Fruit, feathers and hair
In 1838 a French specialist in bladder stones, Professor Civiale, wrote a remarkable paper for the Gazette des Hôpitaux in […]
Unfortunate predicaments
Suffocated by a fish
Here’s a ‘news in brief’ item which appeared in the British Medical Journal in 1863, under this headline:A warder of
A dismal tail
We’ve all heard of student pranks that went too far, but this story takes youthful high jinks to a truly
Bewildering research, Horrifying operations, Remarkable recoveries
Putting a patient to sleep (without anaesthetic)
Have you ever wondered how patients in the era before anaesthetics were persuaded to undergo excruciatingly painful operations? The answer
Unfortunate predicaments
A medical old wives’ tale
This story, attributed to the great American physician Benjamin Rush and repeated in a medical journal in 1839, is almost
Notable deaths, Prodigies and monsters
The woman who turned to soap
In February 1846 a group of gravediggers in New York had a truly spooky experience when they were asked to
Notable deaths, Unfortunate predicaments
Killed by a cough
In 1734 James Jamieson, a surgeon from Thurso in the Scottish borders reported this case in the Medical Essays and
Dead or alive at will
In 1733 a book about depression and mental health was published in Dublin: The English Malady; or, A Treatise of
Notable deaths, Unfortunate predicaments
The seven-foot tumour
This brief case report is a reminder that there are certain medical horrors which were once commonplace but which are
Hidden dangers, Unfortunate predicaments
Unfortunate injury of the decade
Here’s a story published 150 years ago in the British Medical Journal which made me wince on at least four