheep named Dolly is "born". Dolly lives until 2003. And finally in 1998 the first vaccine for Lyme disease is invented. |
Penicillin In 1928, one of the greatest medical discoveries in history, penicillin, was discovered by accident when, Alexander Fleming, a Scottish bacteriologist discovers the "wonder drug", when mold got into a petri dish filled with bacteria.
After leaving his lab in London for a few weeks while he was on holiday in Scotland, he returned to find the mold was preventing the bacteria from growing. This mold was later identified as Penicillium notatum. In 1945, Fleming shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology with two other men who helped to refine and create this medicine known as antibiotics that have cured so many people. |
Medical Stupidity of the 1900s
Throughout history there have been many disease treatments that have worked and many that didn't. However, there were the treatments that were so stupid and terrifying that it is amazing that they were even practiced. Before radioactivity was fully understood, naturally occurring radium was lauded for its seemingly otherworldly benefits. Water was kept in radium-laced buckets, and people would drink the tainted liquid to cure everything from arthritis to impotence. Of course, this was an awful idea, and when people started to drop dead from this miracle water, the connection was made. Now, non-radioactive prescription drugs are used to combat arthritis and dry skin.
Plombage was another risky early 20th century treatment for tuberculosis in which a surgeon would create a cavity in a patient’s lower lung and fill it with a foreign material such as Lucite balls. This procedure would make the upper, infected lung collapse. The theory maintained that a collapsed lung would eventually heal itself. Thanks to modern vaccines, TB has been largely eradicated throughout much of the developed world, although it is far from completely eliminated globally.
In the early 20th century, a patient with a bad case of head lice would douse his or her head with gasoline or kerosene in an effort to rid their scalp of the unwanted guests. While this treatment may have been somewhat effective, it was also incredibly dangerous to anyone who walked near an open flame. Modern medicine can solve the infestation much more safely with medicated shampoo. Thankfully, these scary treatments all went out the window with the introduction of penicillin in 1943.
Plombage was another risky early 20th century treatment for tuberculosis in which a surgeon would create a cavity in a patient’s lower lung and fill it with a foreign material such as Lucite balls. This procedure would make the upper, infected lung collapse. The theory maintained that a collapsed lung would eventually heal itself. Thanks to modern vaccines, TB has been largely eradicated throughout much of the developed world, although it is far from completely eliminated globally.
In the early 20th century, a patient with a bad case of head lice would douse his or her head with gasoline or kerosene in an effort to rid their scalp of the unwanted guests. While this treatment may have been somewhat effective, it was also incredibly dangerous to anyone who walked near an open flame. Modern medicine can solve the infestation much more safely with medicated shampoo. Thankfully, these scary treatments all went out the window with the introduction of penicillin in 1943.