Tag: Summer 2014
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Medical murder
Susan Jacob Australia Archangel Michael reaching to save souls in purgatory, 17th century, Jacopo Vignali Medical murder or clinicide is defined by the psychiatrist Robert Kaplan as the “unnatural death of multiple patients in the course of treatment by a doctor.”1 Medical murder must be distinguished from euthanasia in that patients do not request the termination…
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The Lunar Society legacy
JMS Pearce United Kingdom Mention “Lunar Society” and most academics will stare vacantly, despite the society’s fame during the eighteenth century. Erasmus Darwin (1731–1802), grandfather of Charles Darwin, was a founder of the Lunar Society in Birmingham (c. 1765–c. 1800), which counted several physicians in its numbers. The original “Lunarmen” comprised a select club,…
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Who do I look like?
Farrin A. Manian Boston, Massachusetts, United States Photo of Geraldo Rivera by John Brian Silverio As physicians, we are often valued by our patients for our compassion, medical knowledge, and skills in managing diseases and restoring health. Physical attributes such as facial features are not supposed to have an appreciable impact on our professional…
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Workhouse to hospital
Orla McAlinden Kildare, Ireland Carleton House Carleton House, in Portadown, in the heart of Northern Ireland, was built as the townhouse dwelling of George Montagu, Viscount Mandeville, sixth Duke of Manchester. It is an imposing, three-story Georgian building on the Armagh Road, opposite a long stretch of terraced red-brick housing unimaginatively called Carleton Street.…
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Zofiówka
Mary V. Seeman Toronto, Canada Małgorzata Grochowina Warsaw, Poland Photography by nijanulu – KNOBZ.NET In 1938, there were 14,000 psychiatric beds in Poland, distributed over thirty-one institutions. One of these institutions was Zofiówka, dedicated to the care of Jewish patients with nervous and mental illness.1 It was opened in 1908 thanks to a donation by Zofia…
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The first ten hospitals on the American Continent
Marco Antonio Ayala-García México Many hospitals came and went during the three centuries of the American colonies. By the end of the sixteenth century some 128 hospitals were operating throughout the Americas, largely in response to the frequent outbreaks of disease in the territories. The Spanish Crown needed to promote the good health of…
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Byzantium: Origin of the modern hospital
According to most historians, the modern hospital as we know it today traces its origins to the eastern part of the Roman Empire, the part that after the final partition of the Empire by Theodosius the Great (AD 395) became the Byzantine Empire. Research into the history of the hospitals has been difficult, because only…
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Missing history on a daily basis: Working in an old hospital without paying attention
Christopher FrankOntario, Canada I live in an old city by North American standards. I love walking through the Victorian parts of town, which have limestone buildings and hidden courtyards. However, I never gave much thought to the historical significance of the Kingston General (KGH), the hospital I go into or cycle past on a daily…
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The Massachusetts General Hospital
Andy HungChicago, Illinois, United States The performance was about to begin. The great glass dome lit up the open center stage with bright skylight. It was October 16, 1846, a time in history when surgeons performed their art before spectators, and the audience was about to witness a historic performance. William Morton, a 25-year-old dentist,…