WhiteCoatRecall's discovery profiles cover 123 landmark medical discoveries — vaccines, drugs, surgical techniques, medical devices, diagnostic breakthroughs, and the theories that reshaped medicine. Browse by category below, or play Medical Breakthrough Recall to test your recall directly.
Diagnostic Technique
Differentiation of Smallpox and Measles
910
Golgi Staining Technique (Black Reaction)
1873
Tuberculosis Bacillus Identification
1882
Identification of the Plague Bacterium
1894
X-rays
1895
ABO Blood Group System
1901
Vestibular Function of the Inner Ear
1906
Louse-Borne Transmission of Typhus
1909
Neurosyphilis and Treponema Confirmation
1913
Cardiac Catheterization
1929
Apgar Score
1952
Cell Organelle Mapping via Electron Microscopy
1955
Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) System
1958
Radioimmunoassay
1959
Discovery of HIV
1983
Discovery of Hepatitis C Virus
1989
Drug Discovery
Mafeisan Anesthetic Compound
200
Compendium of Materia Medica
1578
Anesthesia Ether Experiments (Independent Discovery)
1842
Chloroform Obstetric Anesthesia
1847
Diphtheria Antitoxin
1890
Salvarsan (First Chemotherapy Agent)
1909
Insulin
1921
Liver Therapy for Pernicious Anemia
1926
Penicillin
1928
Sulfonamide Antibiotics (Prontosil)
1932
Streptomycin
1943
Cortisone Therapy
1948
Artemisinin
1972
Avermectin Antiparasitic Therapy
1975
Cancer Immunotherapy (Checkpoint Inhibition)
1996
Landmark Theory
Translation of the Galenic Medical Corpus
850
Al-Tasrif Surgical Encyclopedia
1000
Description of Pulmonary Circulation (Ibn al-Nafis)
1242
Circulation of the Blood
1628
Handwashing and Puerperal Fever Prevention
1847
Germ Theory of Disease
1861
Mosquito Transmission Hypothesis for Yellow Fever
1881
Phagocytosis
1882
The Neuron Doctrine
1888
Discovery of Complement in Immune Bacteriolysis
1895
Beriberi and Vitamin B1 Deficiency
1897
Classical Conditioning
1897
Malaria Transmission by Mosquitoes
1897
Yellow Fever Transmission by Mosquitoes
1900
Discovery of Secretin (First Hormone)
1902
Anaphylaxis
1902
Flexner Report and Medical Education Reform
1910
Vitamin Discovery (Essential Dietary Factors)
1912
Chromosomal Theory of Heredity
1915
Frank-Starling Law of the Heart
1918
Capillary Motor Regulation (Krogh's Principle)
1920
Chemical Synapse Transmission
1921
Embryonic Organizer Effect
1924
Warburg Effect (Cancer Cell Metabolism)
1924
Cochlear Traveling Wave Mechanism
1928
The Cori Cycle
1929
Pituitary Regulation of Carbohydrate Metabolism
1930
Citric Acid (Krebs) Cycle
1937
Fluctuation Test (Random Bacterial Mutation)
1943
Coenzyme A and Metabolic Energy Transfer
1945
Honeybee Waggle Dance Communication
1945
Quantal Neurotransmitter Release
1950
Hershey-Chase Experiment (DNA as Genetic Material)
1952
DNA Double Helix Structure
1953
Nerve Growth Factor
1954
Lysosomes
1955
DNA Polymerase
1956
Neurotransmitter Reuptake Mechanism
1957
Kuru and Infectious Protein Research
1957
Clonal Selection Theory of Immunity
1957
Genetic Code Deciphering
1961
Operon Model of Gene Regulation
1961
Hormone Reprogramming of Adult Cells (iPSCs)
1962
Antibody Structure Determination
1969
Gene Duplication in Evolution
1970
Cell Cycle Checkpoint Genes
1970
Memory Storage at the Synaptic Level
1970
Reverse Transcriptase
1970
Recombinant DNA Technology
1972
LDL Receptor and Cholesterol Regulation
1973
Oncogene Cellular Origin
1976
G-Protein Cell Signaling
1980
Nitric Oxide as a Cardiovascular Signal
1980
Prions as Infectious Proteins
1982
Cyclins and Cell Division Regulation
1982
HPV and Cervical Cancer Link
1983
Helicobacter pylori and Peptic Ulcers
1984
Telomerase
1984
Autophagy Mechanisms
1993
Oxygen-Sensing Pathway in Cells
1995
Discovery of TRPV1 (Heat/Pain Receptor)
1997
Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells
2006
Neanderthal Genome Sequencing
2010
PIEZO Touch Receptors
2010
CRISPR Gene Editing
2012
Medical Device
Stethoscope
1816
Electrocardiograph (EKG)
1903
Blood Bank and Plasma Preservation
1940
MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging)
1973
Monoclonal Antibody Technology
1975
In Vitro Fertilization (IVF)
1978
Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)
1983
Surgical Technique
Ether Anesthesia (Public Demonstration)
1846
Antiseptic Surgery
1867
Safe Thyroidectomy Technique
1883
Rubber Surgical Gloves
1890
First Open-Heart Surgery
1893
Vascular Suturing Technique
1902
Modern Neurosurgical Technique
1910
Blalock-Taussig Shunt ("Blue Baby" Surgery)
1944
First Successful Kidney Transplant
1954
Bone Marrow Transplantation
1957
Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Technique
1967
First Human Heart Transplant
1967
First Bone Marrow Transplant Success
1968