How far would you go to get to the truth, or perhaps more pertinently, to the bottom of things? 

 

William Beaumont was one dedicated scientist. Some might say ethically… ambiguous, but hey, he was born in 1785, so, old school. Later becoming known as the Father of Gastric Physiology, Beaumont did whatever he had to do in order to understand the juicy details of the digestive system.

 

But did he go too far?

 

Although not medically trained in the traditional sense, Beaumont began his career as an apprentice with a doctor. Recognised as a judicious and safe practitioner in the different applications of the medical profession, his dedication to understanding the anatomy of the human body prompted Beaumont to keep a journal describing daily events and the symptoms and treatments of patients.

 

He also kept a very detailed journal of the 10 years of experiments he did on a poor old soul named Alexis Bidagan, otherwise known as St. Martin.

 

St. Martin was a young Canadian man, horrifically shot in the stomach at close range, leaving him half-dead with a gaping hole in his stomach. Luckily for St. Martin (or perhaps unluckily?) Beaumont was the man at the scene.

 

No one thought he’d live more than 36 hours, but St Martin carried on an entire year thanks to a few handy poultices and the attentive care of Beaumont. And then he got better. Kinda…

 

St Martin didn’t really get back to normal. In fact, the hole in his stomach never quite closed up, leaving him with what can only be described as another digestive hole. Or if you’re Beaumont, an incredible opportunity to understand the digestive system.

 

So the terribly “kind” Beaumont took St Martin on as his very own chore boy and thus began the experiments. 10 years of prodding, poking and shoving meats, cabbage and more into a hole that no one should have. 

 

There was nothing Beaumont wouldn’t do… or taste for that matter.. to get to the bottom of the digestive system.

SOURCES:

• Science History Institute: Probing the Mysteries of Human Digestion
• Smithsonian Magazine: This Man’s Gunshot Wound Gave Scientists a Window Into Digestion
• Australian and New Zealand Journal of Surgery: A DEBT TO ALEXIS: THE BEAUMONT-ST MARTIN STORY 
• Wikipedia: William Beaumont
• Encyclopedia of World Biography: William Beaumont Biography
• My North: The Gruesome Medical Breakthrough of Dr. William Beaumont on Mackinac Island
• Guinea Pig Zero: Alexis St. Martin (1794-1880): The Intrepid Guinea Pig of the Great Lakes

PODCASTS MENTIONED:

• Radiolab
• Sawbones
• The Dollop

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.