In the past 100 years the destiny of human being as a species has changed from its helplessness in the face of death, disease and destruction with the continuous progress of modern science in every human undertaking. Below we are providing a short list of some of the remarkable turning points in the medical history.
1. Circumcision can reduce the AIDS by 50%
In December 2006 in a breakthrough finding National Institute of Health announced that male circumcision can reduce the possibility of transmission of AIDS by close to 50%. Following randomized trials in various countries researchers found that men who are circumcised medically are at least 51% less prone to transmission of HIV than uncircumcised men. As this new finding made new inroad in the eradication of greatest medical challenge called AIDS, definitely this should be considered as a turning point in medical history.
2. The discovery of insulin
Before insulin has been discovered diabetes was one of the disease which had no conclusive treatment to avoid imminent death. In most cases dietary checks and other preliminary medical techniques in checking the sugar level of blood were the only means to fight diabetes. In cases where body could not produce any insulin at all or only could produce a very minor quantity, patients had no choice but to helplessly wait for death. With the discovery of insulin which can be injected in the patient’s body to maintain the sugar level, diabetes came under control of medical practitioner. In the year 1923 Canadian scientist Banting and Macleod got Nobel prize in medicine for this historical breakthrough.
3. The Invention of Pacemaker
In 1950 John Hopps, an electrical engineer in Canada invented the first version of pacemaker, but the device was too big to plant within the human body and subsequent research by a researcher in New York named Wilson Greatbatch made the modern version of pacemaker possible. The discovery of pacemaker is marked as one of the turning points in medical history as it fist paved the way for better survival of millions of heart patients suffering from artery blockage.
4. Test Tube baby
Working long on the alternative for natural conception of child gynecologist Dr. Patrick Steptoe and psychologist Dr. Robert Edwards found the possibility of fertilizing the egg outside of women’s body to give birth to child. Subsequent research and experiment gave birth to one of the most shocking discoveries in the human history and on July 25, 1978, the first test tube baby was born. It made a turning point in the medical history as it first gave birth to hopes of conceiving a child for millions of people suffering from infertility.
5. The invention of sexual stimulant Viagra
In the year 1991, with the invention of first scientifically tested sexual stimulant Viagra the whole attitude toward sexual dysfunction went through massive changes. This invention by Peter Dunn and Albert Wood of England changed the way men used to go through long treatment for their erectile dysfunction and became a turning point of medical history by posing a new attitude toward sexual behavior, treatment and possibility.
6. DNA transplantation
Researcher Stanley Cohen and Herbert Boyer invented the process of DNA transplantation which paved the ideas for many historical breakthroughs in genetic engineering and medical science. With the opening of the possibility of genetic exchange and transplantation a whole new range of modern medicines are discovered and made the treatment of many diseases and dysfunctions possible. Some of the range of medical breakthroughs which came out of this genetic engineering include growth hormones for underdeveloped children, blood clot dissolving agent for heart ailment, synthetic insulin etc.
7. The discovery of Penicillin
Penicillin is one of the earliest discoveries which changed the way of medical treatment in revolutionary way. The primary credit of discovery of antibiotic medicine largely goes to penicillin as it paved the beginning of the production of the group of antibiotics derived from the penicillin fungi. The discovery of penicillin by Alexander Fleming is long considered to be one of the biggest and earliest turning points in the medical history.
Though great many discoveries and inventions could not be mentioned here in this short list of turning points in medical history, the above mentioned discoveries at least would provide a idea of continuous leap and persistent progression of modern medical science.