Initiated in 1887 to resolve a specific health concern in this country, NIH’s sphere of aid and assistance has since grown to envelope the world.Today NIH responds to a vast array of global concerns relating to health, biological and environmental issues.Early medical solutions like the first diphtheria antitoxin produced at Kinyoun’s Hygienic Laboratory and the treatment of pellagra in a turn-of-the-century ward have greatly advanced to present day high-tech diagnostic and therapeutic methods such as brain scans, laser capture microdissection technique, and laprascopic surgery.As we move forward in this 21st century, NIH will continue to research answers to new and existing problems to improve the health of mankind.