ACE: The Origin of the Tensor Bandage
As the mummified corpses in museums across the world can attest, the art of bandaging dates at least as far back as Ancient Egypt. Throughout history, bandages were primarily made of linen, and one story even claims that the Roman Emperor Trajan tore up his own toga when bandages ran short on the battlefield. For...
A Different Kind of Bank: The History of Blood Storage
Blood. I’m certain many of you are all too familiar with the life-giving fluid that flows through our veins, and seeing it in abundance is very rarely a good thing. However, blood banks are an exception – a very vital and necessary exception. The ‘creator’ of the first blood bank is a subject of debate,...
Orthopedic vs Orthopaedic
Having been born and raised in England, I can attest to the fact that we British folk love our vowels, i.e. colour, honour, catalogue, and dialogue. When my family moved to the United States, I was an exceptionally confused seventh grader – with zero cultural American knowledge, a very different vocabulary, a skirt that was...
Knee Jerk: The Origins of the Reflex Hammer
As you probably already know, the popular phrase ‘knee-jerk reaction’ has its roots in medicine. Before the convenience of technology and diagnostic imaging, medical professionals often needed to ascertain what was happening internally by examining external clues. The stethoscope was one of the first tools developed to assist in this process, and the reflex hammer...
Beware the Evil Tooth Worm
Long ago, an enterprising man with a penchant for dentistry plucked an apple from the orchard as he made his way to work. Alas, his breakfast was thwarted when a small worm poked its head from the hole it had made within its juicy home. The apple was abandoned . . . or perhaps the...
Smash and Slice: Ancient Surgical Techniques
Before medical schools, technology, and advanced surgical techniques existed, medicine was a field of mystery and experimentation. The art of surgery, therefore, was a process of trial and error – often utilizing barbaric and dangerous methods. Let’s take a look at how some of our forefathers operated during ancient times. For most of you –...
3 Brazened Quacks
3 Brazened QuacksWithout a doubt, the history of medicine is a dignified one, with a fundamental goal to alleviate human suffering and prolong human life. But it is not without a share of con artists, charlatans and incompetents, whose greatest malevolence was to cast doubts on the real advantages of proven medicine in the minds...
Mercury Rising: The Origin of the Thermometer
Do you know how long this thin, fragile rod has been around? And why there are so many different temperature scales? Whether used to determine a fever or to help decide whether to wear a coat or a tank top, nearly everyone is familiar with thermometers . . . but are you familiar with its...
From the Battlefield to Bellevue: The Origin of the Ambulance
Imagine being a wounded soldier on a battlefield. Through the pain you watch as the war continues around you – comrades fall, gunfire plays an incessant and deafening melody, and the ground seeps a chill through your skin. Prior to the 19th century, you would have had a long wait before help arrived. The wounded...
Visual Innovation: The Invention of Contact Lenses
Did you know that contact lenses were developed before the band-aid? In fact, as far back as the 1500s, Leonardo da Vinci examined how glass and water affected vision, and he sketched several optical devices that displayed the same principles as contact lenses. However, the first contact lenses were not made until several centuries later....
From Suicide to CPR: The Origin of Resusci Anne
Her face has been compared to the Mona Lisa – yet she bears her enigmatic smile in the absence of life. It’s a face that I am willing to bet that everyone reading this has seen. I’m even willing to bet that you’ve kissed her once or twice. In the late 1880s, the body of...
Scotch, Santa, and Barber Surgeons
At my house, Santa Claus didn’t drink milk. Every year as a child, I’d leave a plate of cookies, a glass of scotch, and a carrot (for Rudolph). Every Christmas morning, there’d be a plate of crumbs, a missing carrot, and an empty glass. It didn’t occur to me until later that if every child...
