Epidural anesthesia | regional anesthesia | 1921 | Fidel Pages | Spain
|
Band aid | sterile adhesive bandage | 1921 | Earle Dickson | USA
|
Polygraph | lie detector test | 1921 | John Augustus Larson | USA
|
Q tips | cotton tipped swabs | 1923 | Leo Gerstenzang | USA
|
Electroencephalogram | EEG test, brain electrical activity | 1924 | Hans Berger | Germany
|
Carpal tunnel release surgery | treatment for hand numbness and pain | 1924 | Herbert Galloway | Canada
|
Tetanus toxoid vaccine | prevents lock jaw infection | 1925 | Alexander Thomas Glenny et al. | UK
|
Pertussis vaccine | prevents whooping cough | 1926 | Leila Denmark | USA
|
Diphtheria toxoid vaccine | prevents diphtheria | 1927 | Alexander Thomas Glenny et al. | UK
|
Iron lung respirator | breathing machine | 1927 | Phillip Drinker,Louis Agassiz Shaw | USA
|
Penicillin | blockbuster antibiotic | 1928 | Alexander Fleming | UK (19)
|
Cardiac pacemaker | wired heart rhythm correction | 1928 | Mark Lidwell | Australia
|
Cotton tampon | menstruation management | 1930 | Earle Cleveland Haas | USA
|
Breathalyzer | blood alcohol assessment | 1931 | Rolla Neil Harger, Indiana U. | USA
|
Hydrocortisone | potent anti-inflammatory medication | 1936 | Percy Lavon Julian | USA
|
Blood bank | transfusion management | 1937 | Charles Richard Drew, Bernard Fantus, Chicago | USA
|
Hip replacement surgery | fractures, arthritis | 1940 | Austin Moore | USA
|
Hemodialysis | replaces kidney function | 1943 | Willem J. Kolff | Netherlands
|
Lidocaine, Xylocaine | local anesthesia | 1943 | Nils Lofgren | Sweden
|
Chemotherapy for cancer | nitrogen mustard | 1946 | Alfred Gilman, Louis S. Goodman | USA
|
Methotrexate immunosupression | treat inflammation | 1947 | Sidney Farber | USA
|
Acetaminophen (Tylenol) | pain reliever, antipyretic | 1948 | Julius Axelrod, Bernard Brodie | USA
|
Electrolyte replacement for diarrhea | oral and intravenous fluids | 1949 | Daniel C. Darrow, Harold Harrison | USA
|
Succinylcholine | muscle relaxant for anesthesia paralysis | 1949 | Daniel Bovet | Italy
|
Artificial intraocular lens | lens replacement for cataracts | 1949 | Harold Ridley | UK
|
Holter monitor | detects abnormal heart rhythms | 1949 | Norman Jeffferis Holter | USA
|
Nystatin, Mycostatin | antifungal medicine | 1950 | Rachel Fuller Brown, Elizabeth Lee Hazen | USA
|
Thorazine, chlorpromazine | psychotrophic medicine | 1951 | Heni Laborit, Pierre Deniker, Heinz Lehmann | France/Canada (87)
|
Salk polio vaccine | polio prevention | 1952 | Jonas Salk | USA
|
Apgar score | newborn health assessment | 1952 | Virginia Apgar | USA
|
Isoniazid for tuberculosis | second biggest killer in history | 1952 | Meyer and Malley | Czechoslovakia
|
Heart lung machine | allows for heart surgery on a stopped heart | 1953 | John Heysham Gibbon | USA
|
Vancomycin antibiotic | treats severe staph and strep infections | 1953 | Edmund Kornfeld | USA
|
Cochlear implant | hearing surgery | 1953 | Andre Djourno | France
|
Catheter surgery | minimally invasive surgery, Seldinger technique | 1953 | Sven Ivar Seldinger | Sweden (79)
|
Ultrasound, echocardiogram | sound waves for diagnosis | 1953, 1956 | Inge Edler, Carl Hertz, Ian Donald, Tom Browen | Sweden /UK (75)
|
Prednisone | cortisone pill anti-inflammatory | 1954 | Arthur Noble | UK
|
Kidney transplant | most common organ transplant | 1954 | Joseph E. Murray | USA
|
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation | CPR | 1954 | Peter Safar, James Elam | USA
|
Chlorhexidine | topical skin disinfectant | 1954 | Imperial Chemical Industries, Ld. | UK
|
Betadine, povodine-iodine | topical skin disinfectant | 1955 | H.A. Shelanski, M.V. Shelanski | USA
|
Metered dose inhaler | asthma/COPD therapy | 1956 | Charlie Thiel, 3M | USA
|
Bone marrow transplant | blood cancer therapy | 1956 | E. Donnall Thomas | USA
|
Birth control pill | sexual freedom, contraception | 1956, 1960 | Gregory Pincus, John Rock, Min Chueh Chang | USA (100)
|
Endoscopy, fiberoptic flexible | upper and lower gastrointestinal | 1957 | Basil Hirschowitz, Larry Curtis, Wilbur Peters | USA
|
Haloperidol, Haldol | antipsychotic, schizophrenia | 1958 | Paul Janssen | Belgium
|
Lasix, furosemide diuretic | for swelling, edema, fluid retention | 1959 | Sanofi | USA
|
Valium, diazepam sedative | for anxiety | 1959 | Leo Sternbach | USA
|
DOPA for Parkinson's disease | anti-tremor effects | 1960 | Oleh Hornykiewicz | Austria
|
Coronary artery bypass graft, heart | CABG | 1960 | Robert Goetz, Michael DeBakey | USA
|
Ibuprofen, Motrin, Advil | non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medicine | 1960 | Stewart Adams | UK
|
Liver and lung transplants | organ transplants | 1963 | Thomas Starzl, James Hardy | USA
|
Portable heart defibrillator | advanced CPR | 1965 | Frank Pantridge | UK
|
Commercial ultrasound | obstetrics | 1965 | Walter Erich Krause | USA
|
Rubella vaccine | prevents German measles | 1965 | Harry Martin Meyer, Paul Parkman | USA
|
Oral Sabin vaccine | prevents polio with no injection needed | 1966 | Albert Bruce Sabin | USA
|
Heart transplant | successful | 1967 | Christiaan Neethling Barnard | South Africa
|
Fogarty balloon catheter | removes clots, minimally invasive | 1969 | Thomas Fogarty | USA
|
Digital thermometer | more accurate temperatures | 1970 | Robert Cherry Martin | USA
|
Transdermal patch | drug delivery through the skin | 1971 | Alejandro Zaffaroni | USA
|
Pulse oximeter | measures blood oxygen level | 1972 | Takuo Aoyagi | Japan
|
Computed tomography scan | CT scan | 1972 | Godfrey Hounsfield, Allan Cormack, Robert S. Ledley | UK/USA
|
Magnetic resonance imaging | MRI scan, no radiation | 1973 | Raymond Damadian, Paul Lauterbur | USA (74)
|
Prozac | antidepressant medication | 1972 | Ray W. Fuller, Bryan B. Molloy, David T. Wong | USA
|
LASER eye surgery, Lasik | vision correction with surgery | 1973 | Mani Lal Bhaumik | India/USA
|
Liposuction | cosmetic surgery | 1974 | Giorgio Fischer | Italy
|
Total knee replacement surgery | cemented metal and plastic parts | 1974 | John Insall | USA
|
Heimlich maneuver | food bolus extraction | 1974 | Henry Judah Heimlich | USA
|
Versed, midazelam | conscious sedation IV | 1975 | Armin Walser | Switzerland
|
Positron emission tomography | PET scan, cancer assessment | 1977 | Edward J. Hoffman, UCLA | USA
|
In vitro fertilization | test tube baby | 1978 | Patrick Steptoe, Robert Edwards | UK
|
Lithotrypter for gallstones | focused sound to break down gallstones | 1980 | Claude Dornier | Germany
|
Hepatitis B test and vaccine | diagnosis and prevents hepatitis B | 1980 | Baruch Samuel Blumberg | USA
|
Mumps vaccine | prevents mumps | 1981 | Maurice Hilleman | USA
|
Artificial heart | Jarvik -7 | 1982 | Paul Winchell, Willem Johan Kolff, Robert Jarvik | USA
|
Humulin | recombinant insulin | 1982 | Genentech | USA
|
RU-486 abortion pill | avoids surgery | 1988 | Etienne-Emile Baulieu | France
|
Intravascular stent | catheter placed stent in obstructed blood vessel | 1988 | Julio Palmaz | Argentina
|
| | | | |
| | | | |