The early late 19th and early 20th century included many important medical advancements not only in the United States but all over the world. These medical advancements would have been used in the city of Boston, where ‘Of One Blood’ took place, because it was a larger city where the larger hospitals were located. In the 19th century it was more popular for doctors to make at home visits rather than people go to hospitals because hospitals were known to be dirty and people often contracted other diseases from them. But in the 20th century doctors worked more out of hospitals or their home parlors. In Boston during that time, doctors’ offices would have been located in the downtown area rather than their homes, because they were a part of a larger city. During this time period there was very little known about certain diseases and therefore little doctors and nurses could do for people who obtained these then deadly illnesses. Also there was no technology available like we know today. What we call simple illnesses, such as the common cold, would bring death upon those living during the late 19th and early 20th century because there simply was not the proper medicine or knowledge to treat the illness. Scientists were still learning about the many different aspects of the human body and how it worked, so it would take time before knowledge in the medical field would grow.

      The turn of the 20th century brought dramatic change to the medical field with many advancements concerning many aspects of medicine. The early 1900’s primary focus was on infection and stopping the spread of it. Germany was the head of medical advancements in the 1900’s with their research on medicine and the first decade of the 20th century was known as the golden age of German medicine. The turn of the century brought new medical tools for surgeons and new medicine to treat illnesses. A man by the name of Felix Hoffman invented what we know as aspirin in 1897, just before the turn of the century, which dramatically changed how pain was treated. Later in the 20th century anesthesia was found and started to be used for surgeries. The late 19th century and early 20th century brought many medical advancements. The important advancements and inventions can be shown in the timeline below.