1550 BCE
Egyptian & Chinese diagnostics
The Ebers Papyrus and Chinese pulse diagnosis record early systematic observation of symptoms. Source — Wikipedia:
Chronological Storyline (10 Milestones)
1816 CE
The stethoscope
René Laennec invents the stethoscope, letting physicians listen inside the living body. Source — Wikipedia:
1851 CE
The clinical thermometer
Practical clinical thermometers make fever a measurable, recordable vital sign. Source — Wikipedia:
1895 CE
Röntgen’s X-rays
Wilhelm Röntgen discovers X-rays, enabling the first images of bones inside the living body. Source — Wikipedia:
1903 CE
The electrocardiogram (ECG)
Willem Einthoven’s string galvanometer records the heart’s electrical activity. Source — Wikipedia:
1953 CE
Medical ultrasound
Reflected sound waves begin imaging soft tissue and fetuses safely. Source — Wikipedia:
1971 CE
CT scanning
Godfrey Hounsfield’s computed tomography reconstructs cross-sectional images from X-rays. Source — Wikipedia:
1973 CE
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
Lauterbur and Mansfield turn nuclear magnetic resonance into detailed soft-tissue imaging. Source — Wikipedia:
1977 CE
Sanger DNA sequencing
Frederick Sanger’s method makes reading DNA sequences practical, enabling genomic diagnostics. Source — Wikipedia:
2014 CE
Wearable vitals monitoring
Consumer wearables track heart rate, oxygen and rhythm continuously outside the clinic. Source — Wikipedia: