ABSTRACT
By the mid 1800s, a very small number of doctor-scientists began to apply advances in optics and cell biology to understand the makeup of the organs and tissues. The new doctor-scientist then began to apply developments in physics to understand the movement of fluids through the body, and used the new science of chemistry to understand the effect of trace-invisible substances on homeostasis. The new medical science focused first on epidemic diseases like typhus and cholera, yellow fever and tuberculosis. Once the doctor scientists reduced the impact of epidemic diseases, they began to look at the other causes of ill health. Abraham Flexner's 1910 report, "Medical Education in the United States and Canada", would change the course of US medical schools, and profoundly influence the direction, character and composition of the US healthcare system. Flexner believed research would force professors to remain in contact with peers and keep them up to date with the most recent developments of medical science.
