History Homework

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In our modern world, we like to boast and explain how science has greatly benefited the public via its various interventions. In many occasions, we adore the innovation but fail to give credit to the inventors. For instance, we argue how various types of X-ray machines detect flaws in bones and metal elements lodged in them. However, what we fail to realise is that these scientific innovations began a long time ago in the times of our great ancestors.  Therefore, there are many scientific innovations discovered in the pre-1700 period that positively transformed the health industry and ought to be remembered.

The period before the 1700’s is commonly referred to as the age of reasoning or the enlightenment period. It is the name that has historically been used to refer to the time in America and Europe when man was awakening from centuries of blindfolding ignorance into a new age of knowledge by science, reason and respect for the inherent nature that makes us respect humanity.  Such an argument arises from the fact that individuals from this period became fully convinced that their human reasoning capacities had the power to do three essential tasks. These were the power: to discover the world’s universal or natural laws, determine man’s natural rights and further their knowledge where both their moral values and technical achievements could be realized.

The technological innovations and advancements of the age of reason were made possible by the various factors that motivated people to innovate. This is to say that every innovation aimed at solving a problem that was common among peoples of the Enlightenment period. For instance, politically, wars motivated the need for weaponry as well as the need to come up with the mechanisms of saving wounded soldiers. Similarly, the epidemics that arose due to interactions between soldiers of this period, their war enemies and looted women created the need for physicians of the time to create joint efforts in order to end such epidemics. A good example is the Japanese Influenza epidemic that arose during the war. Economically, trade generated wealth. It came with a social class of people who had more privileges than others. It also socially structured the communities by placing each member according to their stature. It is commonly uttered that necessity motivates inventions. The superiority of inferiority of these social classes motivated individuals into going the extra mile in seeking any solution that could move them from a lower social strata to a higher one. Furthermore, these social and economic stratification reinforced the need for a joint religion, a fact that further paved way for advancements in literature. It was then after literature establishments that major technological innovations of the time were made and advanced over time.

In 1590, Zacharias Janssen invented the first microscope. He made this invention while comparing the power of different lengths sizes and curvature. Having been a lens maker, many scholars believe that Zacharias might have acquired some hints concerning the microscope from the works of his aging father, Hans. Hans was also a single lens maker apprenticing his son.

 Even though the invention of the first microscope was ridiculed by most of the health practitioners of the time, it later became to be recognized as a breakthrough in the field of medicine for both physicians and patients. This is because the physicians of the time firstly used it in different ways, all leading to the improvement of health services and patient health outcomes at the time (Hadju, 2002). For instance, they first used it to study the fossils of different organisms, their diatoms and later moved to study and analyse the first notable cells of the organisms.  Later, lab researchers could use it in pathology, whereby they examined the chemical properties, such as the presence or absence of certain properties in the selected pathogen specimens. By analyzing the pathological nature of most of the visible disease-causing microorganism, researchers were able to make treatment recommendations (Hadju, 2002).  As a result, many disease-causing microorganisms and parasites such as tapeworms, roundworms, liver flukes and many others were identified. The latter opened a chance for the quest of finding cures to most of the infections caused by such microorganisms. Furthermore, as the researchers in the laboratory kept of identifying these pathogens, their treatment options were also being discovered (Hadju, 2002).  Consequently, the health outcomes of the patient’s improved. The latter owes to the fact that the rate at which patients were diagnosed and cured increased, hence improving the clinical outcomes of patients in the pre-1700 period.

The greatest and most significant influence of the first microscope was achieved when its advanced version allowed doctors to examine the anatomy of both animals and humans.  This is because the greatest invention of it centred on the anatomy of the heart and kidney. By learning how the heart, the blood vessels and the kidney functioned, the search for curative medicine to cure deceases that afflicted these parts began. Moreover, the physiological functioning of these major organs were determined, making it easy for doctors to diagnose their related infections and even give safety procedures to avoid their re-infection.

Another advancement of the age of reasoning was in surgery. In the middle ages, surgery was used as the last resort to any medical ailments. According to Starthan, (2005) this was because after trying all possible cures to certain diseases and wounds, the surgeons and doctors had nothing else but to amputate the infected part and save the patient. Furthermore, other cultures such as the Egyptian had even learned how to cure migraines by drilling a hole in the skull of agonizing patients. However, this was partial amputation and the instruments for complete amputations were yet to be advanced.   Consequently, the Omate bow frame amputation saw was invented in the 1500s (Starthan, 2005).  This discovery completely changed the way surgery was done. As a result, patients suffering from acute infections that spread to other body parts and infected them were saved by the Omate bow framed amputation saw. Furthermore, this discovery was very important because it simplified the art of surgery. By uniformly applying force, physicians could reduce the time taken to amputate an infected hand, food or cut across any bone. Furthermore, the lesser the time of amputation, the less the pain endured by the patient. According to Carlisle, (2004) this invention was so powerful and handy due to its simple make up. It only consisted of two metals that could be easily sterilized for safe medical operations. It also remained in existence for more than two hundred and fifty years saving the lives of patients with rotten wounds (Carlisle, 2004). 

Furthermore, the invention of surgical bow framed also motivated the need to make patients more conformable and reduce the pain of the surgical processes. This was later was improved via the use of anaesthetics. For instance, anaesthesia-inducing substances such as opium, obtained from the poppy plant were discovered. Similarly, others such as strong wines were also used (Carlisle, 2004).  The idea behind their administration is that they were soaked in cotton and held over the patient’s nose to inhale them. Other anaesthesia soaked in these cotton rolls were termpentine, mandragora and hemlock juice.  How these substances numbed the patient’s sensory nerves made the experience of surgery less traumatising when compared to the past where patients almost fainted and died in the surgery process. They also advanced surgery to other parts such as the eyes, nose, head and ears. The latter led to the invention of ether as a pain reliever and chloroform in the early 1800s (Carlisle, 2004).  However, these inventions greatly saved the life of men who were maimed in war or those who faced tragic accidents. The latter progressed to the modern times where we no longer fear surgeries because that they are painless.

In 1656, Sir Christopher Wren invented the first intravenous blood transfusion. He performed this experiment by using a sharpened quill and an animal bladder attached to it. Even though the experiment was successful, it wasn’t adopted until Karl Landsteiner invented the blood typing system in 1900 (Carlisle, 2004). However, it did enlighten physicians that certain ailments could be cured and lives saved. The latter led to the many studies and experiment that successfully led to the first successful human intravenous injection in 1662 by J.D Major.

Furthermore, the first invention of the thermometer in 1593 by Galileo Galilei made it easy for physicians to measure patient’s temperatures (Starthan, 2005).  By comparing the temperature changes of patients, physicians of the time could not whether the patient was progressing well or not (Carlisle, 2004).  As soon as the patient’s temperature levels seemed to improve, the doctors were sure that the treatment option they used worked well and tried them on other patients. However, when the patient’s temperature recordings consistently remained abnormal, the doctors knew that the treatment option they used was not valid. Therefore, they kept on changing the treatment strategies until when the patient seemed to recover (Starthan, 2005). Through this single instrument, patient’s health outcomes were improved. Also, many lives were saved.

In conclusion. The pre-1700 period was revolutionised by many scientific discoveries. Examples of such were the discoveries of the first microscope, thermometer, surgery tools and the first intravenous injection technique. These innovations positively impacted patient’s lives and transformed the health industry, hence the need to be remembered.                                                               

Reference List

Carlisle, R. P., & Scientific American, inc. (2004). Scientific American inventions and discoveries: All the milestones in ingenuity–from the discovery of fire to the invention of the microwave oven. Hoboken, N.J: John Wiley & Sons.

Eras, A. (1997). Pre-1600: Science, medicine, and technology overview. Retrieved from: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-2536600146.html

Strathern, P. (2005). A brief history of medicine from Hippocrates to gene therapy. London: Constable  & Robinson.