This timeline presents some important medical breakthroughs and inventions in the 18th century, and also other important world events occurring at the time. The green text indicates a link to a short explanatory notes.

c. 1700 Benjamin Franklin invented the catheter 1706 Raymond de Vieussens, a French anatomy professor, described the structure of the heart's chambers and vessels	�
1714 Percival Pott was born
1728 Pierre Fauchard and dentistry
1733 Stephen Hales, an English clergyman and scientist, first measured blood pressure 1739 The first obstetric wards in Britain opened
c. 1750 Practice of craniotomy changes to caesarean section 1752 Smellie published Theory and Practice of Midwifery Thomas Melvill described the effect on flames of different materials, including salt of the sea 1753 James Lind found the cure for scurvy 1759 The designation dentist began to be used
1760 Industrial Revolution began in England 1766 Thomas Berdmore published first English dental textbook 1769 Watt patented first practical steam engine
1774 The introduction of porcelain into dentistry by French apothecary, Duchatenu 1776 U S Declaration of Independence Gennari described striate area of occipital cortex 1777 Guillaume Dupuytren was born 1778 Body of General Joseph Warren identified by dental work done by Paul Revere
1784 Benjamin Franklin invented bifocal spectacles, dividing his lenses for distant and near vision 1789 French Revolution began
1794 John Rhea Barton was born 1796 Edward Jenner, inventor of the smallpox vaccine, inoculated a young boy 1798 John Rollo certified excess sugar in the blood of diabetics Dalton described color blindness 1799 James Syme was born