Millions of people face daily trials due to medical conditions and these trained animals are able to offer assistance and peace of mind otherwise unavailable to them.
Category: Modern
The 1925 Great Race of Mercy: How Sled Dogs Saved Countless Lives
To this day, adults and children alike are captivated by the men and their dogs who braved the harsh wilderness in order to deliver hope to one incredibly remote town.
The Painful Custom of Producing ‘Lotus Feet’: Chinese Foot Binding
Women who underwent the grueling process had experienced an intimate intergenerational bond amongst the women who had lived through the same cultural experience.
Banded Bellies: Exploring Bariatric Surgery
It is estimated that 250,000 weight-loss operations take place each year in the United States.
The Ilizarov Method: Limb-Lengthening Surgery
The bone is stretched a small amount each day until the desired height is reached, then the bone is allowed to fuse back together.
The Cries of the Unheard: Forced Nazi Sterilization
The Nazi Party subscribed itself to pseudoscientific ideas regarding genetics in order to push their racial ideologies to the brink of extremism.
A “Healthy” Glow- A Brief History of Sunless Tanning
Some people are simply set on achieving that perfect tan-but at what cost?
Becoming Blue: The Effects of an Overexposure to Silver
Although argyria is not thought to be fatal, it does have severe cosmetic impacts that can affect a person emotionally and socially.
The Faces of the Dead: Crafting Death Masks
Death masks have the ability to ease death-related anxieties because the people who have already crossed into the eternal unknown look as though they are blissfully slumbering.
The Infamous Dead Body Roadside Attraction
An unidentified man was found dead in a ditch in Sabina, Ohio in the early 1900s. His body would go on to be embalmed and laid out on public display for 40 years in the hopes of uncovering his true identity.
A Crimson Gift: The Rise of Blood Transfusions
After the guns ceased and the dust settled, one of the only triumphs that remained was the expansion of the medical field’s abity to treat the sick and wounded. The knowledge hat was gained in those years of hardship would continue to influence how people are treated today.
Lili’s Right to Life: The Birth of Lili Elbe
Lili Elbe, born as Einar Wegener, became one of the first people to undergo experimental gender reassignment surgery
The Thomas Splint
The Thomas splint revolutionized emergency medicine during World War I. This device diminished the mortality rate of femoral fractures from 80% to 20%.
The Red Market: Illegal Organ Trafficking
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.
Surgery Without Anesthesia: Babies Can’t Feel Pain?
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.
Images from the Dissection Room
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.
The Colorado Brown Stain: Fluorosis
Let’s talk about how the brown stains on the teeth of Colorado Springs residents helped reform cavity prevention.
Spectacles of the Real: Public Morgues
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”.
The Aftermath of a Mistake: Wrong-Site Surgery
Wrong-site, wrong-procedure, wrong-patient surgical mishaps, although infrequent, do still occur in the 21st century.
A mouse with an Ear Growing on His Back?!
Rodents have assisted with everything from drug research to diseases and scientists, with the help of these four-legged creatures, have expanded the potential of medicine far beyond what we once thought was possible. Take for example, earmouse.