The History of Medicine

Now that anesthesia's been figured out, we still need to address the safety of surgery. Early on, infections were extremely common in surgical procedures, but this week we'll take our first steps towards correcting that, with the help of Joseph Lister, who invented antiseptic surgical techniques. Website: http://thehistoryofmedicine.buzzsprout.com/E-mail: thehistoryofmedicinepodcast@gmail.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheHistoryOfMedicine/Transcripts and Sources here!

While we're discussing anesthesia generally, let's talk about local anesthesia, where the patient is kept awake. The first local anesthetic to come into use widely was cocaine, thanks in large part to the work of Carl Koller, but also many others. Website: http://thehistoryofmedicine.buzzsprout.com/E-mail: thehistoryofmedicinepodcast@gmail.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheHistoryOfMedicine/Transcripts and Sources here!

This week, let's tackle one of those first big problems we talked about: the horrible pain of surgery. Many many doctors and scientists contributed, but eventually the solution is general anesthesia, or making a patient unconscious to avoid the pain. It starts with what were once recreational drugs, but eventually becomes ubiquitous, and is to have great benefits to surgery.Website: http://thehistoryofmedicine.buzzsprout.com/E-mail: thehistoryofmedicinepodcast@gmail.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheHistoryOfMedicine/Transcripts and Sources here!

This week, I want to go over the general state of surgery before the big innovations happen, around the 1800s. There's a lot to fix before we're anywhere near the surgery we know today, but we have to start somewhere. Website: http://thehistoryofmedicine.buzzsprout.com/E-mail: thehistoryofmedicinepodcast@gmail.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheHistoryOfMedicine/Transcripts and Sources here!

Here's one more bonus episode before the real season starts up next week. This one's about Robert Liston, a legendary surgeon of his time, and some crazy stories of his exploits and achievements, like his sub 30 second leg amputation. And that's just for starters!Website: http://thehistoryofmedicine.buzzsprout.com/E-mail: thehistoryofmedicinepodcast@gmail.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheHistoryOfMedicine/Transcripts and Sources here!

While researching for season 2, I stumbled upon this story that I felt absolutely deserved to be shared with all of you. We're not back yet with regular episodes, but I promise I'm hard at work! In the mean time, here's the story of Jan De Doot, a man with stones both figurative and literal. Website: http://thehistoryofmedicine.buzzsprout.com/E-mail: thehistoryofmedicinepodcast@gmail.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheHistoryOfMedicine/Transcripts and Sources here!

This week, we wrap up the season with antibiotic resistance. Since the inception of antibiotics, we've noticed resistance developing as well, but frankly haven't done much about it. I'll go through how we got here, and what we can still do about it. Website: http://thehistoryofmedicine.buzzsprout.com/E-mail: thehistoryofmedicinepodcast@gmail.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheHistoryOfMedicine/Transcripts and Sources here!

This week, I talk through the discoveries of a few leftover antibiotic classes. I didn't quite have enough for a full episode for each, but I still wanted to throw some credit around. First up, we have glycopeptides, the first one being vancomycin. Edmund Kornfeld, working at Eli Lilly, is credited with the discovery.The second class of drugs is quinolones, which are turned up by two companies simultaneously. George Lesher, at the firm Sterling-Winthrop, and Walter Hepworth, at Imperial Chemical Industries, both get some credit. Website: http://thehistoryofmedicine.buzzsprout.com/E-mail: thehistoryofmedicinepodcast@gmail.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheHistoryOfMedicine/Transcripts and Sources here!

This week, the tragedies of chloramphenicol coincide with the tragedy of thalidomide, an anti-nausea drug that unfortunately causes birth defects. The press caused by these events, political current events, and the efforts of an FDA regulator, Dr. Frances Oldham Kelsey, eventually led to new legislation and standards, that helped create the FDA as we know it today.Website: http://thehistoryofmedicine.buzzsprout.com/E-mail: thehistoryofmedicinepodcast@gmail.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheHistoryOfMedicine/Transcripts and Sources here!

As promised, this week chloramphenicol begins to show some serious problems. Dr. Albe Watkins and Edgar Elfstrom both lost children, and push for new restrictions on the drug. They are at least somewhat successful, but the mid twentieth century is a different time from now, and it will take more tragedy before we begin to see bigger change. Website: http://thehistoryofmedicine.buzzsprout.com/E-mail: thehistoryofmedicinepodcast@gmail.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheHistoryOfMedicine/Transcripts and Sources here!