More than a century ago, Elie Metchnikoff, winner of the Nobel Prize of Physiology
and Medicine in 1908, proposed the term gerontology to define the “scientific study of old age.”
1
Six years later, Ignatz Leo Nascher coined the term geriatrics to define the branch of medicine devoted to the prevention and care of diseases in
older people in a book and presentation to the NewYork Academy of Sciences.
2
Two decades later, in the 1930s, Marjorie Warren showed that “chronic sick, unclassified
and ill-assorted” disabled older patients, long admitted to a London Hospital, when
appropriately treated were able to recover functionally and be discharged to their
homes.
,4
These three milestones emphasized aging as a process, initially focused on longevity,
and inspired care of older people to change the focus on recovering or mitigating
lost function through prosthetic technical devices (eg, canes, walkers) or environmental
adaptations.To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
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Article info
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Published online: January 22, 2021
Footnotes
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
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© 2021 AMDA - The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine.
