Listen now (5 mins) | The invention of modern medicine is considered one of the most lifesaving inventions in human history. Though we take it for granted today, things were very different back in the 1700s. Knowledge of medicine, training a person to become a medical doctor, and giving care to patients were all radically different back in the 1700s. The only available treatments were traditional medicines that relied on medicinal herbs and plants. These were only used for regular colds and fevers, while unidentified diseases were believed to have supernatural causes.