The New Childrens Encyclopedia

Modern

medicine

Medicine has come a long way since the Greek

philosopher Hippocrates laid the foundations for

modern medicine nearly 2,500 years ago. Advances

in all areas of medicine are now helping us live

longer, healthier, and happier lives.

MEDICINE THROUGH TIME

Trepanation was a form

of primitive surgery that

involved drilling

holes in the

skull to release

“evil spirits.”

Dutch father and son

Hans and Zacharius

Jannsen invent the first

microscope, and by doing

so open up the invisible

world of the cell.

Sterilization

practices

pioneered

by Joseph

Lister.

X-rays are discovered by

Wilhelm Röntgen and

later used to look inside

the body without the need

for invasive surgery.

Karl Landsteiner

discovers the

ABO human

blood group

system.

MEDICINE IN MINIATURE

Making things smaller allows doctors to see and do more.

In the future, nanotechnology could revolutionize medicine,

with developments such as nanorobots.

 PLASTIC FANTASTIC Skin grafting is one

of the most common procedures in plastic surgery.

 THROUGH THE KEYHOLE Surgeons

use an endoscope to look inside a patient’s body.

 HEART SURGERY is now routine thanks

to advances in technology.

SLICE OF SURGERY

The image of a surgeon has

changed from backstreet doctors

to computer-controlled robots such

as the da Vinci Surgical System,

which can perform routine surgical

procedures with precision.

 SEEING INSIDE THE BODY

A man swallows a capsule endoscope.

As the capsule passes through the body,

it relays images of the man’s insides to a

video screen so doctors can study them.

White

blood

cell

Nanorobotic surgeons

Miniature devices called

nanorobots could be used to help

surgeons repair the body from the

inside out. The nanorobots could

circulate in our blood and attack

harmful germs.

Red blood

cell Nanorobot

TECHNOLOGY

6,500 BCE 1590 CE 1867 CE 1895 CE 1901 CE