The history of medicine is full of brilliant figures.
From humoral theories to the extensive medical-scientific knowledge that we have today, the medical profession has always been necessary and respected . Among these figures, some put a full stop in medical knowledge.
In this article we will briefly introduce 15 of the most famous doctors in history, reviewing the contributions they made in the field of health.
The most influential doctors in the history of medicine
Each medical procedure is carried out by the hands of a trained professional, who trusts in the knowledge accumulated over the centuries, verified by the scientific community.
A fact as simple as washing your hands after performing an autopsy could have been extremely controversial at the time of its proposal, but thanks to historical figures who innovated medical knowledge or decided to go against the current, today we enjoy the best health system that has ever existed in human history.
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Among these brilliant medical figures who paved the way for current health, we find the following.
1. Hippocrates
Hippocrates is considered to be the father of modern medicine . He lived in Greece between 469 and 470 BC, establishing the doctrine of Hippocratic medicine and starting a revolution in this field of knowledge.
The Hippocratic doctrine separated from mysticism and philosophical thought. Through observation and deduction, specific procedures were established to promote the improvement of the patient -such as the use of clean water or wine to clean the wounds or giving importance to rest as part of the treatment-.
Hippocrates was the first doctor to describe diseases with terms such as “acute”, “chronic” or “epidemic”, laying the foundations of current medical language . His knowledge of thoracic surgery is relevant even for modern medicine, and within his school the Hippocratic Oath was given, a document that indicates the ethical bases to be followed during the practice of medicine.
2. Galen of Pergamon
Galen was a physician who lived approximately between 130 and 210 AD He is credited with creating an empirical model for medical knowledge, rooted in experimentation with animal models that allowed him to reach conclusions about the human body.
Galen was an avid anatomist and physiologist, who came to discover both the blood-carrying function of arteries and that urine originates in the kidneys. Thanks to him, rapid progress was made in the identification and description of various physiological structures, such as the seven pairs of cranial nerves or the genitourinary system.
3. Ibn Sina – Avicenna
Ibn Sina, known as Avicenna in the West , was a great thinker within Muslim culture. Ibn Sina was originally from Persia, where he participated in the creation of medical, philosophical, mathematical and physical knowledge, among other categories. His medical knowledge was incredibly influential, especially between the 11th and 17th centuries.
“The Canon of Medicine”, a five-volume encyclopedia, was a book written by Ibn Sina that was used as the basic medical textbook practically until the 18th century . In it, he considered that all illness has natural causes, not necessarily theological ones.
Within this framework he brought together all the medical knowledge available at the time in an incredibly concise way.
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4. Andrea Vesalius
Andrés Vesalius wrote one of the most important books in the field of anatomy. His work, ” De humani corporis fabrica “, translated as “On the tissue of the human body”, elevates him as the father of modern anatomy.
Vesalius was born in 1514 in Brussels , a city that at that time was part of the Netherlands, but later taught at the University of Padua before becoming the imperial physician to the court of Charles V, Emperor of the Habsburgs. just as his father and grandfather had done before him.
5. René Laennec
René Laënnec, born in French Brittany in 1781, was a renowned French physician of the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
His contribution to modern medicine is key, mainly due to the invention of the stethoscope and the foundation of the clinical practice of auscultation.
In addition to characterizing and classifying various lung diseases, such as pneumonia and emphysema, he was also the first person to describe in detail cirrhosis, a common liver disease in alcoholics.
6. Edward Jenner
Edward Jenner was an English physician, born in 1749. He is considered by many to be the father of immunology, as well as having been a member of the Royal Society as a zoologist.
He was the inventor of vaccination (whose name refers to the cattle used to carry out the procedure). The first vaccine made was used to immunize patients against smallpox, developed from the cowpox virus, also pathogenic but much less serious.
He is considered the first person to use vaccination to stop the epidemic progress of a disease.
7. Ignaz Semmelweis
Semmelweis was a Hungarian doctor who came to be nicknamed “the savior of parturients” , since the patients who gave birth in his clinic had much lower mortality rates than was usual for most hospitals at the time, at the beginning. of the 19th century.
The contribution of Ignaz Semmelweis was enormous, although it went unnoticed by the scientific community due to the explosive character of Semmelweis himself, who was remarkably reluctant to receive criticism about his theories.
The simple act of cleaning hands after performing autopsies and before operating on women in labor, devised by Semmelweis, was incredibly innovative, since at that time the pathogenic effects of bacteria were unknown.
8. Sir Joseph Lister
Another champion of clinical antiseptic practices, Joseph Lister was born in 1827 and died in 1912. Lister used Louis Pasteur’s knowledge of microbes to improve his clinical practice, linking germ theory to medicine and surgery. .
Lister’s aseptic practices included the disinfection of the operating room, clothing, instruments and hands of surgeons, to prevent the appearance of infections and gangrene in surgical patients .
Despite the initial rejection of his theories (as well as those of Semmelweis), the visible positive results of his practices made them gain much popularity, becoming key aseptic practices in surgery today.
9. John Snow
Unfortunately named after an important character in Game of Thrones – The fantasy saga “A Song of Fire and Ice” -, John Snow was an important physician of the early nineteenth century considered the founder of modern epidemiology.
His epidemiological research into the origin of cholera outbreaks in Victorian London enabled him to detect contamination problems in the city’s water supply, demonstrating the importance of epidemiological studies for public health.
10. Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud hardly needs an introduction . He is the father of the doctrine of psychoanalysis, which he founded while practicing as a neurologist in Austria.
He delved into the unconscious mechanisms of the psyche, and how they influence our preferences, desires, desires and phobias.
Despite the erroneousness of several of his theories on the psyche and human behavior, his vision initiated research on the psychological element as part of individual health. His life and work continue to be studied in different disciplines.
11. Sir William Osler
Sir William Osler (1849 – 1919) is known as the “doctor of doctors”, an honor fully deserved.
Originally from Canada but based for most of his professional and academic career in Oxford, UK, his contributions are of immense importance to modern clinical practice.
Much of its success lies in its educational doctrine of “bedside learning” , through which curricular practices and contact with patients became key pillars in the training of any doctor today.
12.Robert Koch
Dr. Robert Koch was a German physician instrumental in establishing modern bacteriological knowledge .
He established a methodology for identifying the causal agents of bacterial diseases, such as cholera, tuberculosis or even anthrax.
He received the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1905 for his research on tuberculosis. Many of his students also had a great impact on far-reaching scientific and medical advances.
13. Sir Alexander Fleming
Alexander Fleming was a physician born in 1881, in Darvel, Scotland.
He is known throughout the medical-scientific community for the crucial discovery of penicillin , the first antibiotic used by humans in a conscious way, which paved the way for the research and application of other antibiotic substances, saving countless lives since then.
In addition to this celebrated discovery, Fleming also discovered the antimicrobial enzyme known as lysozyme.
14. Jonas Salk
Dr. Jonas Salk (1914 – 1995) is known for creating the first vaccine for polio , a relatively common viral disease for much of the last century.
Jonas Salk was the first to generate a polio vaccine that used non-infectious viral particles, unlike the other vaccines of the time that used “attenuated” versions of the viruses, which could still present a risk of infection and transmission and, therefore, a significant health risk.
15. Jean-Martin Charcot
Jean-Martin Charcot was a nineteenth century French neurologist, known today for his work on hysteria and hypnosis (two concepts currently in controversy). He was also the first to describe multiple sclerosis .
Interestingly, although hysteria was considered a mainly female disease, Jean-Martin Charcot struggled to show that this disease also affected men, being according to him a psychological disease rather than a neurological one, usually derived from past traumas suffered by the patient.
Bibliographic references
- Tan, S. Y., & Ponstein, N. (2019). Jonas Salk (1914-1995): A vaccine against polio. Singapore medical journal, 60(1), 9–10. doi:10.11622/smedj.2019002.
- Riedel S. (2005). Edward Jenner and the history of smallpox and vaccination. Proceedings (Baylor University. Medical Center), 18(1), 21–25. doi:10.1080/08998280.2005.11928028.
- Bogousslavsky, J., Walusinski, O., & Veyrunes, D. (2009). Crime, Hysteria and Belle Epoque Hypnotism: The Path Traced by Jean-Martin Charcot and Georges Gilles de la Tourette. European Neurology, 62(4), 193-199. doi:10.1159/000228252.
To the classic question “what do you do?” I always answer “basically I am a psychologist”. In fact, my academic training has revolved around the psychology of development, education and community, a field of study influenced my volunteer activities, as well as my first work experiences in personal services.