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 - Category: Cardiology Authors: Tags: Editorial Source Type: research