Journal of Medical Biography最新文献

The history of medicine as a component of the medical school curriculum has been a long-standing subject of debate and controversy. Ultimately, local factors may determine this experience and be aligned with or outside of the curriculum. The opportunity at Tulane University School of Medicine is long-standing and successful. It came to fruition through the efforts of Benjamin Bernard Weinstein, MD. A native New Orleanian, he received his undergraduate (1933) and medical (1937) degrees from Tulane as well as his training in obstetrics and gynaecology. He then joined the faculty and remained there until 1953 when he entered private practice with an interest in reproductive medicine. Weinstein was internationally known in the field, travelling the globe as a prominent educator and intersecting with world leaders. But his passion was the Tulane History of Medicine Society, founded by Weinstein in 1933 as a medical student. He became its guiding force and benefactor and built the foundation that remains highly relevant and successful 91 years later with a lengthy list of distinguished Weinstein Lecturers annually. Following his death in 1974, his family has continued to engage and support the Society. Weinstein's legacy of an enriched life through the study and knowledge of the history of medicine continues through the Society.

This paper examines Drs Julius and Edwin van Millingen, father and son physicians from a Constantinople-based Levantine family. They thrived in late 19th-century Ottoman Constantinople, a period of modernization aimed at survival amid decline. The profiles of Millingen family members set an exemplary case of the Levantine families who preferred to settle and pursue their careers in the Ottoman capital, particularly for generations in the Pera (Beyoglu) bourgeoisie, associated with the prominent industrial and literate centers in Europe. Dr Julius Michael van Millingen (1800-1878) was physician and companion to Lord Byron (1788-1824), and served as the private physician of the Sultan Abdulmecid (1839-1861), and the Queen Mother, Bezm-i Alem Valide Sultan (1807-1853) at the Imperial Ottoman Palace. He published considerable writings on balneology, then. His son, Dr Edwin van Millingen (1850-1900), an Istanbul-born ophthalmologist, worked at top hospitals, taught at the Imperial School of Medicine, and collaborated with the Société Impériale de Médecine. He reported on common ophthalmological diseases, with detailed statistics and meticulously organized tabular data. The multicultural lives of this Levantine family offer a unique glimpse into 19th-century Turkish medical history, reflecting close ties with Western medical centers.

We describe a basic 'cross-over' trial undertaken by Sir Nicholas Gilbourne of Kent, England, in or before 1631. This was used to test the effectiveness of 'weapon salve', an ointment claimed to cure 'sympathetically' (i.e. remotely) by application to the weapon that inflicted an injury. Gilbourne reports very basic outcomes but these represent key stages of a modern cross-over trial: no treatment, treatment, no treatment, treatment. We discuss the value of such historical vignettes - even a magical one - for medical students in two respects: understanding research methodology and learning about consultation strategies. Gilbourne's conclusion is clearly fanciful but the basic principles behind his experiment are sound. Historical examples like this can inspire medical students to think critically about research methods and treatment strategies.

Marcello Malpighi, renowned as the founder of microscopic anatomy, faced many challenges throughout his life. Among these was his frail health, which deteriorated in his early 40s when he developed kidney stones. He struggled with arthritic pain and heart palpitations, which, along with his renal condition, gradually became worse as he got older. His clinical history and autopsy findings also suggest he may have suffered from hypertension, a disease unknown in the seventeenth century. Toward the end, his declining health was complicated by cardiovascular failure. After he died from a stroke, his mortal remains lay unburied for months due to a dispute over the ownership of the burial place. They were finally entombed but relocated multiple times over the next three centuries. An examination of the bones currently housed in his memorial, conducted on the tercentenary of his birth and critically revisited years later, raised doubts about their authenticity. In this paper, I review the causes of Malpighi's poor health and death and delve into the intriguing story of his mortal remains.

Pranjivandas Manekchand Mehta (1889-1981), MD, MS, FCPS, also known as Dr P M Mehta, was an Indian physician and surgeon in Bombay, who then became the personal physician of the Maharajah Jamsaheb of the former Princely State of Nawanagar, Gujarat, British India. The Jamsaheb appointed Mehta as the Chief Medical Officer of Nawanagar, and with the guidance of the French radiologist, Jean Saidman, oversaw the construction of the first solarium in India. Mehta persuaded the Jamsaheb to fund an institution dedicated to Ayurvedic studies, named the Shri Gulabkunverba Ayurvedic Society, the precursor to the first Ayurveda college in India, and he became the Director of the Central Institute of Research on Indigenous Systems, which later came under the umbrella of the Institute of Teaching and Research in Ayurveda, Jamnagar. P M Mehta was instrumental in establishing a medical college in Nawanagar's capital, now known as the M. P. Shah Medical College, Jamnagar. His work in Ayurvedic medicine and assembling a group of Sanskrit scholars led to a detailed translation of the ancient Sanskrit medical text Çaraka Samhita, also spelt Charaka Samhita, into English, Hindi and Gujarati, published in six volumes in 1949. In 2022, the World Health Organization and the Indian Government established the Global Centre for Traditional Medicine in India, and chose Jamnagar as its location, noting that that was where graduate-level Ayurvedic studies began. Mehta's efforts in Ayurvedic education and the Çaraka Samhita translations have largely been forgotten over several decades, and a recently issued reprint omits the mention of his name. The aim of this paper is to give some glimpses into Mehta's life and his role in the revival of Ayurveda in India, during the lead-up to and during the early years of independent India.

Vavro Šrobár was a prominent political figure in East-Central Europe. He played a pivotal role in the establishment and development of the First Czechoslovak Republic, which emerged following the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He was the first Minister to exercise full administrative authority in overseeing the Provisional Government of Slovakia, and throughout his career, including until the end of his life, he held several significant political positions, such as Minister of Public Health and Physical Education, Minister of Unification, Minister of Education and National Enlightenment, and Minister of Finance. Among his numerous contributions, Šrobár was unquestionably one of the key figures behind the founding of the University in Bratislava. His name subsequently became closely associated with the first decades of the Bratislava Faculty of Medicine at Comenius University, founded in 1919. In the field of medicine, he is regarded as one of the founding figures of social medicine in Slovakia. This article will primarily examine Šrobár's medical accomplishments within the context of healthcare in present-day Slovakia during the first quarter of the 20th century and his work at the Faculty of Medicine in Bratislava. Additionally, we will explore the connection between his person and the early history of medicine in Slovakia.

Isaac al-Israelī (died early ninth century AD) was a Jewish physician. He is known for writing important works in many different fields such as medicine, philosophy, pharmacology, botany, and Jewish theology. He was a court physician as the chief physician during the rule of the Aghlebids and Fatimids in North Africa. He ensured the systematization and institutionalization of the first medical school established in Qayrawān under the name of Bayt al-Hikma. Israelī was considered an authority in the field of medicine in Qayrawān and is known for his major works in this field. Many of his works were translated into Latin, Hebrew, English and Spanish over time and were first translated into Latin by Constantinus Africanus (died 1082 AD) in 1082. Thanks to these translations, Israel's medical works reached Europe via Sicily and were used as textbooks in the medical school of Salerno (The Schola Medica Salernitana). Moreover, his works continued to be taught with interest in many European universities until the 17th century.In this study, the contributions of a Jewish scholar who continued his medical career in the Islamic development of medicine in North Africa, and in the establishment of a medical school there.

Eugène Hertoghe (1860-1928), a Belgian internist and former vice-president of the Royal Academy of Medicine of Belgium, made significant contributions to the understanding and treatment of chronic hypothyroidism. He provided a detailed clinical description of the condition, emphasizing its multisystemic manifestations and hereditary aspects. Hertoghe also documented the therapeutic use of thyroid extract, reporting its effectiveness in alleviating symptoms of hypothyroidism. Among his contributions, he described the "Hertoghe sign," a rare clinical feature characterized by the loss of the outer third of the eyebrows, commonly associated with myxoedema, as well as with cases of toxic poisoning, infections, and atopic dermatitis.

Annie Dodge Wauneka was an activist and public servant whose decades long career focused extensively on improving the welfare of the Navajo Community. She campaigned to increase education among those living on the Navajo Reservation through working on the Tribal Council, completing personal visits, and producing educational material to improve hygiene. Annie's biggest fight was against tuberculosis. By bridging old traditions with new medicine, Annie encouraged people to seek treatment from hospitals and remain there throughout treatment. This reduced mortality significantly while closing the health disparity that existed between Native populations and the United States collectively.