Do you know who performed the world’s first heart transplant ? The surgeon usually credited with the feat is the South African Christiaan Barnard, who on December 3rd 1967 gave Louis Washkansky, a 54-year-old grocer, a new heart. The fiftieth anniversary of that celebrated operation falls later this year – but Barnard was not, in … Continue reading The ‘first’ heart transplant
Category: Bewildering research
An abnormal secretion
This was the front page story in The Lancet on July 11th 1835. It’s a glorious case, but I think my favourite thing about it is the inclusion of the word ‘abnormal’ in the headline: can you imagine such an emission of milk ever being ‘normal’? It was reported by a Swiss medic, a Dr … Continue reading An abnormal secretion
The dentist who made the blind see
One interesting aspect of nineteenth-century medicine is the fact that many clinicians were convinced that every ailment could be traced ultimately to the same cause. Some were sure that most illnesses were triggered by problems with the liver; others that a disordered digestion could manifest in symptoms all over the body. Towards the end of … Continue reading The dentist who made the blind see
The tapeworm trap
In September 1856 a physician called J. Gotham wrote to an American journal, the Medical and Surgical Reporter, with news of an exciting new breakthrough: a tapeworm trap. As it is my desire to keep you advised of all the improvements in medical and surgical practice which this prolific age is ushering into being, it … Continue reading The tapeworm trap
The self-opening coffin
In 1875 a physician from New York, Samuel Ward Francis, published a book called Curious Facts, Concerning Man and Nature. I say ‘book’, but it’s more of a pamphlet, a collection of disparate essays running to just 20 pages; this was the second volume in a series. Some of his articles express deep scepticism about … Continue reading The self-opening coffin
Snake poo salesman
In 1862 an Edinburgh-trained physician, Dr James Hastings, published a slim volume about the treatment of tuberculosis and other diseases of the lung. It advocates the use of substances which much of the profession would regard as unorthodox, as he acknowledges in his preface: It has been suggested that the peculiar character of these agents … Continue reading Snake poo salesman
Sugar is good for your teeth
With debate raging about the virtues (or otherwise) of eating a low-fat diet, it was interesting to come across this story from the Philosophical Transactions. It has long been known that eating sugar is bad for your teeth – but in 1728 one doctor, at least, thought the exact opposite. Dr Frederick Slare wrote this: … Continue reading Sugar is good for your teeth
The glow-in-the-dark Easter feast
An essay by Dr Robert Graves of Dublin, published in The London Medical and Surgical Journal in 1835, contains this seasonal gem: When three Roman youths, residing at Padua, had bought a lamb, and had eaten part of it on Easter day, 1562, several pieces of the remainder kept till the day following, shone like so many candles, when … Continue reading The glow-in-the-dark Easter feast
Leeches for everybody
Most people are aware that leeches used to play a major part in medicine: a convenient way of taking a few ounces of blood from a sick patient, they were much used in the days when bleeding was a crucial therapeutic strategy. But where did all those leeches come from? I’ve previously written about French … Continue reading Leeches for everybody
Putting a patient to sleep (without anaesthetic)
Have you ever wondered how patients in the era before anaesthetics were persuaded to undergo excruciatingly painful operations? The answer – fairly obviously – is ‘with great difficulty’. Some brave souls were able to grit their teeth and bear it, and others made things simpler for the surgeon (and themselves) by simply passing out from … Continue reading Putting a patient to sleep (without anaesthetic)