Tag: mercury
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The ships’ surgeons’ toxic toolkit
Richard de GrijsSydney, Australia During the “Age of Sail,” months-long voyages gave rise to unique health concerns.1,2 Moreover, ships’ surgeons frequently encountered diseases brought upon uninhibited sailors through their own “adventurous” behavior. Following their arrival at far-flung ports, sailors often returned from shore visits with more than they bargained for, including sexually transmitted diseases like syphilis.…
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It always comes down to medicine
Matthew TurnerWashington, United States For six days, the brigands held a knife to the city’s throat. Outside a handful of settlements far to the northeast—which any of the city’s inhabitants would firmly tell you didn’t count—Charleston was the jewel of England’s possessions in the New World. The wealth that the port city generated had fattened…
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Mozart and Salieri: From Pushkin to Shaffer
James L. Franklin1Chicago, Illinois, United States La CalunniaLa calunnia è un venticello,Un’auretta assai gentileChe insensibile, sottile,Leggermente, dolcemente,Incomincia a sussurarPiano, piano, terra, terraSottovoce, sibilando,Va scorrendo, va ronzandoS’introduce destramenteE le teste ed I Cervelli . . . Calumny is a little breezeA gentile zephyrWhich insensibly, subtly,Lightly and sweetly,Commences to whisper,Softly, softly here and there.Sottovoce, sibilantIt goes gliding,…
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The men who defeated syphilis
German zoologist Fritz Schaudinn. Source Fritz Schaudinns, Verlag Leopold Voss, Hamburg und Leipzig 1911. Via Wikimedia. Beginnings The origins of syphilis have been subject to much debate. The disease has been claimed to be thousands of years old and originally to have evolved from yaws. Generally mistaken for leprosy and not recognized as a separate entity,…