Every century, doctors and scientists have a breakthrough that changes the scope of healthcare forever. Often disruptive, these changes can come with speculation — and even rejection — from the medical community and the general public. Eventually, some discoveries will prevail and become accepted by the general public and medical community. Others, however, remain in the past and will only be remembered in history books and medical journals.
Regardless of how widely accepted new or old discoveries are, we can’t credit today’s modern medicine without paying tribute to the various healthcare revolutions of history’s past. No matter how revolutionary these breakthroughs were, we wouldn’t be where we are today had it not been for the disruptive and innovative ideas of doctors and scientists alike.
In the Eighteenth Century, British country doctor Edward Jenner tested his theory of administering an injection to prevent disease, specifically smallpox. The experiment was a success, but it wasn’t until Louis Pasteur developed this concept even further to what we know today as a vaccine. Although it was a breakthrough discovery that saved millions of lives, an anti-vaccination movement emerged in the nineteenth century because it was considered to be an intrusion of privacy and bodily integrity; the movement unfortunately continues today.
In the Nineteenth Century, there were several notable discoveries in the emerging age of modern medicine, but the breakthrough of the century was performed by Boston dentist William T. G. Morton. As the first person in the world to publicly and successfully demonstrate the use of ether anesthesia to render patients unconscious, Morton proved that patients could undergo surgery without experiencing pain. Today, an estimated 40 million anesthetics are administered each year in the United States alone.
In the Twentieth Century, modern medicine was starting to take hold. Clinicians laid the foundation for modern medical care by designing the physical layout and operational structure of hospitals, education, augmented training, and licensure requirements. Not only were hospital practices evolving, but halfway through the century Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins developed a general understanding of genetics and DNA. Fast forward to the end of the century, and the first genetically cloned organism — a sheep named Dolly — was created. The experiment sent waves of “future shock” around the world and led to numerous discussions if science had gone too far.
So where does that leave us in the Twenty-First Century? You can read the rest of this blog on Jon Belsher’s website here.
Jon Belsher 