Medical

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Medication

There have been huge improvements in the Medical field over the years, with the result that conditions once considered terminal, even though still life-threatening, are now able to be cured or greatly improved with the application of new procedures and medication, or replacement of limbs or organs with organs from donors or with prosthetics.
This has ben greatly improved with identification and removal of chemicals that contributed to allergic reactions, and discovery of new, more powerful and safer ones. Some medicines used could be lethal in the wrong combinations or amounts, and these are much better controlled now.

Iron Lung

The iron lung is a negative pressure ventilator, used to assist with breathing when the lungs are not capable of doing this effectively. The first negative pressure ventilator was built in 1670 By John Mayow, using a bellows and a bladder. This system was improved over time to become the Iron Lung. The first one to be widely used was developed by Drinker and Shaw in 1928, and its first use was on a child suffering from poliomyelitis.
In the mid-20th century, the Iron Lung was used to treat coal gas poisoning and then more extensively poliomyelitis, before the Salk vaccine was developed for this in 1955, and the Sabin vaccine in 1961.
Negative pressure ventilation has now been almost entirely superseded by positive pressure ventilation.

Organ Transplants

Below is a list of some of the more significant developments in organ transplant.

• First skin auto graft transplantation of skin tissue from one location on an individual’s body to another location. 1823, Germany
• First human-to-human corneal transplant. 1905, Morovia (Czech Republic)
• First skin transplantation from a donor to a recipient. 1908, Switzerland
• First living related kidney transplant (identical twins). 1954, USA
• First heart valve person-to-person transplant. 1955, Canada
• First kidney transplant from a deceased donor. 1962, USA
• First successful liver transplant. 1967, USA
• First heart transplant. 1967, South Africa
• First pancreas transplant. 1968, USA
• First heart and lung transplant. 1981, USA
• First heart and liver transplant. 1984, USA
• First successful double lung transplant. 1986, Canada
• "Brisbane Technique" for splitting livers to benefit three recipients initiated. 1986, Australia

Breaking news (July 2024)

An artificial heart has been developed in Houston, Texas by an Australian inventor, Dr Daniel Timms, and successfully inserted into a human, where it operated flawlessly for 8 days. The device, made from titanium, has only one moving part, which is suspended in "space" by a magnetic field. This results in a virtually frictionless operation, and its makers claim this will enable it to remain in the body indefinitely. It is still under trial.
Previously (and currently, while trials are in progress), artificial hearts were used as a temporary solution until a compatible donor heart could be sourced.

Prosthetics and mobility-aids

In earlier days, the only options available to those with mobility problems were wheelchairs, which were propelled by another person, and walking sticks.
Carts are available now that allow the user much better mobility than previously, with good suspension and stability. Battery-powered versions are of course more expensive. Their range depends on the type of battery but may be up to 50Km per charge.
Prosthetic limbs are artificial limbs made to replace damaged or missing limbs, from such events as birth defects, war or other accidents or disease. Below is a list of significant events in this field.

• The earliest-known prosthetic toe made from wood and leather (from about 950–710 B.C.) was discovered in the 1800s attached to an Egyptian mummy.
• The Greville Chester toe, created by the Egyptians (about 600BC) and discovered in 2000 near present-day Luxor, is made of a paper maché material and plaster mixture.
• The oldest known prosthetic leg — the Capua leg — was crafted by Romans from bronze and iron with a wooden core about 300 B.C. It was once housed in the Royal College of Surgeons, but was destroyed during World War II bombings. A replica is now at the Science Museum in London.
• Peg legs and hand hooks were common for those who could afford to have them fitted around 476–1000. Tradesmen often crafted prosthetics during this time. For example, those who made watches often used gears and springs to give limbs more detailed functionality.
• Copper, iron, steel, and wood were the most common materials used for prosthetics from 1400–1800.
• During the American Civil War, around 1863, the U.S. started to see advancements in the field of prosthetics. The cosmetic rubber hand was introduced with fingers that could move and various attachments, such as brushes and hooks.
• Following World War II, most limbs were made of a combination of wood and leather. However the prosthetics were heavy, and leather can be difficult to keep clean, especially since it absorbs perspiration.
• Plastics, polycarbonates, resins, and laminates were introduced from 1970s–1990s as light, easy-to-clean alternatives to wood and leather models. Prosthetics also started being made from lightweight materials such as carbon fiber. Synthetic sockets were custom fitted to provide a comfortable, and hygienic fit.
• Prosthetic design has advanced to highly specialized prosthetics, including high-performance, lightweight running blades, responsive legs and feet for navigating varying terrain, and motorized hand prosthetics controlled by sensors and microprocessors. The Computer Age has arrived!

Medicines

There have been many changes in our medicines and pharmaceutical goods and treatments over the years. I'd like to say thank you to Norm, for providing most of the pictures for this page. Although mostly from before my time, some of these techniques are still used today.

Leeches
Leeches are segmented worms that live mainly in fresh water and feed on animal blood. They have two suckers, one at each end of the body, and were applied by doctors in the past (and are beginning to be used again today) to suck blood or other fluids from the body. When feeding, they release an anaesthetic to prevent their hosts from feeling them and an anticoagulant enzyme, hirudin that thins the blood so that it flows more freely.
Bayer's Heroin
Between 1890 and 1910 heroin was sold as a non-addictive substitute for morphine. It was also used to treat children suffering with a strong cough, such as from bronchitis or catarrh. Bayer are of course an ethical and reputable supplier of pharmaceutical goods today.
Metcalf Cola Wine
Metcalf Coca Wine was one of a huge variety of wines with cocaine on the market. Everybody used to say that it would make you happy and it would also work as a medicinal treatment. Coca Wine was marketed as a "pleasant tonic and invigorator".
Cocaine Toothache Drops
Cocaine Toothache Drops were very popular for children in 1885. Not only did the cocaine relieve the pain, it made the children very happy!
Mariani Wine
Another Coca wine, Mariani was the most famous Coca wine of it's time. Pope Leo XIII used to carry a bottle with him all the time. He awarded Angelo Mariani (the producer) a Vatican gold medal.
Maltine
Produced by the Maltine Manufacturing Company of New York, it was suggested that you should take a full glass with or after every meal, for best effects from the coca wine. Children should only take half a glass.
Coca-Cola
Although Coca-cola was never sold as a pharmaceutical item, it was promoted as being able to "make you feel good". It did once contain about nine milligrams of cocaine per glass, but in 1903 this was removed. It still retained the cola flavouring, but instead of fresh Coca leaves, Coca-Cola used "spent" leaves - the leftovers of the cocaine-extraction process, containing small cocaine traces.
Vapor-Ol
As an asthma treatment, at 40% alcohol plus 3 grams of opium per tablet, if this didn't cure you, you didn't really care! This may have provided a unique method of essentially "smoking" opium. The volatile liquid was placed in a pan that was heated by a small kerosene lamp.
Dragees
All successful stage actors, singers, teachers and preachers - and maybe even newspaper boys - had to have mentholated cocaine for best performance. Dragees were great for 'smoothing the voice'.
Stickney and Poor's Paregoric
Stickney and Poor's Paregoric was a mixture of opium and 46% alcohol. It was used in the early 1900s to control diarrhea, as an expectorant and cough medicine, to calm fretful children, and to rub on infants' gums to counteract the pain from teething. I'm sure this would make them sleep well - not only the Opium, but also the alcohol.
Asthma Cigarettes
Those who still enjoy smoking may like to think back to this product... anti-asthma cigarettes. Their distributers claimed they helped relieve asthma attacks, hay fever, bad breath, throat diseases, head colds and bronchial irritations. All-in-all, a very useful and versatile product.
Strychnine Sulphate
And lastly, if none of the previous worked, well... this bottle of strychnine brings a whole new meaning to the term "alternative medicine". This substance is still used, under medical supervision for problems with the nervous system, bladder, heart, and reproductive organs but its main use now is as a pesticide.
Thalidomide
I was loth to include this item, as it still holds so much pain for many people. However, here it is:
Thalidomide was first marketed in 1957 in West Germany under the trade-name Contergan. It was prescribed as a sedative and for anxiety, tension, insomnia, gastritis, nausea and morning sickness in pregnant women, as an over-the-counter drug.
Over several years, about 10000 infants world-wide were born with malformed limbs, of which only about 50% survived. The long limbs were not developed or presented as stumps. Other effects included deformed eyes, hearts, and alimentary and urinary tracts, blindness and deafness. As a result, much tighter controls over drugs have since been introduced.

Blood

Blood has four major functions: transporting oxygen and nutrients to the lungs and tissues; carrying unwanted waste materials away from these so that they can be removed; forming blood clots to prevent excess blood loss; and fighting infection.
It is created by the bone marrow, and has four main components:

• Red cells carry oxygen to, and carbon dioxide from, the various parts of the body.
• White cells are part of the body's immune system. They help the body fight infection and other diseases.
• Plasma is a clear, yellowish, fluid that carries the blood cells around the body.
• Platelets are disc-shaped protein cells that are found in plasma. They bind together to create blood clots around wounds for healing. An excess can create clots that may cause stroke or heart attacks.

Years ago, blood loss was possibly the most frequent cause of death in accidents. Now, there is a much greater chance of recovery. When severe blood loss occurs a transfusion, or exchange of blood, can often save the patient's life.
There are four blood-groups: A, B, AB and O, and these are based on the presence or absence of certain antigens – substances that can trigger an immune response when they detect foreign matter in the body. Because of this, safe blood transfusion depends on careful blood typing and cross-matching. People with:
Type AB can receive blood of all types.
Type O can donate blood to all types.
Type A can receive type A or O.
Type B can receive type B or O.
The four groups are further categorized as Rh+ or Rh- depending on the presence or absence of Rhesus (Rh) protein, an inherited protein that is found on the surface of the red blood cells. This gives a total of eight blood-types: A+, A-, B+, B-, AB+, AB-, O+ and O-. The rarest of these is AB-, and the most common is O, with O- being the one most commonly used for transfusion and for treatment of immune deficiency..

Anaesthesia

Various forms of anaesthesia have been used through the ages. Early examples were blows to the patient’s head; compression of the carotid arteries (in the neck); potions of alcohol and mandrake root; and opium.
Pain relief in an arm or a leg was produced by squeezing the nerves in the upper part of the limb or by applying cold water or ice, and pain suppression by hypnotism became popular during the late eighteenth century.
In 1799, Sir Humphrey Davy suggested the use of nitrous oxide ("laughing gas") for pain relief.
In 1824 Dr Henry Hickman described the use of carbon dioxide to produce loss of consciousness.

The modern anaesthetic era began around 1842.

• Ether was discovered by William Morton, and was first used in the early 1840's.
• Horace Wells first used nitrous oxide for extraction of teeth in 1844.
• Professor James Young Simpson of Edinburgh introduced chloroform in 1847, and it was used concurrently with ether.
• Regional anaesthesia (by nerve blocking), became possible with the discovery of cocaine in 1860.
• Dr Karl Koller first produced anaesthesia of the skin and mucous membranes in 1884.
• In New York in 1885, Dr Corning gave the first spinal anaesthetic and then the first epidural anaesthetic in 1901.
• Pentothal or sodium thiopentone came into use in the late 1930’s.
• Muscle relaxation using curare was first demonstrated in humans in 1942 It allowed a lighter depth of general anaesthesia than had previously been possible.
• In the 1950’s, halothane was produced, and ether and chloroform were removed from most operating rooms.

The end of the twentieth century saw major advances in anaesthesia, including computer technology, microelectronics, and advances in drugs, and anaesthesia is now tailored to each individual patient.