Is that it?
In 1842 a Scottish doctor, Edward Binns, published a fat volume under the snappy title The Anatomy of Sleep; or, […]
Bewildering research
November 2015
Nothing to worry about
In 1833 the London Medical and Surgical Journal caused a bit of a stink with an article which was given
Mysterious illnesses
Struck dumb
Today’s likely tale comes from the Canada Medical Journal, where it appeared in 1870. Dr Chagnon from the wonderfully-named St Pie in
Horrifying operations, Unusual treatments
Bleeding you well
More from Lorenz Heister’s surgical textbook Chirurgie, published in 1718, on which I have written before. The practice of bloodletting,
Hidden dangers, Unusual treatments
In praise of temperance
It seems appropriate on a Friday to share this warning about the dangers of binge drinking, from William Buchan’s Domestic
Pipe dreams
HMS Grampus, a battleship launched in 1802, ended her days as a hospital ship moored off Greenwich. Between 1816 and
The eye-brush
Scarification is a medical practice which was popular until the early nineteenth century and which thankfully has now been consigned
Mysterious illnesses
The owl-eyed girl
Mr J.S. Webster, a surgeon from East Dereham, wrote to the London Medical Journal in 1787 to pass on an
Remarkable recoveries, Unusual treatments
Medicine or marinade?
Early nineteenth-century doctors had some funny ideas about treating infectious disease. Before the discovery of microbes, next to nothing was
Trouble at t’mill
Last week I revealed the dangers of working in the mirror manufacturing trade in 19th-century Bohemia. Here’s another tale of