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Antiquated Antidotes

We will explore the medical mavericks of the past and rediscover the gruesome tales behind our modern field of medicine.

Tag: Medicine

March 3, 2023

A “Healthy” Glow- A Brief History of Sunless Tanning

Posted by Nastassia Foose in Modern

Some people are simply set on achieving that perfect tan-but at what cost?

February 10, 2023

Becoming Blue: The Effects of an Overexposure to Silver

Posted by Nastassia Foose in Individuals, Modern

Although argyria is not thought to be fatal, it does have severe cosmetic impacts that can affect a person emotionally and socially.

January 30, 2023January 30, 2023

Dolphin Sonar and Baby Brain Development

Posted by Nastassia Foose in Quackery

The sonar of the dolphin is thought to reach the baby in utero and stimulate enhanced brain activity

January 20, 2023

Angel of the Battlefield: Clara Barton

Posted by Nastassia Foose in Individuals, Victorians

Clara Barton’s story shows that the impact of a compassionate woman can not only change lives, but save them. 

December 28, 2022

Chainsaw Babies and symphysiotomies

Posted by Nastassia Foose in Horror, Object Focus

During the late 18th century, the chainsaw was utilized by doctors during complicated childbirths.

November 16, 2022

Deadly Nightshade and Doe-Eyed Beauties

Posted by Nastassia Foose in Horror, Quackery, Victorians

Victorian ladies found themselves using eye drops containing a rather poisonous ingredient.

August 19, 2022

A Crimson Gift: The Rise of Blood Transfusions

Posted by Nastassia Foose in Horror, Modern

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.

August 3, 2022

The Unlucky Pustule: Small Pox Inoculations and Syphillis

Posted by Nastassia Foose in Horror, Quackery, Victorians

Despite some unexpected side-effects, the overall success of vaccinations throught the war led to more widespread acceptance of inoculation by the general public in the following years.

June 25, 2022

Lili’s Right to Life: The Birth of Lili Elbe

Posted by Nastassia Foose in Individuals, Mental Health, Modern

Lili Elbe, born as Einar Wegener, became one of the first people to undergo experimental gender reassignment surgery

April 4, 2022

Goat Testicles for Virility: John R. Brinkley

Posted by Nastassia Foose 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

March 11, 2022

Surgery Without Anesthesia: Babies Can’t Feel Pain?

Posted by Nastassia Foose in Horror, Modern, Quackery

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.

March 4, 2022March 4, 2022

Images from the Dissection Room

Posted by Nastassia Foose 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.

January 15, 2022

The Colorado Brown Stain: Fluorosis

Posted by Nastassia Foose in Individuals, Modern

Let’s talk about how the brown stains on the teeth of Colorado Springs residents helped reform cavity prevention.

December 29, 2021December 29, 2021

Performing a Cesarean Section on His Own Wife: Dr. Jesse Bennett

Posted by Nastassia Foose 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.

October 27, 2021

Spectacles of the Real: Public Morgues

Posted by Nastassia Foose in Horror, Modern

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”.   

October 20, 2021

Judging a Book by its Cover: Anthropodermic Bibliopegy

Posted by Nastassia Foose 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.

September 30, 2021

The Aftermath of a Mistake: Wrong-Site Surgery

Posted by Nastassia Foose in Modern

Wrong-site, wrong-procedure, wrong-patient surgical mishaps, although infrequent, do still occur in the 21st century.

August 9, 2021

The Virginia Quickstep: Diarrhea and Dysentery in the Civil War

Posted by Nastassia Foose in Horror, Series

Records are imperfect, and most Confederate records destroyed, it is estimated that 44,500 Union soldiers died of either diarrhea or dysentery.

July 28, 2021

Losing Their Left Legs: The Walker Brothers of North Carolina

Posted by Nastassia Foose 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?

July 24, 2021

The wound That Took 50 Years to Kill Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain

Posted by Nastassia Foose 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.

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