Download or read book Medicine and Technology in Canada, 1900-1950 written by Allison Kirk-Montgomery and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page 188 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Over the past two centuries, technology has played a significant role in the understanding, diagnosis, and treatment of disease in Canada. Technology -- in the form of instruments, devices, machines, drugs, and systems -- has aided medical science, altered medical practice, and changed the illness experience of patients. Nineteenth-century medical technology consisted of predominantly surgical and diagnostic instruments used by individual practitioners. By the twentieth century, large, hospital–based technologies operated by teams emerged as powerful tools in the identification and management of disease [...] Our selection of diseases, research initiatives, and medical treatments highlights larger patterns in medicine, identifies Canadian contributions, and considers the impact of these innovations on Canadian society. In this fifty–year period, public health initiatives limited the spread of contagious diseases and addressed the problem of impure water and milk. Medical practitioners used X–rays to diagnose tuberculosis and to treat cancer. The discovery of insulin in Toronto in 1921–22 offered a management therapy for diabetes patients, who were otherwise facing certain death.