Medical History Trivia Quiz

Answer: the circulation of the blood

Before Harvey, it was not even believed that the heart pumped blood. The working model before Harvey was Galen's who thought that nutrition was brought from the liver's blood to the body and air from blood in the heart. This "air-filled' blood was thought to be used up and therefore did not return to the heart.

Answer: cowpox

Many of the diseases that have caused the greatest harm to humans were created by living close to animals.

Answer: wood

It was described by Laennec in 1819 and was designed for use by one ear. By 1852 it had been modified to a two-ear instrument with rubber tubing similar to those used today.

Answer: chemist

Pasteur became interested in the chemical properties of living things which led him to study micro-organisms. Through experimentation he proved that organisms causing food to spoil came from the air, and later developed a process to eliminate these organisms using heat. This became known as 'pasteurisation'.

Answer: malaria

The clearing of forests for farmland creates a perfect environment for the mosquitoes that carry malaria. Malaria kills approximately a million children in Africa each year and the number of cases are increasing as malaria becomes stronger and more resistant to treatments.

Answer: urine

The humours were used to explain illness - when they were in balance you were well, when upset- ill. The fourth was yellow bile.

Answer: lithium

It was used to treat bipolar disease (then called manic depression) and is still used today.

Answer: Christiaan Barnard

The heart was transplanted in South Africa, 1967. Albert Sabin developed the live polio vaccine. Casimir Funk coined the term 'vitamines'. Linus Pauling showed that haemoglobin molecules are different in those with sickle cell anaemia.

Answer: garden pea

Gregor Mendel was a monk who grew hybrid peas to study genetics.

Answer: Marie Curie

Curie's work on radium led to X-rays and radiotherapy. Nightingale was a nurse in the Crimean War. Hildegard von Bingen was a 12th century nun who practiced medicine when she was an abbess. Lydia Pinkham 'Lily the Pink' sold 'miracle cures' and made a fortune.