Rattlesnakes and brandy
Around 7,000 people in the US are bitten by venomous snakes every year. Many of these are rattlesnake bites, but […]
Unusual treatments
Unfortunate predicaments
A fork up the anus
Some of the best titles in the history of medical literature are to be found in the early volumes of
Horrifying operations
Like an elastic ball
The great French surgeon Guillaume Dupuytren was known to his unfortunate juniors as ‘the Napoleon of surgery’ and ‘the brigand
Remarkable recoveries
The man with the wax face
In May 1884 The Lancet’s Paris correspondent reported the following: There is to be seen at Landrecies, in the Department
Notable deaths
A diplomatic disaster
In 1824 King Kamehameha II and Queen Kamāmalu of Hawaii made a state visit to Britain. The kingdom of Hawaii
Unfortunate predicaments
The amputee obstacle course
It’s May 1852, and Dr Sandborn from Lowell in Massachusetts has had a very interesting morning: The patient, Mr. Wm. Mason,
Bolt from the blue
Last night was a dramatic one in London, with electrical storms and flash floods. It’s been a bad year for
Horrifying operations, Remarkable recoveries
Amputating the bowels
Browsing an 1869 edition of The Lancet I stumbled across a short news article with this promising headline: A cutting from an
Remarkable recoveries, Unfortunate predicaments
Occupation: glass and nail eater
This case, reported in the Annals of Surgery in 1907, has one of the best patient histories I’ve ever read.
A case for Dr Bell
When I first read this case I found myself thinking that it would not be out of place in a