Category: History Essays
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The bizarre history of the bezoar
Howard FischerUppsala, Sweden “As for the bezoar [we removed] …we have restricted ourselves from employing its therapeutic power in the practice of medicine.”1– John Moffat, M.D. A bezoar is a compact mass of material that may be found in the digestive tract of mammals, including humans. Bezoars in humans may cause problems. Those found in…
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Medicine and religion in ancient Egypt
Gigi TaymourLondon, England Through the stability of ancient Egyptian society, governmental system, and organized economy, medical knowledge advanced rapidly.1 The Egyptians successfully integrated complex healthcare practices with religion, botanical cures, and surgical procedures. Although some scholars have argued that religious beliefs may have hindered the development of medicine, the documented literature such as the Ebers…
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Marfan syndrome and Abraham Lincoln
Umut AkovaAtlanta, Georgia, United States Marfan syndrome is a rare, inherited genetic disorder that affects the body’s connective tissues. People with Marfan syndrome often have distinctive physical features such as tall stature, long limbs, joint hypermobility, and a narrow face. The condition is primarily caused by mutations in the FBN1 gene, which is located on…
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The mysterious death of Margaret, child queen of Scotland
Juliana MenegakisSt. Andrews, Scotland Upon the death of Alexander III of Scotland in 1286, the throne of Scotland passed to his four-year-old granddaughter Margaret. Only four years later, the young queen died, aged just seven. However, the exact details of her death are uncertain. When exactly did she die? And was her death a sudden…
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Biblical leprosy: A dermatologist’s perspective
Harry Goldin Skokie, Illinois, United States “‘Unclean! Unclean!’ … ” Underwood and Underwood Publishers, 1896. Crop of photo by Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library, UofT on Flickr. CC BY-NC 2.0. The descriptions of “leprosy” in chapter 13 of the Book of Leviticus in the Hebrew Bible are complex and difficult to understand. This confusion…
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Hanaoka Seishū, inventor of an early general anesthetic
Kingston Bridges London, United Kingdom Hanaoka performing the first operation with tsūsensan. University Hospital Medical Information Network Center. Since time immemorial, humans have sought to alleviate illness and suffering through surgical interventions. Amputations with improvised tools took place in the Upper Paleolithic period over 30,000 years ago, and skeletal evidence of trephining has been…
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A tale of two physicians and Albert Göring
Avi OhryTel Aviv, Israel Hermann Epenstein Ritter von Mauternburg (1850–1934) was a physician and merchant who played a significant role in the lives of anti-Nazi activist Albert Göring and his family. He was their family doctor, a close friend, and godfather to Albert and his older brother, Hermann. The brothers spent many holidays with him…
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The death of Socrates and common hemlock
Umut AkovaAnkara, Turkey Socrates (469–399 BC) was the ancient Greek philosopher most often credited with pioneering Western philosophy and with founding the Socratic method, a dialectical approach to questioning and critical thinking. Known for his pursuit of ethical truths and moral principles, he engaged individuals in open-ended discussions that often revealed contradictions in their beliefs.…
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The resident doctors’ strike: Montreal, 1934
Howard Fischer Uppsala, Sweden Pavillon Mailloux of the Hôpital Notre-Dame de Montréal. Photo by Sarah Ismert, Marie-Laurence Maisonneuve, and Jennifer Marcout. Via Wikimedia. CC BY-SA 3.0. “We don’t want him because he’s a Jew. But we are not antisemites.”1 – From a statement by striking residents at Hôpital Notre-Dame, Montreal Samuel Rabinovitch, M.D.,…
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The changing role of the apothecary
JMS PearceHull, England Some of us oldies may remember the word “apothecary” above a pharmacist’s shop window or in old photographs (Fig 1). But how did the apothecaries come to be? And how did they relate to Medicine? There are early records of pharmacy in Mesopotamia around 2600 BC, the main elements being herbal remedies.…