3000 BC
2000 BC
1000 BC
1000
2000
Plague of Athens Antonine Plague Cyprian Plague Plague of Justinian Leprosy Becomes a Major Medieval Concern Black Death Reaches Europe Sweating Sickness Outbreaks Begin in England Great Plague of London Smallpox Remains a Major Global Killer Cholera Pandemics Begin Influenza Pandemic of 1918 Asian Flu Pandemic HIV/AIDS Crisis Emerges SARS Outbreak COVID-19 Pandemic Begins
Alcmaeon of Croton Investigates Anatomy and Sense Perception Aristotle Studies Comparative Anatomy Erasistratus Advances Anatomical and Physiological Study Rufus of Ephesus Writes on Anatomy Galenic Anatomy Becomes Dominant Byzantine Medical Commentary Preserves Anatomical Traditions Islamic Scholars Expand Anatomical Commentary Ibn al-Nafis Describes Pulmonary Circulation Mondino de Luzzi Revives Anatomical Dissection in Europe Leonardo da Vinci Anatomical Studies Vesalius Publishes De humani corporis fabrica Fallopius Advances Anatomical Study William Harvey Describes Circulation of the Blood Malpighi Uses Microscopy in Anatomy Morgagni Links Symptoms to Organ Pathology Cell Theory Emerges Virchow Develops Cellular Pathology Endocrine Gland Understanding Advances
Kahun Gynaecological Papyrus Mesopotamian Diagnostic and Therapeutic Texts Edwin Smith Surgical Papyrus Ebers Papyrus Ayurvedic Tradition Develops Traditional Chinese Medicine Foundations Sushruta Tradition of Surgery Hippocrates and the Hippocratic Tradition Hippocratic Oath Tradition Emerges Herophilus Studies Human Anatomy in Alexandria Huangdi Neijing Tradition Takes Shape Acupuncture Tradition Becomes Established Celsus Writes De Medicina Dioscorides Writes De Materia Medica Charaka Samhita Tradition Consolidated Galen Treats Gladiators and Builds Surgical Experience Galen Begins to Shape Roman Medicine Oribasius Compiles Medical Knowledge Bower Manuscript Medical Tradition Paul of Aegina Summarises Late Antique Surgery and Medicine
Mendel Publishes Work on Inheritance DNA Identified as a Key Biological Substance Chromosome Theory of Inheritance Develops Avery, MacLeod and McCarty Link DNA to Heredity DNA Double Helix Described Genetic Code Deciphered Recombinant DNA Era Begins PCR Developed Human Genome Project Begins Human Genome Draft Announced Human Genome Project Completed CRISPR Gene Editing Emerges
Robert Hooke Publishes Micrographia Leeuwenhoek Observes Microorganisms Ignaz Semmelweis Promotes Handwashing Louis Pasteur Refutes Spontaneous Generation Joseph Lister Introduces Antiseptic Surgery Robert Koch Identifies Anthrax Bacillus Gram Stain Developed Koch Formulates Koch's Postulates Viruses Begin to Be Distinguished from Bacteria Electron Microscopy Reveals Viruses More Clearly Antibiotic Resistance Becomes a Major Concern Molecular Microbiology Expands
Asklepieia Healing Sanctuaries Flourish Buddhist Monastic Care Traditions Expand Roman Military Medicine Expands Xenons and Early Christian Care Houses Develop Basil of Caesarea Establishes Charitable Medical Complex Jundishapur Medical Centre Flourishes Bimaristan Hospitals Develop in the Islamic World First Major Abbasid Bimaristans Established Al-Razi Directs Hospital Medicine in Baghdad Avicenna Writes The Canon of Medicine Salerno Emerges as a Major Medical School Trotula Texts Associated with Women's Medicine at Salerno Leper Hospitals Spread Across Medieval Europe Medical Faculties Expand at Bologna, Paris, and Montpellier Medieval Hospitals Expand in Europe Hospital of Santa Maria Nuova Founded in Florence Licensing of Physicians Strengthens in Late Medieval Europe Barber-Surgeons and Physicians Formalise Distinct Roles Medical Licensing and Colleges Expand Stethoscope Invented Nursing Reform Under Florence Nightingale Modern Teaching Hospitals Expand
Percussion Used in Diagnosis Stethoscope Invented and Clinical Auscultation Advances Ophthalmoscope Invented Clinical Thermometer Becomes Established X-Rays Discovered Electrocardiography Develops Electroencephalography Introduced Ultrasound Enters Medical Use CT Scanning Introduced MRI Scanning Developed PET Imaging Expands Digital Diagnostics and Portable Monitoring Spread
Blood Groups Identified Insulin Used Clinically First Successful Kidney Transplant First Implantable Pacemaker First IVF Birth Smallpox Eradication Confirmed Minimally Invasive Surgery Expands Evidence-Based Medicine Gains Prominence Antiretroviral Combination Therapy Expands Robotic Surgery Enters Wider Use Immunotherapy Changes Cancer Treatment Gene Therapy Achieves Major Clinical Breakthroughs AI-Assisted Diagnostics Gain Clinical Momentum Telemedicine Expands Rapidly
Ancient Egyptian Herbal Remedy Tradition Ayurvedic Materia Medica Expands Chinese Herbal Pharmacology Traditions Deepen Dioscorides Pharmacology Tradition Galenic Pharmacy Becomes Standard Shennong Bencao Jing Tradition Emerges Islamic Pharmacies Expand in Major Cities Avicenna Expands Pharmacological Knowledge in The Canon Al-Biruni Writes on Pharmacy European Apothecary Traditions Expand Antidotaries and Formularies Spread in Medieval Europe Paracelsus and Chemical Medicine Quinine Gains Importance Against Malaria Digitalis Enters Medical Practice Aspirin Developed Paul Ehrlich Develops Salvarsan Insulin Isolated Penicillin Discovered Sulfonamide Drugs Introduced Penicillin Mass Production Expands Streptomycin Introduced Beta Blockers Developed Statins Transform Cholesterol Treatment Antiretroviral Therapy Changes HIV Prognosis
Indus Valley Urban Drainage Systems Roman Aqueduct and Sewer Systems Roman Public Baths and Hygiene Culture Expand Quarantine Practices Develop in Port Cities Venetian Quarantine Stations Develop Urban Ordinances Against Filth and Contagion Increase Bills of Mortality Used in London John Graunt Analyses Mortality Data Edward Jenner Era Sparks Preventive Public Health Thinking Edwin Chadwick Report on Sanitary Conditions John Snow Investigates Cholera in London Major Urban Sewer Systems Expand Pasteurisation Gains Wider Use Public Health Acts Expand State Responsibility Clean Water Chlorination Expands Global Public Health Institutions Expand
Trepanation Practised in Ancient Societies Egyptian Wound Management and Bone Setting Sushruta Surgical Tradition Hippocratic Reduction of Fractures and Dislocations Roman Military Surgical Instruments Standardised Al-Zahrawi Writes Al-Tasrif Medieval Cataract Surgery Continues in Islamic and Asian Traditions Theodoric of Lucca Promotes Cleaner Wound Care Guy de Chauliac Writes Chirurgia Magna Ambroise Paré Advances Battlefield Surgery Lithotomy and Major Operations Become More Systematised Ether Anaesthesia Demonstrated Publicly Chloroform Enters Medical Use Antiseptic Surgery Adopted More Widely Aseptic Technique Develops Appendectomy Becomes Established Blood Transfusion Becomes Safer with Blood Typing Heart Surgery Advances Organ Transplant Era Begins Laparoscopic Surgery Expands
Early Reports of Deliberate Smallpox Inoculation in Asia Variolation Used in Asia and the Ottoman World Variolation Introduced into Britain Edward Jenner Develops Smallpox Vaccination Compulsory Vaccination Policies Expand Louis Pasteur Develops Rabies Vaccine Antitoxin Therapy Develops BCG Vaccine Introduced Polio Vaccine Announced MMR Vaccine Comes into Use Smallpox Declared Eradicated HPV Vaccine Introduced mRNA Vaccines Deployed at Scale
