Posted by in Object Focus, Victorians The most interesting thing about the myth of tear catchers is that it is totally believable considering that mourning was an outward artistic social expression to the Victorians.
Although science has reached far beyond the capabilities of our wildest imaginations, it is still not yet possible for laboratories to perfectly replicate the intricate inner workings of our bodies, forcing us to rely on human donors for the gift of life.
Posted by in Horror, Individuals Between 1917 and the mid-1930s, John Brinkley made a fortune on his “revolutionary” surgical procedure which involved placing goat testicles into men’s scrotums to cure infertility and improve virility. What a BAAAHHH-d idea
Prior to the 1980s, many medical professionals believed that babies could not feel pain, therefore, medical procedures performed on infants took place without the use of anesthesia.
Posted by in Horror, Modern, Uncategorized At first glance, these images from a bygone time are gruesome and jarring. Dismantled corpses with a thousand-yard stare looking past the camera while groups of men and women gathered around with tools in their hands, pipes in their mouths, and open anatomy books.
Posted by in Individuals, Modern Let’s talk about how the brown stains on the teeth of Colorado Springs residents helped reform cavity prevention.
Posted by in Horror, Individuals Historically, most c-sections were performed for one main purpose, to save the baby. Mothers were expected to die from shock or complications resulting from infection.
Posted by in Series Even though the events that gave Gettysburg its fame occurred 158 years ago, the loss remains poignant and the message of sacrifice and liberty still heard.
Posted by in Horror, Individuals The Lithotomy was described as far back as the 1st century A.D. by Greek physicians. The procedure only required three main tools, the knife, a hook, and a pair of forceps.
Morgues or mortuaries are used today as storage sites for our corpses, keeping them as fresh as possible until disposal. Less commonly known though is the origins behind the word. The word comes from the French word, morguer, which means “to stare”.
Posted by in Horror Quite a few medical books exist that are bound in human skin. This makes sense since doctors would have had regular access to skin from deceased patients.
Posted by in Individuals, Series While the battle raged on around them, many of the women living in Gettysburg in 1863 left their cellars and found ways to courageously serve humanity.
Posted by in Modern Wrong-site, wrong-procedure, wrong-patient surgical mishaps, although infrequent, do still occur in the 21st century.
Posted by in Horror, Object Focus The Victorians did not shy away from bright colors and patterns in their homes, and they were certainly unaware that some of those home design choices could cost them their lives.
Records are imperfect, and most Confederate records destroyed, it is estimated that 44,500 Union soldiers died of either diarrhea or dysentery.
Posted by in Individuals, Series What is the likelihood that two brothers would be forced to undergo amputation of their left legs in the same spot just a few weeks apart from one another?
Posted by in Individuals, Series Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, the infamous college professor turned war hero, helped advance catheterization methods after he was wounded at Petersburg in 1864.
Posted by in Individuals, Series Mary Edwards Walker, a progressive woman from New York, managed to kick down barriers throughout her lifetime, and she did so wearing bloomer suits.
Posted by in Horror, Individuals An estimated 60,000+ amputations occurred over the course of the Civil War, leaving men maimed and forever physically altered. Due to the high levels of amputations that took place in field hospitals across the country, it was during this time that medical professionals began really documenting instances of phantom limb.
Posted by in Individuals Dr. Letterman’s story, despite his importance to the field of military medicine, has been largely, forgotten. I hope that this post changes that.
Antiquated Antidotes 