The History of Medicine

This week, we talk about plastic surgery, at least up until the World Wars. It starts with fixing noses, but through the work of many a doctor, we improve our skin grafts quite a bit. We'll also talk about bone grafts, and the work of William Macewen. Tubed Pedicle Graft ImageWebsite: http://thehistoryofmedicine.buzzsprout.com/E-mail: thehistoryofmedicinepodcast@gmail.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheHistoryOfMedicine/ Transcripts and Sources here! 

Sorry in advance about audio quality issues. I've just gotten a new microphone, and am still ironing out the kinks. Anyway, this week, we'll talk about orthopedics, or the study of correcting bones and muscles. It starts with George Friedrich Louis Stromeyer, who invents new procedures for correcting club foot. Over many years, Hugh Owen Thomas and his nephew, Robert Jones, would carry the torch, and invent many a technique still in use today. Club foot imageWebsite: http://thehistoryofmedicine.buzzsprout.com/E-mail: thehistoryofmedicinepodcast@gmail.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheHistoryOfMedicine/Transcripts and Sources here!

This week, we talk about urology, the study of functions and disorders of the urinary system. Urology starts early on with lithotomies, or the removal of bladder stones, and then progresses to lithotrities, where the stones are crushed and washed out. We'll also talk about the origins of radiation therapy, which gets used for lots of urology-related cancers. Website: http://thehistoryofmedicine.buzzsprout.com/E-mail: thehistoryofmedicinepodcast@gmail.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheHistoryOfMedicine/Transcripts and Sources here!

This week, we talk about the development of electro cauterization, where you use heat to stop bleeding or cut more easily in surgery. We mostly have to thank William Bovie, who invented the device to do this, and Harvey Cushing, the pioneering neurosurgeon who first started using Bovie's tech, and convinced his fellow surgeons to follow suit.Website: http://thehistoryofmedicine.buzzsprout.com/E-mail: thehistoryofmedicinepodcast@gmail.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheHistoryOfMedicine/Transcripts and Sources here!

This week, we keep trying to figure out blood transfusions, in the pursuit of helping those with circulatory shock. Oswald Hope Robertson makes the first blood bank, Sergei Yudin starts the first cadaver blood bank, and Percy Lane Oliver founds the first blood donor service through the Red Cross. Finally, Landsteiner from last week returns, to describe the Rhesus factor. Website: http://thehistoryofmedicine.buzzsprout.com/E-mail: thehistoryofmedicinepodcast@gmail.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheHistoryOfMedicine/Transcripts and Sources here!

Let's learn about shock. We'll start with a whole bunch of scientists trying to figure out what it is, dating back literally to the Ancient Greeks. Even as we better our understanding of shock, we then have to treat it. The first good solution we come up with is blood transfusion, at least for bleeding-related shock, but even that has its complications.Blundell's Blood Pump ApparatusHigginson SyringeWebsite: http://thehistoryofmedicine.buzzsprout.com/E-mail: thehistoryofmedicinepodcast@gmail.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheHistoryOfMedicine/Transcripts and Sources here!

This week we'll begin talking about some of the innovations in surgery that we learn from the many wars that break out in the 20th century. To start, we'll take a look at wound treatment and infection prevention, featuring a whole cast of characters, with doctors from all over the world making advances. Website: http://thehistoryofmedicine.buzzsprout.com/E-mail: thehistoryofmedicinepodcast@gmail.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheHistoryOfMedicine/Transcripts and Sources here!

This week, let's talk about Wilhelm Konrad Rontgen, who discovers X-rays, an incredibly important technology for surgery. With his newly found technology, we can see bones and foreign objects inside our bodies for the first time, although of course a lot of work still has to be done to really bring the technology to fruition. Albert von Kolliker's Hand X-rayWebsite: http://thehistoryofmedicine.buzzsprout.com/E-mail: thehistoryofmedicinepodcast@gmail.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheHistoryOfMedicine/ Transcripts and Sources here! 

This week, surgery will get a helping hand from some great scientists, who pave the way for the field of pathology, or the study of the causes of disease. We'll talk about James Paget, Rudolf Virchow, and Robert Koch, each of whom contributed significantly to our understanding and the diagnosis of diseases. Website: http://thehistoryofmedicine.buzzsprout.com/E-mail: thehistoryofmedicinepodcast@gmail.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheHistoryOfMedicine/Transcripts and Sources here!

We continue the achievements of Joseph Lister, who continues to innovate upon carbolic acid for literally decades. It takes time, but eventually a lot of other surgeons come around to his ideas, unlocking new possibilities for surgical procedures. Eventually, those evolve even further into aseptic methods, just keeping bacteria away instead of killing them, many of which we still use today. Website: http://thehistoryofmedicine.buzzsprout.com/E-mail: thehistoryofmedicinepodcast@gmail.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheHistoryOfMedicine/Transcripts and Sources here!