Safety in the ICU
Safety in the ICU
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7 Medical Inventions that Changed Hospitals Forever
It’s almost impossible to imagine life without modern medicine and healthcare facilities. However, many of the technologies and procedures we take for granted weren’t even available 100 years ago.
Very few fields have seen the rapid innovation that the medical field is known for, and only a select few have had the same level of impact on the human population. To celebrate these modern feats, we are taking a closer look at seven medical inventions that changed hospitals, and the world, forever.
1. Stethoscope (Invented in 1815)
Prior to the invention of the stethoscope, doctors would simply place their ear to the chest of their patients to listen to their patient’s heartbeat and lungs. Most of the time, this method sufficed, but there were times when it wasn’t effective.
On one such occasion, French physician René Laënnec had a patient with too much body fat for him to hear her heartbeat by ear. This inspired him to invent the first stethoscope, a trumpet-shaped wooden tube, which amplified the sounds of the heart and lungs. The principle of sound amplification has remained the same, lead to the version we know today.
2. Anesthesia (Invented in 1846)
Many forms of anesthesia had been attempted for centuries, but in 1846 a dentist named William T.G. Morton was the first to demonstrate the use of Ether anesthesia for surgery. This event marked the invention of modern anesthesia, enabling painless treatment even during complex procedures.
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