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The world's first successful vaccine was for which disease?
cholera
influenza
rabies
smallpox
Edward Jenner worked off the observation that exposure to cowpox among milkmaids seemed to immunize them against smallpox, a feared and deadly disease. Even before Jenner's work, a bold English farmer performed such an inoculation on his wife and children -- this was during a smallpox outbreak, and desperate times apparently called for a desperate measure.
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Which if these drugs was used in antiquity and is still used today?
lidocaine
diazepam
opium
While all drugs, by definition, have their roots somewhere in nature, opium is the rare drug that can claim to be ancient and is still useful today. Opium is a powerful pain reliever ​but can suppress breathing to dangerous levels, so safer synthetic forms are often used in hospitals.
penicillin
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In modern medicine, what does a homeopath treat?
bones
skin
nerves
this is not a modern medical field
Homeopathy is not part of evidence-based medicine. To work, it would require the laws of physics to literally work in reverse -- for a substance to get stronger the more it is diluted. In fact, homeopathic solutions are diluted to the point that there is no trace of active ingredient left. Homeopaths say that their products retain the "memory" of the substance because it was shaken in a special way, called "succussion."
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Which instrument, used for listening to the heart, was invented in 1817?
the caduceus
the forceps
the speculum
the stethoscope
The stethoscope is probably a doctor's most recognizable piece of equipment. Fun fact: safecrackers do, at times, use them to listen to the inner workings of locks!
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Henry Gray gave his name to a famous book on ________.
anatomy
First published in 1858, "Gray's Anatomy" is now on its 41st edition. On a related note, the TV show "Grey's Anatomy" seems to be heading for longevity nearly as great.
cancer
surgery
tropical medicine
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The Bayer company is best known for which product?
aspirin
The world associates Bayer with aspirin. On a more controversial note, Bayer also trademarked the name "heroin" and once sold it as a non-addictive substitute for morphine. Um, no.
acetaminophen
penicillin
the modern MRI machine
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Why is the term "Western medicine" a misnomer for modern medicine?
it downplays the role of Eastern countries in evidence-based medicine
it overstates the role of science and rationality in early Western medicine
neither the East nor the West had a single prevailing form of medicine
all of these
Pre-modern medicine looked pretty much the same all over the world: folk traditions, bloodletting, miasma theory, "pray and wait" -- these were shared by Eastern and Western cultures. Time and technological advances, not geography, are what really made a difference to medicine.
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The oath that doctors still take is named for ___________.
Galen
Hippocrates
Hippocrates observed and wrote prolifically about the illnesses and cures of his day. The first part of the Hippocratic Oath is "First do no harm." ("Whatever you do, don't make it worse!")
Rogerius
Osler
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In the developed world, one of the fastest-growing health threats is ________.
HIV infection
obesity and diabetes
The "diseases of nutritional excess," as obesity-related ailments are called, are increasingly common in wealthy countries like America, Australia and Canada, though ironically, they hit poor people the hardest. People now say, "You used to have to be rich to be fat; now, you have to be rich to be thin."
a scarcity of doctors
tainted medications
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Alexander Fleming discovered the basis for which medicine?
aspirin
valium
penicillin
Fleming, a giant in antibiotic medicine, should also be the patron saint of untidy people. If he'd kept his lab in cleaner order, who knows how long it would have taken for penicillin to be developed!
quinine
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Which of these figures is known as the "father of modern medicine"?
Paracelsus
Hippocrates
William Osler
both #2 and #3
Both Greek physician Hippocrates and Canadian doctor William Osler are honored with this title. Paracelsus is a divisive figure -- he made important observations about medicine, but his interest in alchemy and mysticism undermines his claim to practicing an early form of evidence-based medicine.
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The first woman to practice medicine in the United States was named _______.
Elizabeth Blackwell
Elizabeth Blackwell was awarded her degree in 1849. Rebecca Crumpler is the first black female physician. Born during slavery, she earned her degree in 1864.
Janet Snow
Florence Nightingale
Rebecca Lee Crumpler
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In the 19th century, germ theory replaced _______ theory as the prevailing explanation for disease.
Paracelsic
humoral
miasma
Before the advent of microscopes powerful enough to see the microbial world, "miasma" or bad air was a common explanation for disease. This wasn't too far off, as some pathogens actually can be airborne. Miasma theory is also why sickly characters in old novels are sent away to "take the air" in some other more healthful locale.
Galenic
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How did John Snow halt a cholera epidemic in London?
invented a vaccine
started a household-cleanliness campaign
provided Vitamin C tablets
broke the handle off a water pump
Snow didn't truly understand the cause of cholera, as microbiology wasn't sufficiently advanced by 1854. But he observed a pattern in the location of the cholera cases, interviewed those families about where they got their drinking water, and acted accordingly.
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In modern medicine, what does an oncologist treat?
cancer
While it doesn't seem like a natural leap from "cancer" to "oncology," the word comes from the Greek "onkos" for "tumor." It entered the English language around 1857.
bone diseases
skin diseases
psychiatric disorders
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Microbiologist Robert Koch is best known for his research into which disease?
AIDS
cancer
lupus
tuberculosis
AIDS and tuberculosis are both infectious (the other two diseases are not), but AIDS came considerably after Koch's time. Koch won a Nobel Prize in 1905 for advancing the understanding of tuberculosis.
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Which of these drugs was isolated in 1820 from the bark of the cinchona tree?
acetaminophen
ketamine
opium
quinine
Quinine is used to treat malaria, and is on the World Health Organization's list of essential medicines. It's also what gives tonic water its bitter flavor.
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The sphygmomanometer, invented in 1881, is used for what?
taking blood pressure
This term, which seems unnecessarily long, refers to the entire unit of the cuff, gauge and connecting tubes used to measure blood pressure. The name comes from the Greek sphygmos, for "pulse."
defibrillating hearts
examining the inner ear
this is not a real word
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In 1898, Ronald Ross demonstrated that malaria is spread by ________.
fruit flies
fruit bats
mosquitoes
Malaria is still a threat to health in much of the developing world, and modern medicine continues to struggle with it. In 2015, Tu Youyou won a Nobel prize for her work on the antimalarial drug artemisin.
sexual contact
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The first X-ray for medical purposes was done in ...
the 1850s
the 1890s
William Rontgen is generally credited as discovering "X radiation." Its use in medical imaging followed soon after -- as well as countless ads in the back of comic books offering girl-crazy teenage boys "X-ray specs."
the 1920s
the 1940s
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In modern medicine, what does a neurologist treat?
the brain and nerves
Neurologists treat the nervous system, often the brain. As you can imagine, there's an overlap with psychiatry.
the skin
the bones
the heart
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South African doctor Christiaan Barnard was a pioneer in what procedure?
X-ray imaging
suturing
tumor resection
transplantation
Barnard performed the first human-to-human heart transplant. Unfortunately, without adequate anti-rejection drugs, the patient's immune system attacked the new heart, leading to death in less than three weeks.
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Who created the earliest rabies vaccine?
Paracelsus
Charles Drew
Louis Pasteur
In addition to creating vaccines for rabies and anthrax, Pasteur developed a process for killing bacteria in milk. It bears his name: pasteurization.
William Osler
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For what is warfarin used?
as an anti-diarrheal
to prevent blood clots and embolism
Warfarin, also known as coumadin, prevents blood clots that might cause stroke or deep vein thrombosis. It was previously used as rat poison, something that pharmacists probably avoid mentioning.
to fight infection
to shrink tumors
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Which infectious disease, still a threat in the developing world, was once known as "Roman fever"?
influenza
smallpox
malaria
Parts of Rome were swampy or had stagnant water. This was fertile breeding ground for mosquitos, which carry the disease. Before the connection to mosquitoes was known, it was thought the unhealthful air of swamps caused the "Roman fever," which later gave it the name "mala aria" or just "malaria."
scarlet fever
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Which of these doctors is the namesake of an infectious disease?
Elizabeth Blackwell
Christiaan Barnard
Joseph Lister
Joseph Lister followed up on Louis Pasteur's experiments in germ theory, and was one of the pioneers of sterilization in surgery. For his efforts, "listeriosis" is named for him, as well as the mouthwash Listerine.
Joseph Bell
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Who is credited with creating the idea of residencies and specialties for doctors in training?
James Wilson
Florence Nightingale
William Osler
William Osler is probably the most important figure in medicine who most people haven't heard of. He brought students out of the lecture hall to train in hospitals, creating the medical residency and the idea of specialties. He was a believer in practice over theory.
Galen
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Which of these figures modernized nursing?
Mary Putnam Jacobi
Rebecca Crumpley
Florence Nightingale
Nightingale trained nurses and served as a nurse in the Crimean War. A social reformer as well, she helped raise the profile of nursing, making it a field in which women were trained and respected.
Georgia E.L. Patton
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Mary Mallon was an asymptomatic carrier of which disease?
ebola
rubella
malaria
typhoid fever
"Typhoid Mary" Mallon spread the disease through her work as a cook. She was uncooperative with public health officials and even changed her name in order to return to cooking after being quarantined. Officially, only three people died as a result of eating food she handled, but the number is probably higher.
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In 1847, a Hungarian doctor reduced deaths from "childbed fever" with what innovation?
use of aspirin
use of opium
the invention of forceps
handwashing
As late as the mid-19th century, the importance of handwashing wasn't widely known. The doctor who proposed handwashing, and reduced mortality via its practice, was named Ignaz Semmelweiss.
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Researcher Jonas Salk developed a vaccine for which disease?
cholera
human papilloma virus
measles
polio
Jonas Salk died in 1995. An editorial cartoonist honored him at the time of his death by showing a child dropping his crutches and stepping into a crosswalk. The lighted sign at the opposite side of the crosswalk, instead of "Walk," read "Salk."
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Salicylic acid is the active ingredient in which medicine?
aspirin
Aspirin is one of the world's most popular medicines; about 40 tons are consumed a year around the world. However, one side effect of excessive use is stomach bleeding, which is why acetaminophen is a common alternative.
paracetamol
novocaine
valium
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Which of these diseases was unknown in 1970?
hepatitis B
hepatitis C
ebola
both #2 and #3
Hepatitis C was identified in the 1970s, and first called "non-A, non-B" hepatitis, but its virus was not isolated until the late 1980s. The first known outbreak of ebola occurred in Africa in 1976.
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Dr. David Ho was TIME's 1996 Man of the Year for his research into which disease?
ebola
influenza
HIV infection/AIDS
David Ho, a Taiwanese-born researcher, was far from a household name. However, his more than 400 research papers helped the medical world understand HIV infection -- and more important, how it might be treated.
juvenile leukemia
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Approximately how many people worldwide died in the 1918 flu pandemic?
750,000
1.2 million
5 million
at least 50 million
While we tend to think of the "flu" as a hassle, requiring a few days off work, in 1918 it could have killed nearly 100 million people around the globe. Fatalities might have dropped off only because the flu mutated to a less-aggressive strain, though the exact reason is still not known.
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How many Americans were vaccinated against the flu in the 2015-16 season?
10 percent
22 percent
47 percent
Sure there's a vaccine -- and public education has steadily been increasing the number of people who get it. This is good news because while few healthy adults die of the flu, they can spread it to an elderly or immunosuppressed person to whom it could be fatal.
there's a vaccine for the flu?
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