Nihon ishigaku zasshi. [Journal of Japanese history of medicine]最新文献

Taira no Kiyomori was struck by an unimaginable fever and died in the spring of Jishō Year 5 (1181). In the coup d'état of Jishō Year 3 (1179), Kiyomori ended the Go-shirakawa cloistered government through military force and established the Takakura cloistered government as a puppet regime in the following year. The regime lasted only a short while, however, as the retired Takakura Emperor passed away within less than a year. Kiyomori's death immediately followed the restoration of the Go-shirakawa cloistered government. The cause of Kiyomori's death has previously been discussed in the fields of literature and medicine and has been diagnosed variously as malaria, cerebrovascular disease, pneumonia, or meningitis contracted from complications of influenza, scarlatina fulminans (scarlet fever), and so on. However, considering the fact that Kiyomori--who was anxious about restoring relations with the retired Go-shirakawa Emperor as well as subjugation by the forces of the Minamoto clan, which were growing daily in strength--and his close aide Fujiwara no Kunitsuna simultaneously fell ill and died one after the other, it is speculated that both figures had streptococcal infection. It is, therefore, surmised that, during the clan's twilight years, Taira tactics were determined through secret discussions between Kiyomori and Kunitsuna.

In this paper we present a comparative analysis of Shushi-Sanbaron (Japanese characters) and the original book, Lehrbuch der Hebammenkunst. After the legal reorganisation of the medical professions in Germany in the mid nineteenth century, the textbook Lehrbuch der Hebammenkunst was published for certified midwives. This book has two distinct characteristics; it was written from the physician's standpoint regarding the importance of the professional hierarchy of obstetricians and midwives, and it also served as a practical educator for midwives. Lehrbuch der Hebammenkunst was translated into Japanese for use as a textbook after the introduction of systematised education for certified midwives by the Tokyo-fu Hospital. It was published between 1877 and 1878 under title Shushi-Sanbaron. We clarify that Shushi-Sanbaron was not a literal translation of the original book, but was largely rewritten by two physicians in order to modify it to the Japanese situation after the introduction of modern medicine. Japanese physicians made serious modifications of the chapters that dealt with deviations from the regular course of birth and abnormal conditions of postpartum women and new-born babies, and they added theoretical explanations about obstetrics. As a result, Shushi-Sanbaron made two contradicting demands to midwives. On the one hand, midwives were urged to attain high-level theoretical knowledge and skill in obstetrics in order to--independently--help pregnant women and new-born babies in a crisis. On the other hand, as lower participants in the medical hierarchy, they were told to assume a dependent and uncritical attitude towards physicians.

This paper aims to reveal changes in the relief support of the Japanese Red Cross relief units dispatched to Burma during the Second World War, from the beginning of fighting in Burma to the Japanese withdrawal. Japanese Red Cross relief units began their relief support when Japan invaded Burma in February of 1942. Counterattacks by the British, Indian and Chinese armies from December 1942 caused an increase in the number of patients. There were also many cases of malnutrition and malaria due to the extreme shortage of medical supplies as a result of the Battle of Imphal, which began in March of 1944. Bomb raids became even more intense after the battle ended in July 1944, and patients were carried into bomb shelters and caves on a daily basis. Just prior to invasion by enemy troops, they were ordered to evacuate to neighboring Thailand. Nurses from the Wakayama group hid their identity as members of the Red Cross and evacuated, with 15 out of 23 dying or being reported missing in action.

The Salernitan School of Medicine was founded in the late 10th century as a loose association of medical teachers. The period before the middle 13th century was divided into three phases. In the early phase, before the end of 11th century, "practica" books were written, utilizing extant ancient literature, Arabic medical treatises were translated into Latin, and the medical text "Articella" was compiled. In the high phase before the end of the 12th century, the "Articella" was commented upon and new pharmacopeia and practica books were written. In the late phase before the middle of the 13th century, physicians who graduated from Salerno were active in various countries in Europe. After the middle of the 13th century the school developed organizations and rules, became a university at the end of 16th century, and was closed in 1811. The Salernitan school produced "Articella", which pioneered in theoretical medical education, and produced "practica", which dealt with both local diseases from head to foot and systemic fever diseases, and it continued until the end of 18th century. The two major disciplines of medical education before the end of 18th century, theoretica and practica, were derived from Salerno.

This paper aims to show the system for relief provided by the Japanese Red Cross relief units during the Second World War, as well as the actual activities of sixteen of its relief units dispatched to Burma. The Red Cross wartime relief efforts involved using personnel and funding prepared beforehand to provide aid to those injured in war, regardless of their status as ally or enemy. Thus they were able to receive support from the army in order to ensure safety and provide supplies. Nurses dispatched to Burma took care of many patients who suffered from malnutrition and physical injuries amidst the outbreak of infectious diseases typical of tropical areas, without sufficient replacement members. Base hospitals not meant for the front lines also came under attack, and the nurses' lives were thus in mortal danger. Of the 374 original members, 29 died or went missing in action.

The methods of painless childbirth are generally divided into two kinds: "with drugs" and "without drugs." In Japan, the full-scale initiation of these two types of painless childbirth methods in clinical practice started in the early 1950s. The practice of the psychoprophylaxis method (PPM)--one of the painless childbirth methods "without drugs"--started in 1953. Japanese obstetricians had discussed the practicability of PPM for painless childbirth and had doubted the scientific nature and originality of PPM as a viable method. Therefore, they published a series of articles in the Japanese medical journal "Obstetrics and Gynecology" from 1954 to 1957. Two representative obstetricians developed this controversy. Naotaro KUJI, the director of the Central Maternity Hospital of the Japanese Red Cross Society and the chief practitioner of PPM, emphasized that PPM was a more practical method, considering the Japanese medical legal situation where midwives were prohibited to use drugs. On the other hand, Kakuichi ANDO, the chief professor of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of Keio University and the team leader of the practitioners of painless childbirth "with drugs," doubted the practicability of PPM. In the course of these discussions, both groups of obstetricians gradually came to a consensus to use the concept of "pain relief" in labor, instead of "painless" childbirth. They also agreed to adopt methods "with drugs" and "without drugs," including PPM, according to the presented case.

The Meiji Emperor had fifteen children; five princes and ten princesses, but ten of them died of a meningitis-like disease in their infancy. People were concerned about the circumstances in which the lineage of the emperor's family was in a critical situation. They investigated the conditions regarding the children's upbringing and reported on the matter to higher officials in 1883 and 1888. But the author concludes that conditions did not change for the better because of those efforts.