On today’s blog we’re shifting away from the more macabre for a bit of a mini-blog. We’re going to be discussing some monumental medical moments (say that 10 times fast) along with advancements in medicine and technology over the years.
Momentous Medical Moments
Let’s start off with the Momentous Medical Moments in history first.
One of the big ones that stood out to me in my research was the first organ and heart transplants. The first organ to be transplanted from human to human was in 1954. It was a kidney from an identical twin. According to the National Library of Medicine, “In the United States alone, over 800,000 patients have had their lives saved or significantly improved thanks to transplant since national recording began by the Organ procurement and Transplant Network in 1988.” In 1869, the first documented skin transplant was done by a Swiss surgeon. By 1982 Dr. William DeVries and his team transplanted the first artificial heart invented by Dr. Robert Jarvik. The downside of this was the patient had to be hooked up to a 350 pound air compressor. The artificial heart was called Jarvik-7. And in the 1990’s it helped about 150 patients hold out until a matching heart donor could be found. The other great advancements was the establishment of the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) database, which was a computer database helping match donors all over. Which segways perfectly into our next topic.
Technology Advancements
So Phil and I were discussing the other day, how fast technology has moved since a certain point in history and what that point really was. What’s your opinion on this? Like what do you feel was the tipping point for technology? So researching this topic was interesting and there wasn’t a definitive answer as to when all this started. I can tell you that we are currently in the information age. Information age is defined as the age at which we have access to unlimited amounts of information at our fingertips, but also that we as a society crave information.
The need and obsession for collecting information is called infomania. They say the information age began in the mid-20th century which means anywhere from 1930’s to 1960’s. So I looked up some information to see what was created or invented around that time to see what could have been the catalyst that helped launch the information age. Of course my first thought was the internet. The internet was officially launched in January of 1983 however the government was using a similar system in the 60’s. So then I went to look up info on the first computer. The first computer was invented in 1888, but wasn’t actually built until 1991. In 1945, ENAC was built, but it filled an entire room. However the first personal computer also known as a PC was built in 1973.
According to my research there isn’t a known catalyst that launched the informational age. It seems like it was a combination in the transfer of information, improvements in technology, but also during this time, the steam engine was invented. This allowed smaller engines to be created over time. It increased a lot of productivity in the industrial revolution which helped to expand out exports and imports across the country. It also allowed for larger farms to easily harvest and transport to other areas. Everything seemed to be advancing in all areas; medical, technological, agricultural, and industrial.
And there you have the hi-story on medical and technological advancements in US history. For more on this topic be sure to check out our podcast where we discuss this topic with a sense of humor! https://spotifyanchor-web.app.link/e/hxWjIXoz7ub Thanks for reading!
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