Killed by shaving
Here’s a case which wouldn’t surprise a modern medic, but which caused considerable puzzlement when it occurred in the first […]
Notable deaths
Unusual treatments
The electric spectacles
Exciting news from the world of medical technology was reported in the Boston Medical and Surgical Journal in 1850. The
Medicinal pancakes
It being Shrove Tuesday, I thought I’d write a short post about pancakes. Not how to make them, or the
Unfortunate predicaments
Penis in a bottle
A regular feature of any hospital accident and emergency department is the patient who turns up in an embarrassing and
Mysterious illnesses
A ludicrous mistake
Every experienced midwife will have a story about the patient who didn’t even realise she was pregnant until she went
Mysterious illnesses
More astonishing than true
Some stories are just too good to be true. This astonishing tale appeared in the Medical and Surgical Reporter in 1867,
Mysterious illnesses
The woman whose skin turned blue
An alarming case was revealed to a meeting of the Medical and Chirurgical Society of London in November 1815, and
Medical shenanigans, Unusual treatments
Benjamin Rush in The Lancet
Physician, chemist, writer and revolutionary: Benjamin Rush (1746-1813) was a remarkable man in a remarkable age. Arguably the greatest physician
Remarkable recoveries
Dragging his bowels after him
Medics and their journals have always loved a curiosity, however long ago it occurred. This case was reported in the
Medical shenanigans
A medical duel
Medical disputes could be dangerous affairs in the old days. Two hundred years ago two physicians settled their differences not in the pages