Treating HIV used to require a complex regimen of medications -- a schedule that was difficult to adhere to, especially for people in developing nations. Atripla changed that by combining three antiretroviral drugs into one daily "cocktail" pill. The FDA approved Atripla in 2006. In 2013, Gilead Sciences received approval to sell its Stribild pill, which combines four HIV medications into one dose. Better known as minimally invasive surgery, laparoscopic surgery has become the norm for many operations, including gallbladder removal, hernia repair and appendectomies. Patients who undergo laparoscopic procedures generally endure less pain, smaller scars and a shorter recovery time. Up next for surgeons? An increase in natural orifice procedures, where surgeries are performed through an opening like your mouth or anus. Birth control packages traditionally supply hormone pills for 21 days and placebo pills for seven, bringing a period once a month. But in 2003, the FDA approved Seasonale, a new kind of birth control that enabled women to have full periods only four times a year. In 2007, the FDA approved Lybrel, the first oral contraceptive designed to stop a woman's period indefinitely. With these drugs on the market, women now have more choices when it comes to when -- or if -- they have a monthly cycle.

10 breakthrough medical advances

Human Genome Project

Stem cell research

HIV 'cocktails'

Targeted cancer therapies

Laparoscopic surgery

Smoke-free laws

HPV vaccine

Face transplants

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Can we predict the future of medicine?