1900s • 1901 –
Karl Landsteiner discovers the existence of different human
blood types • 1901 –
Alois Alzheimer identifies the first case of what becomes known as
Alzheimer's disease • 1906 –
Frederick Hopkins suggests the existence of
vitamins and suggests that a lack of vitamins causes
scurvy and
rickets • 1907 –
Paul Ehrlich develops a chemotherapeutic cure for
sleeping sickness • 1907 –
Henry Stanley Plummer develops the first structured patient record and clinical number (Mayo clinic) • 1908 –
Victor Horsley and R. Clarke invents the
stereotactic method • 1909 – First
intrauterine device described by Richard Richter. • 1910 –
Hans Christian Jacobaeus performs the first
laparoscopy on humans
1910s • 1917 –
Julius Wagner-Jauregg discovers the malarial fever
shock therapy for
general paresis of the insane 1920s • 1921 –
Edward Mellanby discovers
vitamin D and shows that its absence causes
rickets • 1921 –
Frederick Banting and Charles Best discover
insulin – important for the treatment of diabetes • 1921 –
Fidel Pagés pioneers
epidural anesthesia • 1923 – First vaccine for
diphtheria • 1924 –
Hans Berger discovers human
electroencephalography • 1926 – First vaccine for
pertussis • 1927 – First vaccine for
tuberculosis • 1927 – First vaccine for
tetanus 1930s • 1930 – First successful
sex reassignment surgery performed on
Lili Elbe in Dresden, Germany. • 1932 –
Gerhard Domagk develops a chemotherapeutic cure for
streptococcus • 1933 –
Manfred Sakel discovers
insulin shock therapy • 1935 –
Ladislas J. Meduna discovers
metrazol shock therapy • 1935 – First vaccine for
yellow fever • 1936 –
Egas Moniz discovers prefrontal
lobotomy for treating mental diseases; Enrique Finochietto develops the now ubiquitous self-retaining thoracic retractor • 1938 –
Ugo Cerletti and
Lucio Bini discover
electroconvulsive therapy • 1938 –
Howard Florey and
Ernst Chain investigate
Penicillin and attempted to mass-produce it and tested it on the policeman
Albert Alexander (police officer) who recovered but died due to a lack of
Penicillin 1940s • 1943 –
Willem J. Kolff builds the first
dialysis machine • 1944 – Disposable catheter –
David S. Sheridan • 1946 –
Chemotherapy –
Alfred G. Gilman and
Louis S. Goodman • 1947 –
Defibrillator – Claude Beck • 1948 –
Acetaminophen –
Julius Axelrod,
Bernard Brodie • 1948 – The
World Health Organization (WHO) is founded as a specialised agency of the
United Nations. • 1949 – First implant of
intraocular lens, by
Sir Harold Ridley • 1949 – Mechanical assistor for anesthesia – John Emerson
1950s • 1952 –
Jonas Salk develops the first
polio vaccine (available in 1955) • 1952 –
Cloning – Robert Briggs and Thomas King • 1953 – First live birth from
frozen sperm • 1953 –
Heart-lung machine – John Heysham Gibbon • 1953 –
Medical ultrasonography – Inge Edler • 1954 –
Joseph Murray performs the first human kidney transplant (on identical twins) • 1954 –
Ventouse – Tage Malmstrom • 1955 –
Tetracycline – Lloyd Conover • 1956 –
Metered-dose inhaler – 3M • 1957 –
William Grey Walter invents the brain
EEG topography (toposcope) • 1958 –
Pacemaker – Rune Elmqvist • 1959 –
In vitro fertilization – Min Chueh Chang
1960s • 1960 – Invention of
cardiopulmonary resuscitation (
CPR) • 1960 – First
combined oral contraceptive approved by the FDA • 1967 – First vaccine for
mumps • 1967 –
René Favaloro develops Coronary Bypass surgery • 1967 –
Christiaan Barnard performs the first
human heart transplant • 1968 –
Powered prothesis – Samuel Alderson • 1968 –
Controlled drug delivery – Alejandro Zaffaron • 1969 –
Balloon catheter – Thomas Fogarty • 1969 –
Cochlear implant – William House
1970s • 1970 –
Cyclosporine, the first effective
immunosuppressive drug is introduced in
organ transplant practice • 1971 –
MMR Vaccine – developed by
Maurice Hilleman • 1971 –
Genetically modified organisms – Ananda Chakrabart • 1971 –
Magnetic resonance imaging –
Raymond Vahan Damadian • 1971 –
Computed tomography (CT or CAT Scan) –
Godfrey Hounsfield • 1971 –
Transdermal patches – Alejandro Zaffaroni • 1971 – Sir
Godfrey Hounsfield invents the first commercial
CT scanner • 1972 –
Insulin pump Dean Kamen • 1973 – Laser eye surgery (
LASIK) –
Mani Lal Bhaumik • 1974 –
Liposuction –
Giorgio Fischer • 1976 – First commercial
PET scanner • 1978 – First live birth from
in vitro fertilisation (IVF) • 1978 – Last fatal case of
smallpox • 1979 –
Antiviral drugs – George Hitchings and Gertrude Elion
1980s • 1980 –
Smallpox is declared eradicated by the WHO. • 1980 –
Raymond Damadian builds first commercial
MRI scanner • 1980 –
Lithotripter – Dornier Research Group • 1980 – First
vaccine for hepatitis B –
Baruch Samuel Blumberg • 1980 – Cloning of
interferons –
Sidney Pestka • 1981 –
Artificial skin –
John F. Burke and
Ioannis V. Yannas • 1981 –
Bruce Reitz performs the first human heart-lung combined transplant • 1982 –
Human insulin – Eli Lilly • 1982 –
Willem Johan Kolff performs the first artificial heart transplant. • 1985 – Automated
DNA sequencer – Leroy Hood and Lloyd Smith • 1985 –
Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) –
Kary Mullis • 1985 –
Surgical robot – Yik San Kwoh • 1985 –
DNA fingerprinting – Alec Jeffreys • 1985 –
Capsule endoscopy – Tarun Mullick • 1986 –
Fluoxetine HCl – Eli Lilly and Co • 1987 – commercially available
Statins – Merck & Co. • 1987 –
Tissue engineering – Joseph Vacanti & Robert Langer • 1988 –
Intravascular stent – Julio Palmaz • 1988 –
Laser cataract surgery – Patricia Bath • 1989 –
Pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) – Alan Handyside • 1989 –
DNA microarray – Stephen Fodor
1990s • 1990 –
Gamow bag® – Igor Gamow • 1992 – Description of Brugada syndrome (Pedro and Josep Brugada) • 1992 – First
vaccine for hepatitis A available • 1992 –
Electroactive polymers (artificial muscle) – SRI International • 1992 –
Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) – Andre van Steirteghem • 1995 – Adult stem cell use in regeneration of tissues and organs in vivo – B. G Matapurkar U.S . International Patent • 1996 –
Dolly the Sheep cloned • 1998 –
Stem cell therapy – James Thomson • 1999 – The hormone
Ghrelin is identified by Japanese scientists Masayasu Kojima, Kenji Kangawa and their colleagues. == 21st century ==