Advances in Medicine

Black and white photo showing medical personnel performing a blood transfusion — The discovery of blood types allowed for life-saving transfusions across the 20^th century that led to longer lives and population growth.

As we continue to explore how technology shaped the post-Cold War era, we will learn about medical and scientific breakthroughs.

Medical Advances

Let's explore a few of the major breakthroughs in medicine.

Blood Transfusions

Blood transfusions had been attempted for centuries, including efforts in the Middle Ages to transfer animal blood into humans, which were unsuccessful. Even early human-to-human transfusions often resulted in clotting and death. In 1900, however, an Austrian physician discovered that human blood comes in different types, and that many of these types are not compatible with one another. This knowledge was applied to battlefield hemorrhaging in the First World War and saved many lives. Blood transfusions have become a part of modern medical practice and have saved countless lives in hospitals and other situations.

Antibiotics

Another factor leading to longer lives was the discovery of antibiotics. Penicillin was first discovered by Alexander Fleming in 1928 and introduced into modern medical practice in the 1940s. Bacterial infections, which had been the cause of countless deaths across history, could now be controlled by medicine. Had this practice been known before, the Black Death and Cholera pandemic would have been eradicated, saving millions of lives. In the same way, vaccines today prevent the spread of polio, measles, and hepatitis and have saved millions of lives. Modern medicine has eradicated humanity's most significant enemies and contributed to long lives and growing populations.

By 1992 the Cold War, which had shaped global interactions for decades, ended abruptly. The next year, the technology of the World Wide Web was released to the public. The collapse of communism and the beginning of the internet would bring about unprecedented connections across the globe. This world of real-time connectivity and global connections is still with us today.

Women's Health

A poster supporting women's suffrage reads Por La Patria (for the country) and shows a woman voting While the population of humans continued to grow, changes in women's health, and particularly in the field of reproductive health, led to large societal changes, including advancements in women's rights. The ability of women to access birth control in developing countries caused a decline in population, but an increase in political and social power for women.

The development of contraceptives is a part of the larger story of the advancement of women’s rights. You will recall from Module 5 that women such as Mary Wollstonecraft and events like the Seneca Falls conference in the 18^th century advocated for equality and property rights for women. The struggle then turned to suffrage, or the right to vote, with women in Europe and the Americas gaining voting rights in the first half of the 20^th century.

In the last half of the 20^th century, the feminist movement focused on reproductive rights and control over fertility. An early pioneer in this movement was Margaret Sanger. Sanger’s mother had 18 pregnancies, 7 of which were miscarriages, and died in her forties at a time when contraceptives and birth control were illegal in the United States. Margaret published, spoke at conferences, started organizations, and opened clinics for women in New York City. She was often banned from speaking but remained focused on advocating for reproductive rights.

When birth control became common in the 1960s and 70s, fertility rates dropped significantly. This lower fertility rate was partially offset in the population as more infants lived into adulthood as child mortality rates declined.

One person applies a gag to the mouth of another person who looks intently into the camera — After being prohibited from speaking at a 1929 rally in Boston, Sanger wore a gag to show she had been banned. Her speech was read by a friend.

Modern Diseases

Despite medical gains in the 20^th century, disease continued to be an issue for mankind. Longer lives introduced new diseases associated with age, diseases related to poverty continued, and major epidemics continued to plague humanity. Select each tab below to learn about diseases related to the new conditions created by a growing population and medical advances.

Long Lives
Large Populations
Poverty

Heart Disease

Many people across the globe suffered from heart disease as they aged. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the world, contributing to one-third of deaths.

Alzheimer’s Disease

Before 1800, most people did not live long lives. As the population aged, Alzheimer’s disease—a brain disease that reduces memory and basic functions— grew to affect over 11 percent of the population.

The Spanish Flu

In 1918, a global outbreak of influenza killed 5 times as many people as the First World War. Called the Spanish Flu, the war greatly facilitated its spread as men returned home from the trenches infected with the virus. Nearly one-third of the world’s population contracted this flu, and over 50 million people died from it.

A large room is filled with patients on cots while doctors and nurses work — A camp in Kansas turned into a hospital to treat patients infected with the Spanish Flu.

HIV/AIDS

Beginning in the 1980s, AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) and the HIV virus that causes it, spread across the globe. Primarily associated with unprotected sex, needle sharing, and births to infected mothers, the virus destroys the immune system and renders the patient vulnerable to numerous infections and diseases.

Cholera and Tuberculosis

Many of the advancements of modern medicine are not available in poorer parts of the world. Cholera, a bacterial infection that fatally dehydrates the body, is easily cured with antibiotics. Likewise, Tuberculosis—a potentially fatal lung infection—is easily treatable by modern medicine. These diseases remain prominent in poorer regions of the world that suffer from inequitable access to modern healthcare.

Malaria

Spread by mosquitoes in tropical areas, Malaria affects people with fever and flu-like symptoms. Fatal if untreated, it continues to be a serious concern in poor regions of Africa and Asia. It is not nearly as common in areas with access to healthcare.

Practice Activities: Medical Advances Review

Complete the following practice activity by selecting the correct answer based on what you've learned in this lesson.

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