The First Blind Medical Trials
Cures and treatments have always offered potential riches to their inventors. But how was one supposed to know what worked and what didn’t?
Medicine & Disease
The Lessons of Shell Shock
The global crisis wrought by the First World War prompted the birth of free mental health care.
Pandemics: Now and Then
As human populations expand and their exploitation of the globe increases, so does their vulnerability to certain diseases.
A Hospital ‘Manned by Women’
The First World War offered new opportunities for enterprising female doctors.
Removing That Little Knot
A Victorian doctor offering to cure female ‘lunacy’ came under fire for his scandalous new operation: female genital mutilation.
Misery in the Head
In the stomach, the mind, or the brain – migraine’s causes and remedies have been debated for 2,000 years.
The Torrid Zone
In the 18th century, Europeans in the tropics found themselves beset by an array of unpleasant afflictions. They blamed black women, the climate and the strength of their own masculinity.
Snuffs and Sneezes Cure Diseases
In the 17th and 18th centuries, patients were encouraged to snuff, snort and sneeze their way out of a whole range of ailments and illnesses.
Finding Keepers: Mental Illness in the 19th century
Caring for the mentally ill in Victorian Britain was hard, unrewarding and dangerously unregulated. Alexander Morison tried to improve things for both the unwell and their carers.
The 17th Century Guide to Sleep
Despite the modern obsession with a good night’s rest, more of us are sleeping less. Perhaps we should pay attention to the advice of early modern doctors.