ABSTRACT
'Modern medicine, as we understand and practise it today, had its origins in the second half of the 19th century. Technological advances and the systematic development of medical research allowed a detailed study of pathogens and pathology, followed by the development of new therapeutic agents, investigations, and invasive and non-invasive interventions. During 1895 Wilhelm Roentgen (1845-1923) discovered the X-ray beam, and the first medical X-ray taken in February 1896 allowed the non-invasive diagnosis of disease in the living. In 1948 the Medical Research Council in the UK alerted researchers to the huge increase in lung cancer and asked if this increase is real, and if so, what the underlying cause may be. Important specific and potent drugs introduced in the last 50 years include beta-blockers and angiotensin-converting enzyme -inhibitors, H2-blockers – cimetidine was introduced in 1979 – and proton pump inhibitors for gastric ulcers, and immuno-suppressives for the treatment of a range of autoimmune diseases and in transplantation medicine.
