Journal of Medical Biography最新文献

In 1876, Bennett George Johns, a minister and chaplain at the school for the blind in St George's Field, published Blind People: Their Works and Ways; with Sketches of the Lives of Some Famous Blind Men. The book provided a window into the lives of the blind in Victorian England, with an emphasis on their education-or lack thereof. Johns was an observer of the blind and sympathetic to their plight. His depictions of schools were dispassionate, yet gently argued for improvement. Rather than rely on pity, he emphasized the benefits of institutionalized life and recounted the extraordinary achievements of four blind men. The creation of heroic historical figures had traditionally been employed to venerate political, military, or religious personages. Its use in shaping public perception of blindness was novel. This paper explores Johns's book as an early example of the innocent, myth-building of the blind and considers whether the process is always harmless.

Vera Mikhailovna Danchakova (1877-1950), also written in English as Danchakoff and in German as Dantschakoff, was the first woman to graduate with a PhD in Russia. She was a person of many interests and a strong passion for teaching and social justice that may have interfered with her pioneering stem cell research and cell biology, which was far ahead of its time. Danchakova significantly contributed to the unitarian theory of haematopoiesis along with its founder Alexander A. Maximow. She studied the origin of blood cells, the differentiation of tissues and organs in the process of embryonic development of animals, the formation of germ cells and the effect of hormones on the development of organisms. She discovered the role of stem cells in the laying of new tissues, the proof of the extragonadal origin of primary germ cells in birds and the development of methods for transplanting tissues into live embryos. She has been named 'the mother of stem cells' for her investigations of progenitors of cells.

Albert Sharman was a Glasgow-born and based gynaecologist who pioneered research into infertility and the diagnosis of pregnancy using new techniques of investigation and treatment, many of his own design. His Fertility Clinic, opened in 1931, was the first in Britain, and became a model for those that followed. Working at Glasgow's Royal Samaritan Hospital for Women, he published widely in the medical press, especially the British Medical Journal and the Lancet, and he authored and co-edited several books, some aimed at a medical audience while others sought to explain complex issues surrounding puberty, fertility and the menopause to the general public.

Idris Bitlisi was an historian and statesman of Kurdish and Iranian descent in the Ottoman Empire. This article introduces the influence of Bitlisi work on the historiography in the territory of the Ottoman Empire. Bitlisi was commissioned to write the history of the Ottoman family from the reign of Osman (1310 AD) to Bayazid II (1502 AD) which was entitled Hasht Bihisht (Eight Heavens) and was written in Persian. This era is considered the Golden Period in Ottoman historiography. By creating this work, Bitlisi transferred the methods of Iranian writing of history to the Anatolian regions. In all his works, the Persian language and literature and the crystallization of Iranian culture and civilization can be seen. Bitlisi's writings, especially Hasht Bihisht, can be seen as a more explicit statement of the political and cultural situation of the Ottoman sultans and their interest in history.

Professionalism and medical ethics, while similar, are often viewed in different contexts. An historical and social science analysis reveals that professionalism is a complex skill that can be developed over time. The key components of professionalism, as defined by the American Physical Therapy Association, include accountability, altruism, compassion, excellence, integrity, professional duty, and social responsibility. Throughout history, physicians have been concerned with medical ethics and professionalism. In the Golden Age of Islam, principles such as excellence, honour, integrity, accountability, and duty were important in shaping the professional behavior of physicians. Adab al-Tabib, an ancient work, by Ishāq bin Ali al-Ruhawi focuses on ethical guidelines and teachings related to medical ethics in the Islamic civilization. Many of the ethical issues in this book are of foremost importance as components of professionalism. However while the examples of medical ethics guidelines that pre-existed Adab al-Tabib such as the Hippocratic Oath, are not mentioned. As one of the first statutes of medical ethics in Islamic civilization, Ruhawi is a model for many doctors in the Golden Age of Islam, and over the years his principles have greatly influenced the professional view of physicians.

Judson Chesterman (1903-1987) was a surgeon working in Sheffield, United Kingdom in the mid-20th century. Born in Bath, Somerset, he attended Bristol Medical School before completing junior doctor positions around England. He developed his skills in thoracic surgery during a Fellowship with Evarts Graham (1883-1957) at Barnes Hospital, St Louis, Missouri and by the mid-1950s was also performing a large number of closed cardiac procedures. In 1955, he performed the first mitral valve replacement in the world, using a prosthesis of his own design, but the patient only survived for around 18 hours. Recognising the limitations of off-pump surgery, he visited the University of Minneapolis before building his own bypass machine and used it in two patients, the first in February 1957, one of the earliest outside the United States of America to do so. In retirement he established an osteoarchaeology laboratory and made additional contributions to that field.

Chaim Sheba was one of Israel's most influential medical figures. An internist by training, Sheba was among the founding fathers of the Israeli military medical system and took part in shaping its unique local model. Between 1950 and 1952, he was the Health Ministry's Director General, and soon after was appointed Head of Tel-Hashomer Hospital. In addition, Sheba played an important part in establishing Barzilai Hospital, in Israel's southern region, and was also one of the chief founders of Tel-Aviv University's School of Medicine. Alongside his work as a doctor and hospital manager and his many public obligations and activities, Sheba conducted research on the genetics of different Jewish ethnic communities who emigrated to the nascent State of Israel. In this article, we focus on Sheba's biography and explore how his vision and relentless activity shaped Israel's health system. While Sheba's achievements are our focal point, we also discuss his professional disappointments and unfulfilled visions.

Bonté Elgood, née Amos, was one of the early women doctors who qualified from the progressive London School of Medicine for Women, established in 1874. She chose to practice in Egypt which was then under British administration. When she arrived in 1900, Egyptian medical provision for mothers and children was rudimentary where it existed at all. For over 50 years, Bonté Elgood played an important role in setting up maternity care and child health services, first in Cairo and later in the whole country. For her work, she was awarded the OBE and CBE by the British government, and she also received decorations from the French and Egyptian governments.