Posted by in Individuals In this post we will talk about what elephantiasis is and how it is treated today. We will also look at the life of Joseph Merrick, one of the most famous individuals who struggled with the disease in the 19th century.
Posted by in Individuals, Modern Vaccines have been able to save countless lives from viruses that were once capable of wiping out entire cities. The idea of immunization has been around for hundred of years, but it did not begin being used on a large scale until the end of the 16th century. For example, Monks were known to drink…Read more »
Posted by in Individuals We all remember the temptation we felt as young children to put foreign objects in our mouths. Babies explore their surroundings with their mouths and this behavior can lead to some awful moments of panic. Dr. Chevalier Jackson (1865-1958) became one of the world’s leading experts on extracting foreign objects from the airways of children…Read more »
Posted by in Individuals A friend of mine brought up the name Alice Ball to me recently, and I decided to share a little bit of what I have learned since Alice Ball day has just passed (February 29). Alice Ball was born into a middle class family in 1892. In her college years she studied chemistry, receiving undergraduate…Read more »
Posted by in Individuals I have been reading a book lately from Rob Dunn entitled, The Man Who Touched His Own Heart, and came across a fascinating story that I wanted to share with you all here. This is the story of Doctor Daniel Hale Williams, a confident and talented man that not only saved lives but fought against racial…Read more »
Posted by in Individuals, Quackery The year was 1793 when the city of Philadelphia was struck by a yellow fever epidemic. Muddy swamps around the city served as breeding grounds for mosquitoes, the insect responsible for transferring the virus. People began experiencing symptoms by late summer, and by October of that year, at least 500 people had already died (“On…Read more »
Posted by in Individuals (Laterally conjoined twins. Photo Credit: The Medical Book: From Witch Doctors to Robot Surgeons, 250 Milestones in the History of Medicine, pg 109). Conjoined twins, also referred to as Siamese twins, are very rare and typically only occur in 1 out of every 200,000 live births. Unlike ordinary twins, conjoined twins are physically connected to one…Read more »
Posted by in Individuals (Diagram of a human heart. Photo Credit: Medicine: The Definitive Illustrated History. ) Dwight Harken, aged 34, became lead surgeon at the 160th United States Army Hospital in 1944. His patients were countless wounded soldiers who were busy fighting on the beaches of Normandy (Hollingham 111-112). Dr. Harken was becoming a prominent chest surgeon, and…Read more »
Posted by in Individuals, Quackery (Carving of Mary Toft delivering rabbits published on 15 March, 1762. Below the picture is inscribed,”Believe not every Spirit, but try the Spirits whether they are of God because many false Prophets are gone out into the World.” Photo Credit: Pickover 113.) Mary Toft was a married English servant who became a press sensation overnight.…Read more »
Posted by in Individuals Clint Hallam, on 23 September, 1998, became the recipient of the world’s first hand transplant. His original hand had been lost in a violent accident with a circular saw in 1984 while serving a sentence in prison (Hollingham 160). Clint was chosen by physicians to receive the hand transplant after having little success with…Read more »
Posted by in Individuals, Mental Health I came across an interesting story the other day that had sparked a lot of controversy in the medical ethics community and decided to take a moment and share it here with you all. Ashley X, a young girl who was born with a developmental brain condition known as static encephalopathy,(permanent and unchanging brain damage)…Read more »
Posted by in Individuals, Object Focus In the spirit of continuing the recent discussion on John Hunter, let us dive into the complicated tale behind the bodily remains of Mr. Charles Byrne. Charles Byrne, or the “Irish Giant,” as he is often referred to as, was born in 1761 in Derry (McMahon). He suffered from a form of genetic gigantism in…Read more »
Posted by in Individuals Although the eighteenth century London surgeon, John Hunter, has gone down in history for a number of great achievements, his work on collateral circulation is one of my favorite stories to tell. Before we dive in on John’s interaction with a troubled coach driver, let us first discuss look into the background of aneurysm treatment.…Read more »
Posted by in Individuals (Photo Credit: “The Man Who Cut Out His Own Appendix.”) In 1961 a group of 12 Russian men were sent on an expedition to Antarctica. Their mission was to build a new base there (Lentati). One of the men on their team was a 27 year old named Leonid Rogozov. He had begun feeling nauseous…Read more »
Posted by in Individuals According to the science journalist, Robert Alder, blood circulation is a trivial concept in the modern world (Pickover 90). Adults and children alike all understand that blood is pumped throughout the body by the heart in order to supply the tissues with oxygen. Some would be shocked to discover that up until the 17th century,…Read more »
Posted by in Individuals, Quackery (Photo Credit: The Drug Book) Nineteenth century surgeons managed to defeat a major challenger to their practice: pain. The development of anesthesia made it possible for doctors to travel deeper into the human body and take larger risks with invasive surgeries. More complex surgeries meant a higher chance of developing an infection, and unfortunately, that was…Read more »
Posted by in Individuals (Photo Credit: Medicine: The Definitive Illustrative History) Gunshot wounds are destructive menaces that tear through flesh and splinter bone. Bullets can drag clothing fragments, skin, and shrapnel deep into the injury and the victim can die from sever hemorrhaging, shock, and infection. It was 1537 and the twenty seven year old Frenchman, Ambroise Paré, had been…Read more »
Posted by in Individuals (Photo Credit: Medicine: The Definitive Illustrated History) You do not have to be an expert in human anatomy in order to understand why an accurate knowledge of it is extraordinarily beneficial. For instance, I would not let a surgeon perform an operation on me if their only mastery of the human body came from their experiments…Read more »
Posted by in Individuals, Quackery A Grim State of Affairs: The year was 1846 and Vienna General Hospital had a complicated situation on their hands. The obstetrics ward was split in half, with one side being run by midwives, and the other by practicing physicians. A strange pattern began to develop; new mothers were dying left and right. Stranger still…Read more »
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