Medicine has made tremendous progress in the last several hundred years. Today, it is possible to cure, control, or prevent hundreds of diseases. People live longer than they did in the past as a result of new drugs, machines, and surgical operations. Medical progress in the control of infectious diseases, improvements in health care for mothers and children, and better nutrition, sanitation, and living conditions have given people a longer life expectancy. In 1900, most people did not live past the age of 50. Today, people in the industrial world have an average life span of about 75 years.

As medicine has become more scientific, it has also become more complicated. In the past, doctors cared for patients almost single-handed. Patients received treatment at home for most kinds of illnesses. Today, doctors no longer work by themselves. Instead, they head medical teams made up of nurses, laboratory workers, and many other skilled professionals. The care provided by such teams cannot generally be started at home. As a result health centres, clinics, and hospitals have become the chief centres for medical care.
(Source: World Book)