The cure of Thomas Tipple
In 1840 an American physician, Dr Pliny Earle, visited the Hunterian Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons in London. […]
Remarkable recoveries
Remarkable recoveries
Reattached with a sticking plaster
Today’s surgeons are quite adept at reattaching parts of the body when they have been severed. Fingers, hands and even
Remarkable recoveries
The missing tobacco pipe
In 1855 The Lancet reported the proceedings of the most recent meeting of the London Medical Society. Here is one
Unfortunate predicaments
The extra jaw
A short story, this one, but it packs quite a punch. In 1855 the Western Lancet published a letter from
Hidden dangers, Remarkable recoveries
Conceived by a bullet
There are many cases of supposed virgin births in the early medical literature, but few are as wonderfully unlikely as
Mysterious illnesses
The mysterious bullet in the heart
In 1852 The Monthly Journal of Medical Science published a report from Burma, where British forces had just begun to
Hidden dangers
Brolly painful
It’s a great headline, but I can’t take any credit for it. When I was at school one of my
Horrifying operations
The sad case of Hoo Loo
Great surgeons are usually remembered for their successes rather than their failures. Sir Astley Cooper, one of the preeminent figures
Mysterious illnesses
The sleepwalker
Those who have first-hand experience of somnambulism will know that sleepwalkers are often capable of surprisingly complex tasks. While most
Remarkable recoveries
A saw head
I’ve documented a few extraordinary injuries in this blog, but perhaps none as remarkable as this one. The New England