Even people who aren’t up on their medical history tend to know at least one fact: old-fashioned medical doctors used leeches. The leech is almost as iconic a symbol of antique medicine as the head lamp or the beak-masked plague doctor. … More Medicinal Leeches: Still A Bloody Good Idea
The appendix represents quite a mystery. For many years it was believed to be a vestige of our distant ancestors; the trace of a cecum, a part of many animals large intestine. This theory was put forward by Charles Darwin, but was mostly refuted in 2013. … More A Mere Appendix: Pioneering Surgery in Grand Valley Ontario
Although the signs of MS have been observed for more than 175 years, it is still quite misunderstood. How did we first learn of the existence of MS, and how much have we learned in all these years about this disease chronic and debilitating illness and its treatment? … More Touched by the Lord’s hand: The history of Multiple Sclerosis
Before the mid 19th century, women had a discreet but ever-present role on the battlefield, mostly as camp followers. When women such as Florence Nightingale started to demonstrate the value of military nurses, armies began to slowly, but surely assign them to their medical services. … More Voluntary Veil: The Canadian Voluntary Aid Detachment in the First World War
The period following the Crimean War and until the end of the First World War marks an interesting time for men’s fashion and health. During the Victorian period, beards and other facial hair styles enjoyed resurgence in popularity which had not been seen since the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries.[1] While the facial hair trend waned by the end of the nineteenth century,[2] enthusiasm for debating the cleanliness and overall health of bearded and non-bearded men remained strong. With increased attention to the face, and more specifically the hair on it, doctors, nurses, soldiers and the general public engaged in spirited discussions of men’s health. … More A Hair-Razing History of the Beard: Facial Hair and Men’s Health from the Crimean War to the First World War
In 2011, the Museum received the fantastic news that it had been awarded a grant for $52,000 from the Ontario Trillium Foundation. This funding enabled the Museum to leap with both feet into an exciting two-year project to develop not one, but two new apps that will allow users to explore local medical and nursing history on their phones and mobile devices. … More The APPle of our Eye: 80 Years of Hospital History in the Palm of your Hand!
Prior to World War One, blood transfusion was a rarely performed and risky procedure. On the eve of the war, scientific development in relation to transfusion technology progressed making it a more viable procedure. Survival rates on the front lines increased as new transfusion techniques were mastered. The benefits of the medical developments that occurred during the war should not only be remembered on Remembrance Day, as blood transfusions continue to save hundreds of lives each day. … More Medical Contributions of The Great War: Blood Transfusion
Many people in the West have never thought about tuberculosis as a risk to their health. Tuberculosis is often considered to be a disease of the past. In other locations around the world tuberculosis is a dangerous epidemic that affects thousands of people and their communities. 1.7 million people died from TB in 2009. … More Raising Awareness about Tuberculosis – World TB Day, 24 March 2012 Pt. 2
Tuberculosis is caused by an infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis, rod-shaped bacteria that are spread mostly through air-born droplets or dust micro-particles of dried sputum.Those who develop active pulmonary tuberculosis experience a range of signs and symptoms, including chest pain, cough, weight loss, pallor, fever, and night sweats. … More Raising Awareness about Tuberculosis – World TB Day, 24 March 2012 Pt. 1
Sir Joseph Lister, Bt. was born 1827 in Essex, England. Lister found that 45-50% of amputation patients later died of infection. Spurred by this statistic, he undertook the experiments on the prevention of infection that earned him wide renown. … More A Century Gone – Sir Joseph Lister, Bt. (1827-1912): Antisepsis and the Beginnings of Modern Surgical Medicine
