Tetanus
Stuff You Missed in History Class
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Unraveling Tetanus: A Historical Perspective
This chapter traces the historical understanding and treatment of tetanus from ancient times to the 19th century, highlighting key figures and their contributions. It discusses the evolution of medical insights into the disease, including the significance of vaccinations and public health efforts in modern times.
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Tetanus has probably been around for most of human history, or even longer. But it’s preventable today thanks to vaccines.
Research:
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- Milto, Lori De, and Leslie Mertz, PhD. "Tetanus." The Gale Encyclopedia of Public Health, edited by Brigham Narins, 2nd ed., vol. 2, Gale, 2020, pp. 1074-1076. Gale In Context: Environmental Studies, link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX7947900274/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=a44bc544. Accessed 15 Apr. 2025.
- National Institutes of Health. “Tetanus.” https://history.nih.gov/display/history/Tetanus
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- Smithsonian. “The Antibody Initiative: Battling Tetanus.” https://www.si.edu/spotlight/antibody-initiative/battling-tetanus
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- The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1901. NobelPrize.org. Nobel Prize Outreach 2025. Thu. 17 Apr 2025. https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/1901/summary/
- Tiwari, Tejpratap S.P. et al. “Chapter 21: Tetanus.” CDC Pink Book. https://www.cdc.gov/pinkbook/hcp/table-of-contents/chapter-21-tetanus.html
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- War Office Committee for the Study of Tetanus. “Memorandum on Tetanus.” Fourth Edition. 1919. https://archive.org/details/b32171201/
- World Health Organization. “Tetanus.” 7/12/2024. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/tetanus
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