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Learning from the past

Picture 1. Use the interactive timeline to see an overview of the history of medicine.

Primitive humans called upon supernatural spirits to heal their sick while modern medicine relies on science. DNA and research has replaced spirits and shaman.

Looking at the history of medicine shows how ideas have developed over the centuries. Medieval barbers were the fore-runners of today's skilled surgeons and the ancient Greeks set the foundations for modern diagnostic techniques. Leonardo da Vinci was amongst the first to dissect the human body to learn how it works. Medical students still learn about anatomy in the same way.

Today's medicine has evolved over thousands of years as each generation built on the knowledge of earlier times. This will continue to happen. Our understanding of the human genome will lead to fresh treatments and new discoveries may open the door to unimagined advances in medicine.

Contents

You can use the interactive timeline (a Flash animation) or the links below to look at 9 periods of time in this electronic resource (e-source):

	Timeline
•	8000 BC	Prehistoric medicine
•	2000 BC	Ancient Egyptian medicine
•	400 BC to 300 AD	Greeks and Romans
•	500 - 1400	Middle Ages
•	700 - 1500	Arabic medicines
•	1400 - 1700	The Renaissance
•	1700 - 1900	18th and 19th centuries
•	1900 - 2000	20th Century
•	2000 - 2100	21st Century medicine

Using this e-source

There are a number of interactive features in this e-source:

A glossary of terms: any word with a glossary entry is highlighted like that. Clicking on the word will open a new window with a definition of that word.

Quick questions: at the end of e-source, there is a set of quick questions to test your understanding of the scientific ideas.

Roll over diagrams: many of the diagrams have highlights or sequences. You can see these by rolling your cursor over part of the picture or part of the text. The text has a roll over highlight like that.

Last updated March 2004.