The most important advances in medicine in the last century

Over the last 100 years, we have seen a number of advances in medicine that have changed and saved the lives of millions of children and adults. Perhaps the most important discovery was that of penicillin in 1928 by the Nobel laureate, Sir Alexander Flemming. Because of these antibiotics, millions of patients around the world have been treated for bacteria infections which, in many cases, could have lead to death.

But just as we have seen the treatment of such infections, we have seen the prevention of life-threatening diseases. Thanks to the invention of vaccines for the likes of tetanus, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, measles, mumps and rubella, outbreaks of these diseases in the western world (and increasingly in developing countries, too) are rare.

Tobacco smoking has been around for many millennia, but became particularly popular in Europe throughout the Middle Ages. It was in the 1920s that scientists began to notice a link between tobacco smoking and lung cancer but it wouldn’t be until the 1950s and 1960s that a clear relationship between the two was established. However, despite this connection, it is believed around 1.22 billion people still smoke tobacco around the world.

One of the leading causes of cancer is, of course, tobacco smoking. Smoking has been around for many millennia, but since the Middle Ages has become more prevalent throughout Europe. It was in the early 1920s when scientists first began to find a correlation between smoking and lung cancer, but it wasn’t until the mid-20th century that a firm relationship between the two was established. But despite the warnings, around 1.2billion people around the world still smoke, with lung cancer accounting for up to 30% of all cancer diagnoses.

The 1950s and 60s saw the introduction of the revolutionary combined oral contraceptive pill that gave women the opportunity to be in charge of birth control. But just a couple of decades later in 1978, we also saw the creation of the first ‘test-tube baby’ which lead to the modern-day use of IVF; an artificial fertilization procedure that helps those who are unable to conceive naturally to become parents.

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