Is There a Doctor in the House? Firsts in Medicine Quiz

Question: Who is the Greek physician and pharmacologist whose work De materia medica (c. 77 CE) was the foremost Classical source of modern botanical terminology and the leading pharmacological text for 16 centuries?

Answer: Pedanius Dioscorides’ De materia medica (c. 77 CE) was the foremost Classical source of modern botanical terminology and the leading pharmacological text for 16 centuries.

Question: In 1711 what was hailed as a treatment for tuberculosis as well as a foodstuff?

Answer: In 1711 Tuscarora rice was hailed as a treatment for tuberculosis as well as a foodstuff. The “rice” was actually a coarse meal made by pulverizing Indian corn (maize) in a device that received the first patent issued to a resident of the American colonies, which was also the first known patent for an invention by a woman, Sybilla Masters.

Question: Who is the first authenticated physician (and dentist) mentioned by name in ancient records, active about 2650 BCE?

Answer: Hesy-ra, who was active about 2650 BCE under the Egyptian king Djoser, is the first authenticated physician (and dentist) to be mentioned by name in ancient records.

Question: Which Swiss chemist discovered the psychedelic drug lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), which he first synthesized in 1938 by isolating compounds found in ergot (Claviceps purpurea), a fungus affecting rye?

Answer: Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann discovered the psychedelic drug lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), which he first synthesized in 1938 by isolating compounds found in ergot (Claviceps purpurea), a fungus affecting rye.

Question: Which American surgeon is considered a founder of operative gynecology and was the first to successfully remove an ovarian tumour?

Answer: American surgeon Ephraim McDowell is considered a founder of operative gynecology. In 1809 he was the first to successfully remove an ovarian tumour.

Question: Which Anglo-American physician is considered the first female doctor of medicine in modern times?

Answer: Anglo-American physician Elizabeth Blackwell is considered the first female doctor of medicine in modern times. Ranked first in her class, she became in January 1849 the first woman in the United States to graduate from medical school.

Question: Which Christian noblewoman established the first general hospital in Rome?

Answer: Fabiola was a Christian noblewoman who established the first general hospital in Rome.

Question: In 1754 who recommended that fresh citrus fruit and lemon juice be included in the diet of seamen—a practice that eventually resulted in the eradication of the nutritional disorder scurvy from the British navy?

Answer: British physician James Lind recommended in 1754 that fresh citrus fruit and lemon juice be included in the diet of seamen—a practice that eventually resulted in the eradication of the nutritional disorder scurvy from the Royal Navy.

Question: Which Spanish conquistador founded the first hospital on the North American continent?

Answer: Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés founded in Mexico City about 1524 the first hospital on the North American continent, an institution eventually called the Hospital de Jesús Nazareno.

Question: In 1846 which American dental surgeon gave the first successful public demonstration of ether anesthesia during surgery?

Answer: In 1846 American dental surgeon William Thomas Green Morton gave the first successful public demonstration of ether anesthesia during surgery. He is credited with gaining the medical world’s acceptance of surgical anesthesia.

Question: Which French physician provided in 1674 the first unambiguous description of a battlefield tourniquet used to stanch bleeding?

Answer: French physician Étienne J. Morel provided in 1674 the first unambiguous description of a battlefield tourniquet used to stanch bleeding.

Question: In 1388 which king established the first sanitary laws in England, addressing offal and slaughterhouses and prohibiting the casting of animal filth and refuse into rivers or ditches and the corrupting of the air?

Answer: In 1388 Richard II established the first sanitary laws in England, addressing offal and slaughterhouses and prohibiting the casting of animal filth and refuse into rivers or ditches and the corrupting of the air.

Question: Which Renaissance physician revolutionized the study of biology and the practice of medicine by his careful description of human anatomy in his major work De humani corporis fabrica libri septem (”The Seven Books on the Structure of the Human Body”)?

Answer: The Renaissance physician Andreas Vesalius revolutionized the study of biology and the practice of medicine by his careful description of human anatomy. His major work De humani corporis fabrica libri septem (”The Seven Books on the Structure of the Human Body”), commonly known as the Fabrica, was printed in 1543.

Question: Which American zoologist and student of human sexual behaviour published Sexual Behavior in the Human Male (1948) and Sexual Behavior in the Human Female (1953)?

Answer: Alfred Charles Kinsey was an American zoologist and student of human sexual behaviour who published Sexual Behavior in the Human Male (1948) and Sexual Behavior in the Human Female (1953).

Question: In 1667 which English physician transfused the blood of a lamb into a man?

Answer: In November 1667 English physician Richard Lower transfused the blood of a lamb into a man.

Question: Which French physician invented the stethoscope and perfected the art of auditory examination of the chest cavity?

Answer: French physician René Laënnec invented the stethoscope and perfected the art of auditory examination of the chest cavity.

Question: Which Italian physician wrote De re anatomica (1559; ”On Things Anatomical”), which includes original observations derived from his dissections of both living animals and human cadavers?

Answer: Italian physician Matteo Realdo Colombo wrote De re anatomica (1559; ”On Things Anatomical”), which includes several important original observations derived from his dissections of both living animals and human cadavers.

Question: Which Roman medical writer authored an encyclopaedia, of which only the medical portion has survived, that contains important accounts of heart disease, insanity, and the use of ligatures to stop arterial bleeding?

Answer: Roman medical writer Aulus Cornelius Celsus authored an encyclopaedia, of which only the medical portion has survived, that contains important accounts of heart disease, insanity, and the use of ligatures to stop arterial bleeding.

Question: In May 1796 which English surgeon discovered a vaccination for smallpox?

Answer: In May 1796 English surgeon Edward Jenner discovered a vaccination for smallpox: inoculating patients with cowpox, a relatively harmless disease, which protected them from smallpox.

Question: In 1903 which Dutch physiologist developed the first string galvanometer to measure and graphically record the changes of electrical potential caused by contractions of the heart muscle?

Answer: In 1903 Dutch physiologist Willem Einthoven developed the first string galvanometer to measure and graphically record the changes of electrical potential caused by contractions of the heart muscle.

Question: Which philosopher-scientist’s principal medical work, Al-Qānūn fī al-ṭibb (The Canon of Medicine), became a classic that was used at many medical schools as late as 1650?

Answer: Muslim philosopher-scientist Avicenna’s principal medical work, Al-Qānūn fī al-ṭibb (The Canon of Medicine), became a classic that was used at many medical schools as late as 1650.