1.Hippocrates (460-370 BC) - The father of medicine
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| Hippocrates – the father of modern medicine and considered the greatest physician of his time – authored the "Medical Ethics Oath," which is still used in many countries today, including Vietnam. He recognized that each person would exhibit different levels of illness and have varying abilities to fight off disease. He was also the first physician to suggest that human thoughts, feelings, and emotions originate from the brain, not the heart as many of his contemporaries believed. |
2. Dr. Edward Jenner (1749 - 1823) – The father of vaccines
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| Many people believe that Louis Pasteur is the father of vaccines because he is famous for discovering bacteria, infections, and creating the rabies vaccine. However, in reality, this credit belongs to Edward Jenner – an honorary doctor in the Royal Society of London – who confirmed the effectiveness of vaccines in preventing diseases in humans before humanity knew of the existence of viruses and bacteria. |
3.Rene Theophile Hyacinthe Laennec (1781-1826) - The creator of the legendary stethoscope.
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Rene Theophile Hyacinthe Laennec was a French physician who invented the legendary stethoscope in 1816. Before that, the only way a doctor could hear a patient's heartbeat was by placing their ear against their chest. However, this sound wasn't always clear, and it was especially difficult to diagnose if the patient was obese.Through his early invention, Rene Theophile Hyacinthe Laennec was able to hear sounds in the lungs and heart. This instrument also aided in autopsy procedures. |
4. Ignaz Semmelweis (1818 - 1865) – Obstetrician
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| Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis was a Hungarian obstetrician. He asserted that puerperal fever was caused by infection. He also demonstrated that the high maternal mortality rate was due to doctors not sterilizing their hands with calcium chloride solution before delivering babies. He is recognized in the world of medicine as a pioneer of the theory of aseptic technique and the theory of hospital-acquired infections. |
5. Dr. Louis Pasteur (1822 - 1895) – the discoverer of the rabies vaccine.
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| Louis Pasteur was born on December 27, 1822, in the city of Dole (western France). He accomplished some of the greatest works of his life, such as discovering the causes of infectious diseases in animals: avian cholera, rabies, etc., and finding vaccines to prevent avian cholera, anthrax, and especially rabies. Within just one year, this success resulted in the vaccination and saving the lives of over 2,500 people bitten by rabid dogs. |
6.Dr. Joseph Lister (1827 - 1912) – The father of antiseptics
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| Many patients who were thought to have been saved by surgery later died slowly from surgical complications. No one understood the reason why, nor did they know how to prevent this tragic situation. Finally, the answer came from Dr. Joseph Lister, who discovered the role of antiseptics in controlling infectious diseases. This was a significant milestone in surgical history and one of the earliest efforts to control and manage surgical infections. Lister's life was filled with immense contributions to medicine. |
7.Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell (1821 - 1910) - The first female professor of obstetrics.
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| Blackwell was the first woman to be awarded a medical degree in North America (1849). This was unprecedented in medical history up to that point. In 1869, Elizabeth Blackwell helped organize the National Health Society in London (England) to provide free medical care to the poor and also established the London School of Medicine for Women. By 1875, she was appointed the first female professor of obstetrics at the London School of Pediatrics. |
8. Dr. Frederick Banting (1891 - 1941) – Discovered the hormone insulin
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| Frederick Banting was a Canadian physician, physicist, and physiologist. He discovered the pancreatic hormone insulin, used in the treatment of diabetes. He was born in Alliston, Ontario, and studied at the University of Toronto. From 1921 to 1922, he, along with John Macleod (a Scottish physiologist) and his colleague Charles Best, discovered insulin. In 1923, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine for this groundbreaking discovery. |
9. Dr. Charles Drew (1904 - 1950) – Discovered how to separate and preserve blood plasma.
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| Charles Drew, an African American physician, discovered how to separate and preserve blood plasma. This discovery laid the foundation for the establishment of blood banks, which played a crucial role throughout World War II (1939-1945). He created the first blood banks, saving thousands of lives during that devastating war. |
10. Henry Gray (1827-1861) - the founder of anatomy
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Dr. Henry Gray was an English anatomist and the author of the famous book Gray's Anatomy, which laid the foundation for the science of anatomy.He was elected a Royal Society Commissioner at the age of 25 and also served as an assistant surgeon at St. George's Hospital.In 1861, he was the leading candidate for assistant surgeon, but unfortunately, he contracted smallpox while caring for a young boy and died at the untimely age of 34. |
