Difference between revisions of "Timeline of parasitology"
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| Paleolithic || Since the emergence of Homo sapiens in eastern Africa, humans spread throughout the world, possibly in several waves, migrating to and inhabiting virtually the whole of the face of the Earth, bringing some parasites with them and collecting others on the way.<ref name="History of Human Parasitology">{{cite journal|last1=Cox|first1=F. E. G.|title=History of Human Parasitology|doi=10.1128/CMR.15.4.595-612.2002|url=http://cmr.asm.org/content/15/4/595.full|accessdate=17 May 2018}}</ref> | | Paleolithic || Since the emergence of Homo sapiens in eastern Africa, humans spread throughout the world, possibly in several waves, migrating to and inhabiting virtually the whole of the face of the Earth, bringing some parasites with them and collecting others on the way.<ref name="History of Human Parasitology">{{cite journal|last1=Cox|first1=F. E. G.|title=History of Human Parasitology|doi=10.1128/CMR.15.4.595-612.2002|url=http://cmr.asm.org/content/15/4/595.full|accessdate=17 May 2018}}</ref> | ||
Revision as of 11:32, 17 May 2018
This is a timeline of parasitology, attempting to focus on human parasitology.
Contents
Big picture
| Time period | Development summary |
|---|---|
| Paleolithic | Since the emergence of Homo sapiens in eastern Africa, humans spread throughout the world, possibly in several waves, migrating to and inhabiting virtually the whole of the face of the Earth, bringing some parasites with them and collecting others on the way.[1] |
| Ancient history | Many detailed descriptions of various diseases that might or might not be caused by parasites, specifically fevers, are found in the writings of Greek physicians between 800 to 300 BC, such as the Corpus Hippocratorum by Hippocrates, and from physicians from other civilizations including China from 3000 to 300 BC, India from 2500 to 200 BC, Rome from 700 BC to 400 AD, and the Arab Empire in the latter part of the first millennium. The descriptions of infections become more accurate and Arabic physicians, particularly Rhazes (AD 850 to 923) and Avicenna (AD 980 to 1037), write important medical works that contain a great deal of information about diseases clearly caused by parasites.[1] |
| 10,000 BP | First Agricultural Revolution, from hunting and gathering to settled agriculture. Humans acquire parasites from animals with which they come in contact during agricultural practices.[1] |
| Middle Ages | The medical literature is very limited during this time, but there are many references to parasitic worms. In some cases, they are recognized as the possible causes of disease but in general, the writings of the period reflect the culture, beliefs, and ignorance of the time.[1] |
| 1500< | The slave trade, which would flourish for three and a half centuries from about 1500, bring new parasites to the New World from the Old World.[1] |
| 17th–18th century | The science of helminthology develops, following the reemergence of science and scholarship during the Renaissance period.[1] |
| Present time | Known parasites infecting humans has now increased to about 300 species.[1] |
Full timeline
| Year | Event type | Details |
|---|---|---|
| 150,000 BP | Homo sapiens emerge in eastern Africa | |
| 3,000–400 BC | The first written records of what are almost certainly parasitic infections come from this period of Egyptian medicine, particularly the Ebers papyrus of 1500 BC discovered at Thebes.[1] | |
| 1550 BC | The Ebers papyrus in Egypt refers to intestinal worms. These records can be confirmed by the recent discovery of calcified helminth eggs in mummies dating from 1200 BC.[1] | |
| 460 BC–365 BC | Hippocrates describe worms from fishes, domesticated animals, and humans.[1] | |
| 25 BC–200 AD | Roman physicians including Celsus (25 BC to AD 50) and Galen (AD 129 to 200) are familiar with the human roundworms Ascaris lumbricoides and Enterobius vermicularis, as wellas tapeworms belonging to the genus Taenia. | |
| 625 AD–690 AD | Byzantine Greek physician Paul of Aegina (AD 625 to 690) clearly describes Ascaris, Enterobius, and tapeworms and gives good clinical descriptions of the infections they cause.[1] | |
| 980 AD– 1037 AD | Persian polymath Avicenna recognizes Ascaris, Enterobius, tapeworms and the guinea worm, Dracunculus medinensis.[1] | |
| 1707–1778 | Swedish botanist Carl von Linné describes and names six helminth worms, Ascaris lumbricoides, Ascaris vermicularis (= Enterobius vermicularis), Gordius medinensis (= Dracunculus medinensis), Fasciola hepatica, Taenia solium, and Taenia lata (= Diphyllobothrium latum).[1] |
Meta information on the timeline
How the timeline was built
The initial version of the timeline was written by FIXME.
Funding information for this timeline is available.
Feedback and comments
Feedback for the timeline can be provided at the following places:
- FIXME
What the timeline is still missing
Parasitology Parasitism [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]
