Patient-Based Clinical Innovations by Practicing Physicians – A Commentary

An evaluation of the major advances in clinical medicine before the 19th century reveals the role that individual doctors played in optimizing clinical therapeutics despite the lack of a scientific underpinning. A few specific examples stand out including Dr. James Lind who demonstrated in 1753 that one could treat and prevent scurvy with citrus fruit; Dr. Edward Jenner who used material from cowpox lesions in 1796 to effectively prevent smallpox; Dr. Semmelweis who introduced hand and instrument washing in 1824 to prevent surgical infections prior to the understanding of bacteria and infectious disease; and in the 1820s, quinine from the bark of a cinchona tree was found by Drs.

Source: Progress in Cardiovascular Diseases - May 17, 2016 Category: Cardiology Authors: Arthur J. Moss, Katherine M. Lowengrub Source Type: research