Month: January 2017
-
Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s last illness
Armando SusmanoChicago, Illinois, United States On April 12, 1945, the country was shocked to learn their recently-elected fourth-term president was dead. Yet even after FDR’s death, Roosevelt’s personal physician, Admiral Dr. Ross McIntire wrote that “FDR’s blood pressure and heart signs have been normal.”1 The president’s medical records were kept in a safe at Bethesda…
-
Looking back 175 years
Biji T. KurienOklahoma, USA It was a time when surgery was performed in the raw. Obviously a horrendous nightmare for both patient and surgeon, it was performed only in do-or-die situations. The odor of pus in various stages of decomposition pervaded hospitals. Deaths from various diseases and surgery were common. Treatment of ailments with mercury…
-
Changing conceptions of the nightmare in medicine
Brian SharplessUnited States In contemporary parlance the word “nightmare” conjures up images of a scary dream that leaves us shaken and afraid. This fear usually subsides when we wake and realize that we are actually safe in our own bedroom. However, the original conception of the “Nightmare” was much more vivid and terrifying, even seen…
-
The Hogmouths of Habsburg
Craig BlackstoneBethesda, Maryland, United States Coins are miniature works of art. Since portraits of prominent individuals have graced coins for millennia, images forged in precious metals in the distant past can represent disease even now. Indeed, the earliest artistic depictions of disorders such as goiter and trichoepithelioma were on ancient Greek, Roman, and Parthian coins.1…
-
A tale of two cities: Swedish roots of electrophoresis
Frank WollheimLund, Sweden My title refers to two Swedish hospitals: one in Uppsala with its old and famous university, the other in Malmö, where academic activity started only in 1950 but soon acquired fame thanks to some charismatic leaders. My teachers, Jan Waldenström and Carl-Bertil Laurell, both started training in Uppsala, but crowned their career…
-
Hubris syndrome – A moment in history?
Lord David Owen has written extensively about politicians and heads of state who became insufferable from being intoxicated by the power of their office. He called this aberration from gentlemanly behavior the hubris syndrome, an acquired personality disorder that most often went away after they left office. Hubris has come down to us from the…
-
The death of Charles II
King Charles II of England, son of Charles I, grandson of Henri IV of Navarre and Marie de Medici, and great grandson of Mary Queen of Scots, was 18 years old when his father was deposed and executed on January 30, 1649. He reigned as king of England from 1660 to 1685. Charles was tall,…
-
The last illness of King Edward VI (1537–1553)
Son of Henry VIII and of his third wife Jane Seymour, Edward became king of England at the age of nine and reigned for only a little over six years. Because of the importance of having a male heir, his father took every precaution to preserve him from any contagion and especially from contact with…
-
Lord Moran’s secret
On December 7, 1941, Winston Churchill heard the news that America had been attacked at Pearl Harbor and that Britain was no longer alone in the war. He immediately decided to visit President Roosevelt in Washington in order to coordinate their attack and defense strategy.1 Arriving in Washington after nearly 10 days at sea, the…
-
The fatal illness of Prince Albert
Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, husband and prince consort of Queen Victoria, died on December 14, 1861, leaving his adoring wife in such a state of dejection that she avoided public appearances for years and wore black for the rest of her life. Statues erected in various cities of the sprawling British empire often bore the…