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British Society for the History of Medicine
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Poynter lecture report - Belfast 2009 Congress Announcement - Society history and structure
BSHM Officers reports - John Blair Trust - Affiliated Society Reports - Book reviews
Earlier newsletters are available: 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007.
Illustration on right: Study of the Skull, by Leonardo da Vinci
Illustration by Luc Viatour from
Wikimedia Commons
under GNU Free Documentation Licence
The subject for the 13th Poynter Lecture of the British Society for the History of Medicine was "Leonardo's Philosophical Anatomies". It was given by Martin Kemp M.A. D.Litt., Professor of the History of Art, University of Oxford, on 26th March 2008 at the Wellcome Collection.
Information about the lecture from Professor Kemp:
We talk of Leonardo's "anatomical drawings" and tend to align them in intent with later
descriptive anatomy. However, Leonardo's representations of the body involved
function as much as form and were integral to his vision of the microcosm and macrocosm.
There is no indication that he was concerned with the application of his knowledge to
surgery and little indication of any involvement with "physic". Instead he is concerned to to
understand the nature of the fundamental processes of the human body and to present his
understanding through visual demonstrations of a wholly novel kind.
For more information on Martin Kemp's present academic work see his pages from The Faculty of History, University of Oxford, and from the Department of the History of Art.
Those attending also saw the exhibitions of the Wellcome Collection.
There was a talk to BSHM members by William Schupbach, the Iconographic Collections Librarian, to look at some of the Library's print and drawings on anatomy.
Report by Dr Tina Matthews
The Officers and Representatives committee meeting started the afternoon with some consideration of the format of the future BSHM congresses and reports from its officers. Following this the committee and other society members congregated in the Wellcome where William Schupbach had prepared a dazzling display of anatomical artwork to complement the theme of the Poynter Lecture. These were carefully set on four tables each representing a different century , and thus also different approaches, needs and techniques. Schupbach described discussed and mused on the various work, interjecting salacious titbits regarding the artist or social circumstances.
The audience then had the awe-inspiring opportunity to circulate and closely inspect the pieces. The BSHM would like to thank William Schupbach for the absorbing presentation and the Wellcome for permitting the rare opportunity to view the items from the collection.
We then moved on to a small reception, and the lecture given by Martin Kemp, Professor of the History of Art at Oxford University (www.martinjkemp.co.uk) entitled "Leonardo's Philosophical Anatomies". Prof. Kemp suggested that it is necessary to adopt a different mindset to appreciate the anatomies to envisage the human body as a microcosm and its design as would an architect. Leonardo's anatomies were not provided to assist medics to learn anatomy, nor necessarily for artists but to explore concepts, thoughts and philosophies of the structure and function of the human body.
Four episodes were considered: Leonardo's 1489 skull study, 1507/8 dissection of a man who claimed to be a hundred, 1510 muscles and the late heart studies. The earliest episode is thought the first diagrammatic portrayal of "cut-away" structures; in this instance the skull is shown half superficial and half with the sinuses revealed. The brain is depicted with three ventricles representing intellect, soul and functions - a pictorial demonstration of functionality not accurate anatomy. In contrast the dissection of the centenarian includes wondrously precise drawings of the tortuous calcified arteries typical of elderly persons, and then the vasculature was compared with an aqueduct system for irrigation.
The 1510 studies were of skeleton and muscles representing a synthesis of knowledge gleaned from several dissections and show a right to left progression across the page more convenient to Leonardo's left-handedness. These studies included exploded diagram depictions of the cervical spinal vertebrae, and the hand compared with a system of ropes and pulleys, another example of Leonardo's dual influence of anatomy and engineering principles. The human hand was considered the supreme instrument and ultimate perfection in God's amazing design.
The final group of works considered were of the heart valves of an ox with a study of shape transformation from one geometric shape to another; roundish to triangular, as Leonardo attempted to divine how they functioned. Amongst his many talents da Vinci was a water engineer which strongly featured in these drawings including water as hair, deluge depictions of the movements of fluids, the actions of water issuing from a square portal and an organic map of a new canal which Kemp suggested we consider as the Jackson Pollock of the canal world. Leonardo speculated and drew the vortex above the aortic valve, and did a good but not perfect job of it.
Overall Leonardo's work demonstrates an intellectual beauty, of dissections not intended for doctors but to demonstrate God's wonderful design for his own academic satisfaction - some were spot on, some very close and some incorrect but Prof. Kemp led us to a fuller understanding of Leonardo da Vinci's thought processes and reasoning as the basis for drawing, with a consideration of some of the less often seen items. For this the BSHM thanks him, and the Wellcome for the convivial reception and premises.
For more of Prof. Kemp's Leonardo studies and projects visit Universal Leonardo
These are notes by David Hawgood with links to internet articles including relevant illustrations. The drawings may not be the exact ones shown by Professor Kemp, they are either the same or else similar ones available on Internet.
With the skull Leonardo had the eye as receptor of impressions, with a visual pyramid, lines radiating from the eye. One relevant drawing is above. For another skull drawing see article in Answers.com
Following from dissection of the centenarian was a comparison of passage of fluids in the body and in a tree, with the cross sectional area of arteries or branches constant. Many of Leonardo's drawings are of the bodily system, arranged to show function. See for example Anatomical studies of an old man and Drawing of branches of tree keeping same cross section
Skeleton and muscle drawings often show the architecture of the body, how the parts support each other, how the muscles move the limbs. See Anatomy of the neck drawing (in Wikipedia), and drawings of the arm and shoulder. Those in a Taschen book include shoulder rotation.
Leonardo had drawings showing an ox heart and the three cusp valve with blood flow. His drawings of geometric forms such as dodecahedrons relate to the heart valve.
Leonardo proposed a glass model of the heart to show fluid flow, and this has been realised recently - see Gharib flow visualisation.
Drawings of water flow relate also to the dynamics of blood flow for example see water falling from an orifice.
The lecture is named after F N L (Noel) Poynter (1903-1979), who was librarian of the Wellcome Library from 1954 and Director of the Wellcome Institute from 1964 to his retirement in 1973. He was very active in organisations and journals for the history of medicine, both in Britain and internationally.
The Faculty of the History of Medicine and Pharmacy of the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries of London (founded in 1958) organised the first British Congress on the History of Medicine in 1960. The meeting was sponsored by the Wellcome Foundation Ltd. Poynter edited the proceedings as "The evolution of medical practice in Britain". London : Pitman Medical Publishing Co. Ltd. 1961.
The British Society for the History of Medicine was founded in 1965 at the instigation of Dr W S C Copeman and Dr F N L Poynter, then respectively Chairman and Secretary of the Faculty of the History of Medicine of the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries of London, which at that time was the active co-ordinator of British medical historians.
There is a Poynter lecture every two years.
The 23rd Congress will be in Belfast in September 2009, Wed 2nd Sept to Sat 5th Sept.
The Congress will be held at Stranmillis University College,
a college of Queen's University Belfast.
Stranmillis was founded in 1922 to provide state funded
teacher training but now provides other courses and a conference centre.
Hosts will be The Ulster Society for the History of Medicine(USHM) with the support and cooperation of the Centre for the History of Medicine in Ireland(CHOMI), medical historians at the University of Ulster, which is a partnership with University College Dublin.
With this in mind, the conference, as well as encouraging presentations from other aspects of the history of medicine, will showcase work in Irish history of medicine. The staff at CHOMI will be participating and will present the results of their recent research to the conference.
Those working on any aspects of Irish medical history are particularly encouraged to come forward with their suggestions for papers for 2009. The main themes of the conference will be:
Those with proposals for a paper should submit them, before 31st January 2009, in the form of an abstract of no more than 250 words outlining the main points and conclusions of the presentation with a few key references. Once your abstract is approved, you will be notified and participation in the Conference will then require the receipt of the completed registration form, and payment of the Conference fee.
Please also submit a brief biography which will appear in the book of abstracts. As a record of the conference photographs will be taken of those who present papers.
A form for printing or email submission is in
Preliminary notice with call for abstracts (Word document).
Please send completed forms to:
Professor Greta Jones, Centre for the History of Medicine, University of Ulster at Jordanstown, Shore Rd,
Newtownabbey, County Antrim, Northern Ireland BT37 OQB
Abstracts can be submitted electronically to Professor Greta Jones at
michael.liffey@ucd.ie.
23rd CONGRESS, BELFAST, 2nd-5th September, 2009
The 23rd Congress of the BSHM will be held for the first time in Belfast. The venue will be Stranmillis University College (SUC) which occupies 46 acres of unspoilt woodland less than 2 miles from Belfast city centre, and is adjacent to the river Lagan. The residential accommodation is within walking distance of the Conference Centre, where the dining facilities are also located. There is plenty of on-site parking, again beside our Conference Centre, and which will be supervised by the SUC Security Staff. There is a security stop close to the SUC entrance, but the Conference Centre is still 400 metres inside the grounds. All accommodation, lecture rooms, and meals are on site. The Halls of Residence are centrally heated, double-glazed, and with kitchen/common rooms on each floor. Both single study bedrooms with wash-hand basins, and en-suite bedrooms, are available. SUC accommodation may also be used before and after the conference by our delegates.
There will be an emphasis on Irish Medicine, on the contributions of some graduates of the Belfast Medical School, including some of the 'Resuscitation Greats'. We also plan to have a Session specifically allocated to presentations by medical students who have participated in a Student Selected Component in the History of Medicine in a UK medical school.
From Britain, Belfast is accessible by sea and air. P&O/Stena run daily services to Belfast / Larne from Troon, Cairnryan, and Stranraer. There are also ferries to Dublin from Holyhead & Liverpool, with travel to Belfast by train, car, or coach.
Belfast has two Airports. George Best Belfast City Airport is about 15 minutes by taxi away from the SUC, while Aldergrove International Airport is about 40 minutes away by taxi. It has a regular Airport Bus service to the Europa Bus Depot ( in the city centre), and the train station closest to the SUC is Central station (both approx. 10 minutes by taxi).
The registration form (Word document) has prices for attending the full conference or individual days.
Contact at USHM:
Dr Ethna O'Gorman
Office of Archives, King Edward Building
Royal Victoria Hospital
Grosvenor Road
Belfast BT12 6BL
Email ethna@ushm.co.uk
or contact the chairman of USHM, Dr Robert Montgomery, of Queens University Belfast,
robertm1712@btinternet.com
The British Society for the History of Medicine was formed in 1965 by members of the Faculty of the History and Philosophy of Medicine and Pharmacy of the Society of Apothecaries, and the Royal Society of Medicine, both of London, the Scottish Society of the History of Medicine, and the Osler Club of London. Its aims are to encourage the study, research, and teaching of medical history at both graduate and undergraduate level. In alternate years, it holds a National Meeting and the Poynter Lecture in London. The Society represents the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in the International Society for the History of Medicine.
There is no individual membership; membership of an affiliated society automatically provides this. The governing committee, of office-bearers and representatives from the affiliated societies, meets annually, either at the National Congress or at the Poynter Lecture. Office-bearers from September 2007 are: President, Dr David J.Wright, FRCA, FRCP, Secretary Dr Fiona Davidson MD MRCP DHSMAA, Treasurer, Dr Tina Matthews, BM, FRCPath, DHMSA, Past-President, Dr John Ward, MB, FRCGP, FRCP, Vice-President Mrs Sue Weir, and National Delegate to the International Society, Mrs Belinda Heathcote. On the governing committee, member societies with more than fifty members have two representatives, smaller societies have one member. The BSHM NEWS was published annually as a printed newsletter, and is now replaced by this web newsletter. and provides a link between constituent societies . The BSHM website is www.bshm.org.uk and is run by David Hawgood, david@hawgood.com who is also editor of this web newsletter.
Reports at Officers and Representatives meeting in March 2008
Since taking up office in September 2007, I have been involved with the following. In October 2007, I attended the 4th International Meeting of the International Society of the History of Medicine, in Figline Valdarno, Italy. This was an excellent meeting, with a friendly and relaxed atmosphere. Brief details were given of the International Congress in Mexico in September 2008 and it was agreed that the 2009 International Meeting will be in Cyprus and the 2010 International Congress will be in Egypt. In November 2007 I went to Belfast for a meeting of the planning group for the 23rd BSHM Congress, which will be in Belfast from September 2-5th 2009. Plans are well underway for the meeting, with details on the BSHM website, http://www.bshm.org.uk/congress.htm
In January I went to London for a meeting of representatives of various learned bodies and societies of the History of Science Technology and Medicine, to discuss the setting up of a mutual network. Those attending the meeting were in favour of setting up such a network, provisionally to be known as the HSTEMM Network, (History of Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Medicine). A set of aims will be brought to a second meeting.
I will bring copies of the minutes of this meeting to the ORC meeting and would be happy to make them available by email to anyone who asks me for them. It is interesting and often instructive to see what others, in related or in different disciplines, are doing and there may well be advantages to many from these moves.
In February the account for the 2007 BSHM meeting in Dundee was closed. As a modest profit had been made, the two supporting societies, the BSHM and the Scottish Society each received a cheque for £3783. I would like to thank Dr John Blair and the Treasurer for all their help with the Dundee Meeting.
This month I have been analysing the questionnaires that were given to participants at the Dundee meeting about parallel sessions and other matters related to papers presented at BSHM meetings. A summary is presented above but one point to consider is the support, which was expressed for a one-day meeting around the Poynter lecture. It seems sensible to look at this for the future.
I am grateful for the hard working efforts of the new BSHM Secretary, Fiona Davidson and the other officers of the Society, particularly the Webmaster, David Hawgood, whose never failing courtesy, efficiency and skill is a constant support, and is much appreciated.
I look forward to the Poynter Lecture on March 26th and the Belfast meeting next year.
David Wright 22nd March 2008
In September 2007, I took over from Ann Ferguson as Secretary of the Society. There have been no major events involving the Society since that date. However, it has been very difficult contacting some representatives to give them information. Can I plead with you to let me know if, 1) You alter your e-mail address, 2) The society you represent changes its representative, 3) If I e-mail you could you please let me know that you have received the e-mail, even if you reply in detail later. It is difficult to know if the e-mail has been filtered off as Junk Mail, as my name is not recognised by your computers.
Fiona Davidson
The Balance of Income and Expenditure for 2007-2008 at £4772.21 compared favourably with that of 2006-2007 at £826.94 Dr Matthews said 18 societies had paid their subscriptions and 4 had not yet paid. The President and Dr Matthews were going to contact the latter. Dr Matthews emailed each Society individually. She thanked the Wellcome for providing the Conference Centre and Dale Room for the Poynter Lecture and Officers and Representatives meeting.
Links to: Accounts April 2008 - List of paid-up societies 2008 (Word Documents)
Tina Matthews
The Trust has given grants and prizes over the past year, and is available for financial help to medical and dental students who are carrying out research projects at home or abroad. It is also available for prizes to students doing student selected components in medical history. There was a delay in operations and grant giving while the new trustees were registered, but grants and prizes are now available again.
The Trust is a charity registered with the Office of Scottish Charity Regulators, no SC026541. Dr L.Lazenby, MA, PhD. is now senior trustee, and applications for grants or prizes should be made to her at 15, Rectory Terrace, Gosforth, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, NE3 1YB, e-mail lizlazenby@btinternet.com. The other trustees are Robin Price, Professor Greta Jones, and the current president of the BSHM.
Below are links to reports in this BSHM 2008 Web News. Note that some items are taken from advance notices of societies' events, rather than reports after the meetings. We have a separate page of current contacts and web links for Affiliated Societies]
The upsurge in the interest in the history of medicine and particularly military medicine has resulted in a busy time for all at the museum. Group visits have continued at an increased pace and school visits are on the increase.
Planning is now well ahead for the next History of Military Medicine Conference taking place over three days at the museum in April 2009. Details can be obtained from the museum or by email armymedicalmuseum@btinternet.com
The Director of the museum was appointed the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries Lecturer in the History of Medicine to the Army in 2008.
PH Starling, Director
We currently have 42 members of whom 15 are 'honorary'. We meet on the third Monday of the month, in March, June, September and December at Frenchay Hospital, Bristol, following a meal. Our attendances are usually between 25 and 50 and members travel from a wide area, including Cornwall and Worcestershire. The two lectures given at each meeting are published in our proceedings and the fourth volume of these, from 1999 - 2003, was published this year. This year Dr Bird stepped down as president after his term of office and Mr Walford Gillison has taken over as President. The constitution is being revised to allow student members and encourage more guests to attend. Dr Carpenter remains as Honorary Secretary and Dr Dickens as Honorary Treasurer.
The British Society for the History of ENT has two officers, a secretary, Mr Richard Irving and a President, Mr Neil Weir. The Society holds one meeting a year which in recent years has been held in conjunction with a major national ENT meeting in the UK. Our annual meeting this year was held in Westminster jointly with ENT/UK and the RSM. There were presentations from invited speakers and from trainees.
Each year we award a registrar prize which is currently a free annual subscription to an ENT Journal the JLO. We had two joint winners of the Registrar's Prize this year. They were Jonathan Hughes for a paper on Morrell Mackenzie, a pioneer of laryngology, and to Olivier Whiteside for a paper on Esme Hadfield, who discovered the link between adenocarcinoma of the nose and working in the hard wood industry.
Our meeting next year will be held in Dublin in early July.
Richard Irving, Secretary
The Autumn meeting of the BSHPCH was held at the Courtauld Institute in London on 12th and 13th September. Fourteen papers, covering topics as varied as the history of the thalidomide disaster in the 1960s, to the child health in the islamic caliphate in the 6th century AD, brought together about 50 members and friends for a splendid meeting hosted by Professor Euan Ross of KCL. The William Cadogan Lecture was given by Eleanor Barry, winner of the eponymous prize (see below) whose talk adressed the question 'Did the establishment of the Ministry of Health in 1919 improve maternal and child welfare services?' At the conference dinner at the Athenaeum Club the principal of KCL, Prof Rick Trainor, guest of honour, reflected on great men and women, the role of universities and the value of such learned societies as the BSHPCH. The meeting was followed by optional tours of the Courtauld art gallery and the archives of the Great Ormond Street Hospital for Sick Children.
The Spring meeting of the the BSHPCH will be in York at the annual meeting of the RCPCH on Wednesday 1st April 2009. The George Armstrong Lecture will be given by Professor Mark Gardiner of UCL, on 'The Discovery of Insulin'. The Autumn meeting will be in Newcastle upon Tyne, hosted by Professor Sir Alan Craft, on October 2nd and 3rd ( changed from September 18th and 19th 2009 because of clash with Great North Run) Further details of the BSHPCH may be found at its webpage: http://www.gla.ac.uk/t4/childhealth/files/BSHPCH.html
The BSHPCH offers a £250 prize for an original essay of up to 3000 words, on any aspect of the history of paediatrics and child health, in any period of time or place. The prize has been established in memory of Dr William Cadogan of Bristol (1711 - 1797) an eminent pioneer of child health care and father of infant care in Britain. As well as the prize, the winner will be expected to give a presentation to the autumn meeting of the Society in September 2009. The closing date for submission of the essay is 1st April 2009 and the winner will be notified in May of that year. Further enquiries, and submissions, should be directed to the Hon. Secretary: Professor Lawrence Weaver, Department of Child Health, University of Glasgow, Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Yorkhill, Glasgow G3 8SJ, UK (lweaver@clinmed.gla.ac.uk). Those who wish to join the BSCPCH or learn more about it, should contact its honorary secretary, Professor Lawrence Weaver at lweaver@clinmed.gla.ac.uk
In 2007 BSHP celebrated its 40th Anniversary. A full programme of events was organised.during 2007. In February, Professor Monique Simmonds, Deputy Keeper at the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew, presented a paper entitled 'Behind the Scenes of Drug Discovery'. In May, Dr Nicholas Cambridge presented a paper entitled 'Electricity and the Enlightenment'.
The Society's Annual Spring Conference was held in the delightful Waterton Park Hotel, near Wakefield. Papers presented included Mr John Whitaker; 'The Life of Charles Waterton: a 19th Century Eco-Warrior', Dr Stuart Menzies: 'Pharmacy and Philately', Ms Briony Hudson: 'Liquorice', Dr Peter Worling: 'Elsie Inglis', Mr Christopher Wragg: 'Historical Notes on Old Sheffield Druggists', Mr Bill Jackson: 'Mr Wheeldon's Toilet Almanac of 1879', Mr Roger Mills: '1887-2007: A Pharmacy Record?', Layinka Swinburne 'Of Each a Handful: Materia Medica of Yorkshire domestic Receipt Books'. In the closing session Ann Hutton and Ainley Wade, founder members of the Society, gave a combined talk on the history of BSHP. The conference excursion was to the Thackray Museum in Leeds.
In June there was an afternoon visit to the Natural History Museum to view some of its herbaria collection.
An evening meeting in October featured a talk by the BSHP President, Dr Michael Jepson on 'The Evolution of Pharmacy'. At the final meeting of the year in November, Dr Patrick Wallis presented a paper entitled 'Pharmacy, Quackery and the Growth of Medicine in Early Modern England'.
The year ended on a sad note with the death of one of Britain's most distinguished pharmaceutical historians, Mr Bill Jackson.
Unless otherwise stated, meetings are held jointly with the Royal Pharmaceutical Society at 1 Lambeth High Street, London SE1 7JN. Details of future events are available on the Society's website www.bshp.org
Report for the British Society for the History of Medicine 2008
The British Society for the History of Radiology continues to flourish. We produce our journal 'The Invisible Light' twice a year and our website is to be found at www.bshr.org.uk/.
We organise a radiology history session at the annual UK Radiology Congress 'UKRC' www.ukrc.org.uk which this year was held in Birmingham (UK Radiological Congress 2008, Birmingham ICC/NIA, UK, 3rd June 08). Once again BSHR was strongly in evidence at the Congress. The theme of the display on our stand in the technical exhibition was the Nobel laureate Henri Becquerel. The stand was very popular and was manned by our efficient volunteers: Dr Christine Ferris, Professor Rosemary Klem, Miss Margaret Boniface and Mrs Adrienne Wallis. Adrian Thomas the chairman and Jean Barrett were also present to meet and greet!
The History Special Focus Group at UKRC was well attended and again proved popular. Adrian Thomas introduced the session and the speakers:
Our annual BSHR lecture was given by Elizabeth Beckman at The British Institute of Radiology on the 25th February 2008. She spoke on "Sir Godfrey Hounsfield, The man who gave us medical imaging for the 21st century." We have a day conference scheduled to take place on the 11th October 2008. The title is "Xamining Radiology History" and it will be held at St. Mary's Conference Centre in Sheffield. Topics include Marie Curie, Forensic Radiography, Hidden History of X-ray work, Oral History, 100 years of therapy, Ultrasound History, Radiography at the Normandy Landing and Henri Becquerel.
We are delighted to announce that we have made a formal link with the Subcommittee of History of the Argentine Society of Radiology to promote the exchange of information and the participation of members of our two societies. The Argentine Society of Radiology (Sociedad Argentina de Radiología) is found at: www.sar.org.ar [Editor's note - site not available at 23/Nov 2008]. We collaborated in the '54th Congreso Argentino de Radiología, Diagnóstico por imágenes y Terapia Radiante' held in Buenos Aires in September 2008. Our Chairman Adrian Thomas gave the opening address of the congress on the subject "Godfrey Hounsfield and the Origins of Computed tomography."
Further information about the BSHR can be obtained from either myself or our honorary secretary Jean Barrett (103 Slaithwaite Road, Meltham, Holmfirth, West Yorkshire HD9 5PW jean.barrett@ntlworld.com). Our website is www.bshr.org.uk/.
Adrian M K Thomas, Chairman. Email adrian.thomas@btinternet.com
The Historical Medical Equipment Society was founded in 1996. It aims to promote education and research into the history and evolution of instruments, apparatus and equipment employed in medicine and related health care professions. Membership is £15 per year and is open to anyone with an interest in medical, surgical, pharmaceutical and dental instruments and equipment. We currently have some 69 members including 3 from overseas.
Activities of the Society include twice yearly meetings with discussion papers, visits to collections and equipment identification sessions. We publish two bulletins a year.
Dr John Prosser is Chairman, Mr John Kirkup is Bulletin Editor and Dr Tim Smith is Honorary Secretary. For membership application or further information please apply to Dr Tim Smith tel: 01249 782218 e-mail drtgcsmith@aol.com
In October 2007 the Society met at the Jenner Conference Centre at Berkeley, Gloucestershire. In April we went to Sheffield, the home of surgical instrument manufacturing. The meeting was held at B.Braun Medical Ltd and the day included a visit to their factory to see the various stages of surgical instrument manufacture."
Dr Tim Smith
Report by the Honorary Secretary, Anne Florence, June 2008
The Society has continued to flourish under the President, Dr David Wilkinson, who was elected to the role of Wood Library Laureate from October 2008 for four years.
A very successful Annual Summer Meeting and AGM was held at the West Park Conference Centre, Dundee in June 2007 efficiently organised by Professor Tony Wildsmith and his team. As Dundee is the home of Scott's ship, Discovery, now well preserved as the centrepiece of a multi-media heritage, Antartica played a significant role throughout the meeting. On Friday afternoon Dr Wilkinson and Dr Aileen Adams set the scene for our visit to Discovery for a Champagne Reception and guided tours of the ship. The following morning the Curator of the Museum, Mr Michael Wilson, took us 'To the Antartic with Scott and Discovery', a fascinating illustrated record of Scott's first expedition.
On Saturday, 10th November, the Society's Autumn Meeting was held in the Museum of the North of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineering, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, a magnificent old building. A novel item was introduced- an Antiques Roadshow - produced by Dr Gary Enever, in which those present were invited to name and date items from the historical collection of the University of Newcastle, Department of Anaesthesia. Dr Adrian Padfield, then, introduced us to the list of some of the videotapes which have been professionally copied from early films held by the Association.
There were three trainee presentations. Subsequent to the four presentations at Malvern in 2006, Council agreed that the conference fee, an invitation to the Annual Dinner and free membership of the Society for one year should be awarded to all participants. Consequently, eight papers were submitted for the 2008 Annual Summer Meeting.
Our new Webmaster, Gary Enever, has updated our Website. It is hoped that all the publications which we have in stock and available for sale will appear on the site (now online see HAS Book Notices) as there are still large numbers of the following books available for sale:
The next Annual Summer Meeting and AGM is to be held in Bath on the 29th and 30th May, 2009.
President Dr. Glyn Rhys M.R.C.O.G - Secretary: Dr Margaret R Jones, F.R.C.R,
The History of Medicine Society of Wales held four successful meetings in 2008. These were well attended with an average of 70 members and chaired by the President with wit and style. The talks were of high quality and the social aspects were enjoyed and appreciated by the attendees. The lecturers and the titles of their talks are summarised below: -
Spring Meeting at the National Library of Wales Aberystwyth Ceredigion
On Saturday morning 12th April 2008
Programme. Chairman: Dr Glyn Rhys, President
10.00 am Dr. Frances Gerrard, Aberystwyth
"Medical Education in Wales"
10.45 am Dr. Erin White, Aberystwyth
"Coroners' Inquests in 19th Century Wales"
12.00 pm Dr. Russell Davies, Aberystwyth
"And Death hath Dominium Death in 19th Century Wales"
12.45 pm Dr. John Graham Jones, Aberystwyth
"Aneurin Bevan and the Establishment of the NHS"
Summer Meeting at the Liverpool Medical Institution 114 Mount Pleasant Liverpool L3 5SR
On Friday 6th June 2008; Joint Meeting with the Liverpool History of Medicine Society
Morning Programme. Chairman: Dr Glyn Rhys HOMSW
10.00 am Mr. Eurig Jeffreys, Wrexham
"The Parkside Accident of 1830"
10.45 am Dr. Morfydd Owen, Aberystwyth
"The Welsh Leech Book; A Liverpool Publication"
12.00 pm Dr. Tom Davies, Cardiff
"The man who saved Freud's life"
Afternoon Programme: Chairman: Dr Sally Sheard LMHS
2.00 pm Dr. John Williams, Liverpool
"Mountains and Medicine"
2.45 pm Mr. Mark Lavery, Liverpool
"Ronald Ross and Malaria"
3.15 pm Dr. Anne Florence, Liverpool
4.15 pm Dr Pamela Michael and Dr David Hirst, Bangor
"Dr O.O.Roberts of Bangor and the Scandal of the Haydock Lodge Asylum 1846-8"
Autumn Meeting at the Royal Welsh Showground Builth Wells
On Saturday morning 13th September 2008
Programme. Chairman: Dr Glyn Rhys, President
10.00 am Dr Brinley Jones, Aberystwyth
"William Williams Pantycelyn - Medicine's Loss or Society's Gain?"
10.45 am Mr. John Hywel, Menai Bridge
"The Bone Setters of Anglesey"
12.00 pm Dr Helen Herbert, RCGP in Wales
"Effect of Policy on Professionalism"
12.45 pm Executive Committee Meeting
Winter Meeting at DeCourceys Manor Pentyrch Cardiff
On Saturday morning 25th October 2008
Programme. Chairman: Dr Glyn Rhys, President
10.00 am Dr. Arthur Hollman, East Sussex
"The Life of Sir Thomas Lewis"
10.45 am Mr. Peter Fells Suffolk
"The Evolution of the Eye"
12.00 pm Professor D. Gwyn Williams, London
"Thomas Hodgkin"
12.45 pm Annual General Meeting
2.30 pm Dr John Cule (Cardiff) and Professor Gethin Morgan (Bristol).
"The Story of Sarah Jacobs and the History of Anorexia Nervosa"
The venues and dates for meetings in 2009 are as follows: -
The meetings will be chaired by the President for 2008/9 Dr Joan Andrews FRCOG FRCS(Ed) Msc(Cardiff) MD
Guests are most welcome to attend our meetings and further details may be obtained from the Hon.Sec. Dr Margaret R Jones DMRD FRCR margaret.jones80@mac.com Tel: 029 20419121
(This is from the advance notice of 2008/9 meetings on the Lindsay Society website)
Lilian Lindsay Memorial Lecture
This will take place during the BDA annual conference in Glasgow on Saturday 6th June 2009.
Autumn Conference 2008
The Society's autumn meeting took place in Stirling, Scotland on 3rd, 4th and 5th October 2008 at the Stirling Highland Hotel. In addition to the professional programme and dinner there was a tour of the historic town where Mary Queen of Scots was crowned in 1543. The scheduled academic programme was as follows:
Saturday 4th October
Dental Implants - Past, Present (and future" - Prof Richard Johns
The National Hospitals for Denture - Prof Robin Basker
Menzies Campbell and his Dental Collection - Dr Paul Geissler
Sunday 5th October
The importance of Books (with exhibits) - Dr Geoffrey Garnett
Why was Hayden Coffin? CR Coffin and Sons, late 19th and early 20th centuries - Dr John Beal
Coffin appliances - Dr Michael Trenouth
The first non-clinical dental specialists - Prof Stanley Gelbier
Officers
Chairman ; Dr Anne Florence gasflo@btinternet.com
Hon. Secretary: Dr Sally Sheard : s.b.sheard@liverpool.ac.uk
Hon. Editor: Dr Andrew Larner : a.larner@thewaltoncentre.nhs.uk
Hon. Treasurer: Dr Anne Florence
Programme Secretary: Dr Peter Drury: PMEDrury@hotmail.com
BSHM representative. Dr Anne Florence
We had a successful year. A 'new adventure' for the Society was to act as hosts to a joint meeting with the Welsh Society of the History of Medicine on the 6th June 2008. All the arrangements were made by Dr Margaret Jones, Honorary Secretary of the Welsh Society. Both Societies provided speakers with the morning devoted to contributions by the visiting team and the locals in the afternoon covering a wide variety of topics.
All meetings are held in the Liverpool Medical Institution , Mount Pleasant, Liverpool at 5.30pm. Tea, coffee and biscuits are available from 5.00pm. Our meetings are included in the events schedule of the Institution which also has other meetings of medical history interest.
| 2008 Meetings | |
| 2nd October | Liverpool Medical History Society Annual General Meeting followed by Dr John Rowlands "Dr John Brandreth of Ormskirk and Liverpool and his family" |
| 12th November | Dr Sanjoy Bhattacharya 'The worldwide eradication of smallpox: global history and integrative challenges' |
| 10th December | Dr Ivan Iniesta "Epilepsy and literature" |
| 2009 Meetings | |
| 11th February | Mr Robert Sells "A history of transplantation" |
| 11th March | Bishop Thomas Williams "Growing up in Liverpool's Scotland Road" |
The bulletin of the Society, Medical Historian, has been published annually since 1988. Speakers are invited to submit a written (referenced) version of their paper of up to 8,000 words for inclusion in the number issued at the end of the session.
The Osler Club of London, The Thomas Cotton Room, Royal College of Physicians, 6, St Andrew's Place, Regent's Park, London, NW1 4LE. www.osler.org.uk
The Club's postal address is c/o The Library, Royal College of Physicians, 11 St Andrews Place, London NW1 4LE.
Report for the British Society for the History of Medicine 2008
The annual programme of the Osler Club of London continues to be full and interesting. The Osler Club of London was founded in 1928 (the year of Lady Osler's death) to encourage the study of the history of medicine, and to keep fresh the memory of Sir William Osler (He was born on July 12th 1849 & died on the December 29th 1919).
The members of the Club, who are either medical or are those engaged in some activity related to medicine, are devoted to the humanistic approach to medicine, as exemplified in the life and works of Sir William Osler.
Membership of the Osler Club is open to medical men and women, medical students, and persons associated with the history of medicine and in allied sciences.
The Thomas Cotton Room of the Osler Club of London is in the main building of the Royal College of Physicians of London.
For our first meeting in the 2007/8 session in November 2007, Ian Kelly spoke on "Sex, scandal and closet syphilitics in Regency London - the rake's progress of Beau Brummell." The talk examined the interplay of wealth, celebrity, sex and fashion in a lively and lavishly illustrated talk. Ian Kelly's biography of Brummell was hailed as 'magisterial.'
For our second meeting in December 2007, Simon Wessely spoke on "The Life and death of Private Harry Farr." Simon Wessely is Professor of Epidemiological and Liaison Psychiatry at the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, and Honorary Consultant Psychiatrist at King's and Maudsley Hospitals. His main current research is around various aspects of military health, including the so called "Gulf War Syndrome", psychological stressors of military life, PTSD, risk communication, risk and benefits of military service, screening and health surveillance within the Armed Forces, social and psychological outcomes of ex service personnel, and historical aspects of war and psychiatry.
In January 2008, Chris Ward spoke on "The nature and impact of the illness of Francisco de Goya." Chris Ward is a retired plastic surgeon, who spoke to the Club on the subject of Spain and the history of art. His paper looked at the aetiology and effects of the illness of Francisco Goya, who was severely ill for several months in mid career and was subsequently profoundly deaf but yet continued his massive and impressive artistic output. Chris discussed the possible aetiologies as well as the character of Goya, and the way his implicit criticism of his times was cast in such a way as to avoid the interests of the Inquisition.
Our February 2008 meeting was on St Valentine's Day and our old Oslerian romantic Neil McIntyre gave a delightful talk entitled "Britain's first medical marriage - the Welsh woman, the Scotsman and the mysterious Elsie"
For our April meeting Professor Bob Arnott spoke on "Osler, Education, Students and History." Bob Arnott is Director of the Centre for the History of Medicine at the University of Birmingham and is a practising archaeologist whose research interests lie in ancient medicine and palaeodisease, particularly those of the prehistoric Aegean and the Late Bronze Age societies of Anatolia. He is responsible for the undergraduate and postgraduate teaching programmes of the Centre, and he also directs the Special Studies Programme in Ancient Medicine for the University of Oxford Medical School. The Centre for the History of Medicine was established on the 1st December 2000, the 175th anniversary of the foundation of the Medical School, to support and promote teaching and research in the History of Medicine and help develop the reputation in this field in one of the UK's major research universities.
For our members' papers evening in May 2007 we had two talks. Harvey White spoke on "A History of the London Clinic - A Celebration of 75 Years." Harvey has written a history of the London Clinic published by the RSM Press. The London Clinic is now 75 years old. For the second talk Evan Stone spoke on John St.John Long. John St.John Long (1798- 1834) was an unqualified practitioner who built up a very big and successful practice in Harley Street in the mid 19th Century, purporting to cure Consumption.
Our last meeting for the session in July 2008 was brought to a fine conclusion when Ian Gilmore PRCP gave our Oslerian Oration on the subject of "The New Physician."
Please visit our web site for our current programme. Our President Prof. John Walker Smith gives his Presidential Address "Osler and Greater Britain: an antipodean perspective" on the 7th May 2009. Our 2009 Oration will be given on the 16th July by Prof. John Pearn with the title of "Differentiating Diseases: The centrum of Differential Diagnosis in the evolution of Oslerian Medicine."
Adrian M K Thomas, Honorary Secretary and President-elect. adrian.thomas@btinternet.com. Monday, 29th September 2008.
Report to the BSHM 2008
Membership had remained fairly steady with some new faces replacing the old.
On 19 October 2007 Dr Pat Murrell gave a memorable talk entitled 'An evening with Venus and a lifetime with Mercury'. This was a real tour de force, exploring sexuality in the eighteenth century. The slides which were used to illustrate the talk were not the sort which one normally sees in published texts, but one has to say that they certainly entertained the largely male audience. Because there had been some disruption in the Cockayne household, Elizabeth was not able to cook, and following the lecture we ate fish and chips from the shop two doors away. We did, however decline the management's offer of deep fried Mars bars as a pudding course and instead consumed some of Pat Murrell's excellent home-made trifles and fruit pies.
Then on 22 February 2008 we had another lecture-supper, the speaker once again being Dr Pat Murrell. This time her theme was 'In desperate need; sanitation in Stuart and Georgian England'. This was another interesting evening and it made one glad to live in the 21st century. On this occasion an outside caterer did some of the cooking, but Elizabeth Cockayne prepared the soup and puddings.
On Friday 6 June 2008, nine members and one guest of the SMHS went on a summer outing to the Army Medical Services Museum at Aldershot. We travelled in a small coach and had lunch in a pub near the museum. This enabled us to arrive at the doors of the establishment at 2 p.m. as arranged. The museum was well set out and interesting and we had a pleasant couple of hours looking round it. We then took the tea kindly provided by the staff before setting out on our long journey home.
The Suffolk Medical History Society continues to financially support the Suffolk Medical Biographies website which can be found at- http://suffolkmedicalbiographies.co.uk . We invite you to have a look at it. It's free.
Ted Cockayne, Secretary, Suffolk Medical History Society
Office of Archives, King Edward Building, Royal Victoria Hospital, Grosvenor Road, Belfast BT12 6BL.
Tel: 028 9024 0503 Ext 3686
USHM are organising the BSHM Conference for Sept.2009
Dr Robert Montgomery, Chairman of the Ulster Society for the History of Medicine, presented the History of Medicine Prizes to the two best students at the Faculty of Medicine Prize giving on the 13th of October '07. The prizes were generously donated by the John Blair Trust.
The Professor Gary Love lecture was held on the 7th February 2008. It was given by Professor William Thompson and was titled "Why a BOA?" It was held in conjunction with The Ulster Medical Society.
The Gary Love lecture for 2009 is on Thursday 2 April at 8.00pm. The subject is "Charles Darwin and the Irish Doctor", the lecturer is Professor Greta Jones, BA (Hons) PhD, Professor of Social & Intellectual History, University of Ulster.
Details of 2008 meetings
Meetings start at 1000hrs on Saturday mornings at the Chichester Medical Education Centre, of St Richards Hospital, Chichester. £5 per session including coffee. Staff and students free. Certificates of attendance for Continuing Professional Development are provided Further details from Prof John Richardson 01243-780786, via e-mail at RichardsonDrJ@aol.com
Saturday 4th October 2008. Two lectures by Dr Henry Connor MB BChir MD FRCP
Saturday 18th October 2008
Saturday 1st November 2008
Saturday 15th November2008. Two lectures by Professor Neil McIntyre
Saturday 29th November 2008
Golden Jubilee Year 1959 - 2009
Golden Jubilee Dinner: Thursday, 2nd April 2009 1845 for 1930 at Apothecaries' Hall
EPONYMOUS LECTURES
Evening lectures and meetings, starting at 6.00pm unless otherwise specified, are held for members of the Faculty, their guests and any other interested parties at Apothecaries' Hall, Black Friars Lane, London EC4V 6EJ, throughout the academic year. Entry to the Eponymous Lectures is open to the public. Lecture fliers with reply slips are available from the Administrative Secretary at the Hall (or click on link in www.apothecaries.org/to download).
They are presented by invited speakers, and lectures at Apothecaries' Hall are preceded by tea at 5.30pm in the Court Room and followed by a subscription supper in the Great Hall.
LECTURE PROGRAMME 2008-09
VISIT TO THE BARBER-SURGEONS' HALL:
Friday, 19th September 2008 at 6.00 p.m.
At the invitation of the Barbers' Company Historical Group to view the Exhibition celebrating
the 700th anniversary of the appointment of their first Master
GEOFFREY FLAVELL LECTURE: Wednesday, 8th October 2008
"The Heart of Leonardo - a modern exploration of his Notes and Drawings"
Mr Francis Wells, MA, FRCS, MS, FEACTS, Consultant Cardiothoracic Surgeon, Papworth Hospital
PHILOSOPHY SYMPOSIUM: Thursday, 20th November 2008
"Is Utilitarianism Good Enough?"
Sponsored by the Institute of Medical Ethics
Speakers
Professor John Harris, FMedSci, BA, DPhil, Sir David Alliance Professor of Bioethics, University of Manchester
Professor Raanan Gillon, FRCP, HonDSc, Emeritus Professor of Medical Ethics, Imperial College London
Dr Julian C Hughes, MA, MB, ChB, MRCPsych, PhD,
Consultant in Old Age Psychiatry and Honorary Senior Lecturer, Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
SYDENHAM LECTURE: Monday, 24th November 2008
"A re-evaluation of King George III's maladies: myths, agendas and madness"
Professor Timothy J Peters, MA, PhD, DSc, FRCP, FRCPath, FRSA,
Honorary Senior Research Fellow Institute of Archaeology and Antiquity, University of Birmingham
JOHN LOCKE LECTURE: Tuesday, 20th January 2009
"An enduring moral dilemma in medicine: truth-telling at the patient's bedside?"
Dr Daniel K Sokol, MA, MSc, MSc, PhD, Lecturer in Medical Ethics and Law, St. George's, University of London;
Honorary Research Fellow, Imperial College, London
OSLER LECTURE: Wednesday, 11th February 2009
"The medical student: Studying a science of uncertainty"
Mr Michael FitzPatrick, BA, DHMSA, Barts & the Royal London Medical School
JOHN KEATS BIENNIAL MEMORIAL LECTURE: Monday, 23rd February 2009
At Guy's Hospital Medical School at 1800
"The Dying Keats: a case for euthanasia?"
Professor Brian Livesley, MD, KStJ, FRCP, DHMSA,
Emeritus Professor in the Care of the Elderly, Imperial College School of Medicine, London
MONCKTON COPEMAN LECTURE: Thursday, 12th March 2009
"The Origins of Public Health"
Professor Peregrine Horden, MA ,
Professor of Medieval History, Royal Holloway, University of London
GIDEON DE LAUNE LECTURE: Tuesday, 28th April 2009
"A time of transition: Thomas Mayleigh ... pharmacist or physician?"
Mr Nicholas Wood, BPharm, FRPharmS, FIPharmM, Master, Society of Apothecaries
JOINT MEETING WITH SOCIETY FOR THE HISTORY OF ALCHEMY AND CHEMISTRY, IN ASSOCIATION
WITH THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF CHEMISTRY HISTORICAL GROUP
Tuesday, 12th May 2009 at 1430
"Pharmacy in History"
Speakers: Dr Robert Bud, BSc, PhD, FRHistS,
Dr Anna Simmons, MChem, PhD, MRSC,
Dr Peter Pormann, MA, DPhil, MPhil (Oxon) MA (Leiden) FRASDr, Tilli Tansey, BSc, PhD, Hon MRCP, FMedSci, Hon FRCP
SIR HANS SLOANE LECTURE: Monday, 3rd August 2009 at 1600
At The Chelsea Physic Garden
(Preceded by the Faculty Annual General Meeting)
"Commerce for Health and Pleasure: Medicine and Botany in the Age of Hans Sloane"
Professor Hal Cook, PhD, FRCP,
Director, Wellcome Trust Centre for the History of Medicine, University College London
COURSES
3 DAY HISTORY OF MEDICINE COURSE 27-29 January 2009
This three day course is aimed at Museum Curators and library and archive staff at medical/healthcare institutions. See course details.
At Apothecaries' Hall, the Wellcome Centre for the History of Medicine, and the Royal Society of Medicine
INTRODUCTORY COURSE IN THE HISTORY OF MEDICINE FOR MEDICAL STUDENTS Wednesday, 15th - Friday, 17th April 2009
At Apothecaries' Hall, the Wellcome Centre for the History of Medicine, and the Royal Society of Medicine
DIPLOMA IN THE HISTORY OF MEDICINE COURSE
The 2008-9 course started on 27th September 2008 and runs on Saturday mornings to 20th June 2009. Examinations in June are followed by a dissertation and test lecture (medical students of King's, Guy's, Thomas's have June/July examinations). A similar course will start in autumn 2009.
Chairman: Dr Michael Johnson - Secretary: Dr John Turney
Treasurer: Mrs June Smith - Membership: Mrs Ruth Wheeler
Editor: Dr Malcolm Parsons
Committee Members: Dr Layinka Swinburne, Mr Bill Mathie.
The membership list stands at 73, but not all have paid up! Attendance at meetings has been rather sparse, and it would be interesting to receive comments from members as to what factors may have contributed to this. The provisional programme for 2009 contains one or two unusual topics for meetings and at least one different venue and timing of a meeting.
There have been three excellent editions of the Newsletter, under the indefatigable editorship (and main authorship) of Malcolm Parsons, to whom we remain grateful for all his efforts. Again, I would encourage members to contribute to the Newsletter. Feed back suggests that the Newsletter is very well received.
We remain grateful to the Thackray Museum for their generous support and particularly to the staff for all their help. The Society remains concerned about the health of Alan Humphries, to whom we wish a speedy recovery.
The meeting programme remains eclectic. Whilst it is invidious to single out individuals from what has been an excellent series of presentations, mention must be made of the new light cast on Lord Moynihan by Richard Smith; Professor Hannah Barker shared her researches into Georgian medical advertising in northern towns; Mike Dixon's talk was as always erudite and amusing and revealed a little-known aspect of Charles Darwin's life, his sojourn at Ilkley to take the water cure and, perhaps, avoid the furore generated by the publication of The Origin of Species.
| February | Thurs 21st | Student Presentations: Anisha Evans: Cholera 1832 Elizabeth Leyland: The History of The Lancet |
| March | Tues 18th | Dr Maliha Sumbul (Bradford): Hand washing to hand hygiene - a look back at history |
| April | Thurs 24th | Ian Rothwell (Leeds): History of Radiotherapy for Cancer |
| May | Tues 20th | Professor Hannah Barker (Manchester); Medical Advertising, Trust and Locality in Georgian England |
| June | Tues 17th | Dr John Turney (Leeds): Death, Disaster and Dialysis: the History of Kidney Failure |
| July | Tues 15th | Richard Smith (Leeds): The Life and Loves of Berkeley Moynihan |
| Sept | Thurs 18th | Dr Mike Dixon (Ilkley): Darwin in Ilkley |
| October | Thurs 23rd | AGM Dr Martin Schweiger (Leeds): Small pox Past and Present Dr Layinka Swinburne (Leeds): Rabies Past and Present |
| Nov | Wed 19th | Professor Martin Curzon: Arctic Medicine and Dentistry |
J.H.TURNEY 23.10.08. email john.turney35@googlemail.com www.leeds.ac.uk/ymdhs
William Martindale and Wynn Westcott. ISBN 978 0 85369 826 5 hardback 144 x 82mm 328pp. Published May 2008 by Pharmaceutical Press price £19.95.
How can one review a book that was first published 125 years ago? The answer is "with great pleasure". This is a facsimile copy of the first 'Martindale' and is a little gem or I should say a little acorn because it has grown into a mighty oak. It has been updated for 35 editions to become Martindale: The Complete Drug Reference, well known to pharmacists and other medical practitioners here and in most countries of the world.
This publication has a concise, very informative Foreword by Paul Weller, the Development Director of the Pharmaceutical Press, which gives a history of the book and profiles of the two authors, William Martindale and W Wynn Westcott. The size is slightly larger than the original due to the use of metric paper size, but the printing is identical. The preface is the original, written by Martindale.
The book was entitled an 'Extra Pharmacopoeia' as it dealt with medicinal substances that were not included in the first British Pharmacopoeia which had been published in 1864.
William Martindale was a pharmacist. He had worked as a hospital pharmacist, a lecturer and a retail pharmacist. For the book, he wrote the monographs and formulated many of the drug preparations, for example a monograph on Fehling's Solution has the adjunct 'modified by the Author'. He had been involved with the formulation of many dosage forms including nitrates for angina using nitroglycerine. There is a fascinating description of how to manufacture the nitroglycerine and how to mix it with oil of theobroma in order to stabilise it and to produce chocolate flavoured tablets. In another monograph he writes about a product that he considers a very good base for ointments called Vaseline. (Petroleum Jelly would become official in the next British Pharmacopoeia in 1885.)
Martindale died in 1902 at the age of 39 having taken Prussic Acid. He and Westcott had produced ten editions of the book.
Dr Wynn Westcott, a coroner in North East London, was responsible for gathering references describing medicinal uses for the drugs listed. One that caught my eye was on the recently discovered coca leaf from The Medical Times and Gazette:
"A party climbing Mont Blanc, each chewing 80 grains of Coca during ten hours, were much relieved from thirst by its use. They drank no water, tea or coffee and but a limited amount of wine, yet Coca enabled them to make the trip with comparative comfort."
Westcott continued to assist with the book until his death in 1925.
This book is a must for anyone interested in the products available for the treatment of disease during the latter part of the 19th century.
This little 'acorn' measured approx 14.5 cm x 8cm, contained 313 pages and weighed 200 grams. The 'oak tree' is the 35th edition, published in 2007, measuring approx 23cm x 30cm, it has 3,335 pages and weighs over 5 kilograms.
Anyone dipping into the book will find items of interest - a good present for anyone involved with any branch of medicine.
Trudy Trimbos-Kemper MD, PhD, MA ISBN 978-90-811820-1-0 pub: 2008 by Laurier, Voorstraat 64, 2201 HX, Noordwijk, The Netherlands.
Available from the author at trudytrimbos@gmail.com price: 14 euros.
The author, herself a gynaecologist at Leiden University Medical Centre, has captured the essence of five doctors portrayed in literature. Two are particularly well-known, Dr Lydgate from George Eliot's Middlemarch and Dr Andrew Mason from AJ Cronin's The Citadel whereas the other three are less often examined.
Dr Trimbos-Kemper gives an interesting introduction to her choices and starts her examination of the doctors role in society, the medical profession itself and the difficulties encountered therein. She does not neglect the authors and explains their backgrounds and attitudes towards the emerging science of medicine.
Her first chapter on 'Dr Slop and the Dawning of Obstetrics' concentrates on the role of Dr Slop in Sterne's Tristram Shandy, published in 1756. Dr Slop oversaw the birth of Tristram at a time when man-midwives were under deep suspicion, obstetrics was not yet a 'specialist' area for men and was therefore heavily criticised and satirised. As she concludes Dr Slop is neither a hero, nor is he a villain, he is merely a fool.
Dr Lydgate in Middlemarch by George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans) published in 1869 has been extensively referred to in most books on medicine and literature. The context into which the author places the book is most interesting as is her realisation of Eliot's own research in the Lancet and her use of 'family' members for authentic details of nineteenth century pathology and anatomy. This gives a totally informed picture of the trials which beset the reforming Dr Lydgate which is often overlooked in verbatim quotations.
The difficulties encountered by women entering the medical profession in The United States of America in 1884 are brought to light by Dr Trimbos-Kemper's use of the story of A Country Doctor by Sarah Orme Jewett. A possibly lesser known work the book traces the struggles of young orphaned Nan and her desire to enter the medical world at a time when female doctors were deeply disapproved of. Again it is the context of medicine in the USA which helps us to understand the prejudices encountered by many women who wished to escape the conventional ties which bound them.
AJ Cronin's The Citadel will be well known to many readers when Dr Andrew Mason faces the injustice and inequalities of the medical profession of the 1930's. Moving to the post-modern world Egg Dancing by Liz Jensen, published in 1995 looks at the theory of genetic engineering and the fertility treatment given by a doctor to his wife with the consequent shattering of classical values. Pushing the fast-forward button it would appear that these events are even happening today.
This book by Dr Trimbos-Kemper is a must for all lovers of literature and medicine and provides a delightful interlude to dip into, a chapter at a time.
Ed. Dendle P. & Touwaide A.
Boydell Press 2008 ISBN: 978-1-84383-363-5 Price £50.00/$95.00
Publishers information and ordering, see entry in
Boydell and Brewer Ltd - medieval history section
This fascinating collection of essays is the result of a conference held in 2003 hosted by the Center for Medieval Studies at the Pennsylvania State University. Drawing from a number of disciplines the authors have expanded their original papers and given a comprehensive view of the place of plants, herbs and vegetables in an historical context in the field of general medieval medicine.
Following the introduction which places the importance of plants in the regimen of medieval medicine further chapters explore the specific influence of differing plants to health and healing by their relationship with the cosmos and the planets, dietary requirements in the kitchen, in manuscripts, in herbals, ethnobotany specifically women's reproductive medicine, in surgery and finally with the recreation of the planting of medieval gardens throughout the western world. Some plants have been singled out for particular mention but it is the extensive use herbs which feature so heavily in all forms of treatment. It is interesting that the range of research includes medicinal plants used in Byzantium, an area which is often given scant attention in this field.
Each chapter is very well researched and annotated with detailed foot notes which give an indication of the enthusiasm and scholarship of the authors. It is a book to be used for research and interest in a particular topic and will afford many hours of pleasure for the reader. On many different levels it opens up a new world of the association of plants to medicine and it therefore comes as no surprise that herbal medicine is so popular today. One is thus inspired to visit the recreated medieval herb gardens in the United States and Europe and indeed to plant a herb garden oneself along the lines of those medieval healers.
By Peter G Homan, Briony Hudson and Raymond C Rowe. ISBN 978 0 85369 728 2, £24.95 or US$45, 192 pages.
Pharmaceutical Press 2007
Peter G Homan is Hon Secretary British Society for the History of Pharmacy,
Briony Hudson is Keeper of the Museum Collections, Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain,
and Raymond C Rowe is Chief Scientist, Intelligensys, Billingham, UK
Ordering:
Details in Pharmaceutical Press online shop
How often has one wished to know the details of some of the most popular branded medicines of the past centuries? In this book the origins of 21 of these medicines have been well researched and extensively illustrated by the authors who had invaluable access to the holdings of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain. From the early 1630's to the 1990's the founders of these well known medicines are described in detail together with the advertising slogans and extravagant claims of the cured patients.
Most interesting for the reader are the formulae of ingredients for the varying compounds. The descriptions of their usage, (Jalap as a laxative) give a unique insight into their possible 'cures' at the time. For instance Beecham's Pills in 1909 contained only aloes, ginger and powdered soap but with clever and creative marketing proved a huge success for a range of diseases. They were only withdrawn from the BNF in 1998. Similarly Holloway's Ointment in 1895 consisted of olive oil, lard, resin, white wax, yellow wax, turpentine and spermaceti, (wax obtained from whales). The ointment and his pills made Thomas Holloway a very rich man and a generous benefactor. Who has not heard of Royal Holloway College, now part of the University of London, but founded by him as a ladies college and opened by Queen Victoria in 1886?
This book is a must for the medical historian and researcher as the snippets of information will prove immensely helpful in the wider context of medical history.
Copyright 2008 British Society for the History of Medicine,
prepared by David Hawgood,
29 Nov 2008.
