Anaesthesia for lions (and bears)
The Canada Medical Journal for 1870 has news from the Raj: We mentioned the other day the severe injury sustained by one of […]
Horrifying operations
August 2015
Bewildering research
The guillotine – life after death?
In 1799, as the French Revolution entered its final phase and Napoleon prepared to seize power, European medics engaged in
Mysterious illnesses
The woman who could smell with her feet
News of a curious case reaches London from France: Mademoiselle Melanie had enjoyed good health up to the age of
Mysterious illnesses, Unfortunate predicaments
Spiders in her eyes
A previous post about the boy who vomited millipedes proved surprisingly popular – so when I came across this tale of
Notable deaths, Unfortunate predicaments
Breaking news: swallowing knives is bad for you
Compulsive swallowers have always featured heavily in medical literature. There are numerous cases in 19th-century journals – but most of
Unusual treatments
The petrol cocktail: a cure for cholera
On September 22nd 1846, Dr James Tunstall of Bath wrote to Sir Charles Napier, the Governor of Scinde (then part
Bewildering research, Unusual treatments
Smoking’s good for you – as long as you’re a priest
The editor of the Boston Medical and Surgical Journal surely had no idea of the furore that he was provoking
Hidden dangers
Why children should never wear hats
I recently came across a charming little medical book aimed at children, and first published in Germany in the 18th
Medical shenanigans
Busted! A medical plagiarist exposed
The index for Volume 5 of The Lancet, published in 1824, contains this intriguing entry: Indexes are not often used
Horrifying operations
A painful way to ‘cure’ a stammer
On April 1st 1841 Thomas Young, a labourer at a forge, walked into the Metropolitan Free Hospital in London and