A 30 year old woman in 1842 comes down with an awful gastrointestinal illness and a physician is called.  He recounts the case in this article and asks if this might have been something called "Cholera Morbus."  We'll go through the case, talk about causes for this sort of thing, and do our best to guess the diagnosis.  The approach to treating the disease in the 1840's was interesting, if nothing else. 

Did we miss anything?  Have a thought about the case?  Send us a message about it via email or social media.

This case comes to us from the archives of the Provincial Medical Journal and Retrospect of the Medical Sciences. 1842 Dec 3; 5(114): 189–190.

Case Link: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2490115/

Support the show

-----
PHPod Merch Store (CLOSED)
-----
Podcast Linktree (social media links / reviews / ratings)
-----
#medicine #medicalhistory #history #historypodcast

This unusual, recurrent epidemic illness has popped its head in and out of the annals of history.  It goes by many names: the English Sweats, coma somnolentum, Schlafkrankheit ("sleep sickness"), and the Nona, to name a few. 

The last time it was widespread was during the influenza pandemic of 1915-1926, but medical case studies and reports of recurrent epidemcis date back to the 16th century. 

Is it a new viral or bacteral illness?  Or something more complicated? 

We'll do our best to sort it out in this episode of the show.

Sources:
-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Encephalitis_lethargica

-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver_Sacks

-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Awakenings

-Encephalitis lethargica: 100 years after the epidemic: Brain, Volume 140, Issue 8, August 2017, Pages 2246–2251, https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/awx177

-https://academic.oup.com/brain/article/140/8/2246/3970828?login=false

Support the show

-----
PHPod Merch Store (CLOSED)
-----
Podcast Linktree (social media links / reviews / ratings)
-----
#medicine #medicalhistory #history #historypodcast

Let's do a neurologic case featuring  an American music legend who sought help after developing unusual headaches and a distorted sense of smell.  We'll figure out what happened and who it is in this installment!  

Avoid clicking through the references if you wish to keep the mystery intact. 

References

1. https://www.thelancet.com/action/showPdf?pii=S0140-6736%2817%2931623-9 Lancet Letter
2.  Wikipedia Page for the mystery patient.
3. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00415-011-6034-9 Duret biography, Journal of Neurology
4. https://stanfordmedicine25.stanford.edu/blog/archive/2014/The-Babinski-Sign.html The Babinski Sign summary, Stanford Med 

#medicalhistory #medicine #history #podcast #neurosurgery #GeorgeGershwin

Support the show

-----
PHPod Merch Store (CLOSED)
-----
Podcast Linktree (social media links / reviews / ratings)
-----
#medicine #medicalhistory #history #historypodcast

CPR (aka cardiopulmonary resuscitation) is a simple way to save a life.  When a heart stops, the modern teaching is to "get on the chest" and start giving compressions. 

But it may surprise nobody that there were early forms of CPR.  There were whole committees devoted to this topic.  Some of the first ideas were definitely a rough draft.  Others were downright comically bad, though well-meaning.   The history of CPR is almost as sexy as Baywatch made it seem.

References: available HERE on website in our show notes/blog section for the episode.
---------------------
 Mike's Trivia Challenge Contest is still in effect through the end of November.  Keep those submissions coming for your chance to win a T-shirt and "Show Me Your Guts" coloring book from our sponsor, Artery Ink.

For info to participate, details are HERE on our website.   
---------------------

Support the show

-----
PHPod Merch Store (CLOSED)
-----
Podcast Linktree (social media links / reviews / ratings)
-----
#medicine #medicalhistory #history #historypodcast

We decided to throw out a little bit of a bonus episode.  In what we're calling the Curious Case Vault for now, we'll go into the archives of a well-established medical journal and read a real case report from long ago--1841, to be exact.

In this case, with our help as physicians, Alba will puzzle through the case of a 53 year old patient who, unfortunately, developed a sore throat in the 19th century.  We'll go through the case, do our best to figure out what happened, and we'll compare the care and capabilities of an 1840's physician to what we have in the modern time.  We'll talk about a variety of medicine topics using this real historic case as a framework.  If you're a curious sort of person that enjoys a bit of medical knowledge along with your history of medicine type podcast, we're hoping this is for you.

If you enjoyed this experimental side project, please let us know.  If you'd like to see us do more of these type of episodes in addition to our normal show, drop us a line through our website, email, or on our social media pages.  Listener feedback goes a long way in helping us know what our community likes to hear.

Support the show

-----
PHPod Merch Store (CLOSED)
-----
Podcast Linktree (social media links / reviews / ratings)
-----
#medicine #medicalhistory #history #historypodcast

He was dubbed "The 8th Wonder of the World" in the wrestling universe.  The career of Andre the Giant was legendary and interesting on it's own, but on this episode we'll dive into the history of the discovery of gigantism and acromegaly, the condition that gave Andre his astounding stature.  We'll talk about other notable cases in history and how physicians of the 19th century gradually discovered the cause behind this rare condition.

Sources:
https://karger.com/nen/article/103/1/7/220198/The-History-of-Acromegaly
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK538261/
https://www.wwe.com/superstars/andrethegiant
https://books.google.com/books?id=tYPCDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT78#v=onepage&q&f=false (suggestion that Andre may have been told of diagnosis in Japan in 1970’s)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WrestleMania_III
https://www.hbo.com/movies/andre-the-giant
https://www.wrestlinginc.com/1097011/andre-the-giant-and-robin-wrights-relationship-on-the-princess-bride-explained/
https://biographics.org/andre-the-giant-biography-larger-than-life/

-------------
 Mike's Trivia Challenge Contest is still in effect through the end of November.  Keep those submissions coming for your chance to win a T-shirt and "Show Me Your Guts" coloring book from our sponsor, Artery Ink.

For info to participate, details are HERE on our website. 
-------------

Support the show

-----
PHPod Merch Store (CLOSED)
-----
Podcast Linktree (social media links / reviews / ratings)
-----
#medicine #medicalhistory #history #historypodcast

Who do you picture when someone says the word "surgeon?"  There are many common depictions of surgeons in popular media--from TV shows and other avenues of fiction.  What makes up the persona of a surgeon?  In her book, Cold Hard Steel, author Agnes Arnold-Forster draws upon the historical building blocks of the profession to examine our ideas of who the modern surgeon is.  Tune in here for a fascinating discussion!
------
Guess what? Listeners can get the book at a discount price.
Use this ---->LINK and get 30% off if you use the code AAF30 at checkout! 
------
Follow Dr. Agnes Arnold-Forster:
- Instagram @agnesjulietaf
- Threads @agnesjulietaf
------
Mike's Trivia Challenge Contest is still in effect!  Keep those submissions coming for your chance to win a T-shirt and "Show Me Your Guts" coloring book from our sponsor, Artery Ink.

For info to participate, details are HERE on our website.

Support the show

-----
PHPod Merch Store (CLOSED)
-----
Podcast Linktree (social media links / reviews / ratings)
-----
#medicine #medicalhistory #history #historypodcast

Halloween may be approaching, but this is no ghost story.

This episode's unusual case takes us back in time to Paris, 1882.   It is based on a patient known as Mademoiselle X, who was brought in for evaluation by a French neuropsychologist, Dr. Jules Cotard to discover the reasons for her seemingly strange behavior.  What follows in this episode is an exploration of a rare condition in the annals of medical history--something known as Walking Corpse Syndrome (aka Cotard Syndrome).

*******ARTERY INK GIVEAWAY! *********

Artery Ink (our sponsor) will be giving away a t-shirt of our listener's choice as well as a "Show Me Your Guts" artistic and anatomical coloring book to one randomly chosen winner*!  How to enter?  Send us a question for Mike's Trivia Challenge!

Each episode we ask a very difficult medical history trivia question to Dr. Mike to test the boundaries of his innate knowledge.  A source accompanying the question is very helpful but not necessary.  These questions come from our audience &, if Mike gets it wrong, the listener is awarded a fancy medical term named after them--an eponym. 

From Oct 1st through Nov 30th, 2023 every listener sending us a question will be entered into a drawing to win the prize from Artery Ink.  We will pick the winner on Dec 1st & they will be notified via email to claim their goodies.   If you already sent us a question during that time, you've been entered!

Ways to submit a question:
-Go to our website, www.poorhistorianspod.com and use the entry form there.   
-Email to [email protected] (Subject Line: Mike's Trivia)
-Select social media DMs (Hey, give us a follow while you're there!):
     Instagram: @poorhistorianspod
     Threads: @poorhistorianspod
     Facebook: @poorhistorianspod

All questions sent  may be used on the show  in the future!   Good luck!

*One entry per person.  Prize includes free shipping to the  U.S.  International winners will be responsible for paying shipping and handling.

Support the show

-----
PHPod Merch Store (CLOSED)
-----
Podcast Linktree (social media links / reviews / ratings)
-----
#medicine #medicalhistory #history #historypodcast

When you hear the story of how syphilis research was carried out in the United States in the 20th century, you'll probably start to understand why there is a history of mistrust of the medical establishment, especially among the African American community.  This episode details one of the bleakest and most shameful chapters in U.S. medical history, a time when ethics were cast aside at the expense of minority communities.  We'll talk about the Tuskegee Syphilis Study (aka Tuskegee Experiment) as well as the Guatemala syphilis experiments that preceded them.  

Sources:

1. For symptom confirmation: https://www.uptodate.com/contents/syphilis-epidemiology-pathophysiology-and-clinical-manifestations-in-patients-without-hiv?search=syphilis&source=search_result&selectedTitle=3~150&usage_type=default&display_rank=3#H10 UpToDate (paywall)
2. Emily Blunt gets Syphilis: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_English_(TV_series)
3. Medical Microbiology, Chapter 36: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK7716/ 
4. Wikipedia Syphilis: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syphilis
5. Long Article on Syphilis Origin: https://asm.org/Articles/2019/June/Revisiting-the-Great-Imitator,-Part-I-The-Origin-a
6. Republication of the AP study about Tuskeegee: https://apnews.com/article/business-science-health-race-and-ethnicity-syphilis-e9dd07eaa4e74052878a68132cd3803a
7. Bioethics statement on Guatamala Studies: https://bioethicsarchive.georgetown.edu/pcsbi/sites/default/files/Ethically%20Impossible%20(with%20linked%20historical%20documents)%202.7.13.pdf
8. Wikipedia on Guatemala Studies: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guatemala_syphilis_experiments
9. Wikipedia on Tuskeegee: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuskegee_Syphilis_Study
10. John Charles Cutler Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Charles_Cutler

Support the show

-----
PHPod Merch Store (CLOSED)
-----
Podcast Linktree (social media links / reviews / ratings)
-----
#medicine #medicalhistory #history #historypodcast

You've heard the sayings about how hard life was back in the 18th and 19th centuries, but have you ever considered the life of a chimney sweep in London during those times? Far from the cheery character in Mary Poppins, the actual chimney sweeps of the time were children, hired into a very dangerous job.  One surgeon made the association between that occupation and a certain medical condition.  Eventually his work helped change society for the better.  We'll talk about this and so much more in this episode!

Sources: 

-https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1037746/?page=1

-http://www.whonamedit.com/doctor.cfm/1103.html

-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Percivall_Pott

-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Worshipful_Company_of_Barbers

-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chimney_sweeps%27_carcinoma

-https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1008067/figure/F2/ (Chimney Sweep Pic)

-https://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/History-Boy-Chimney-Sweep/

-https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK538331/ (Pott’s Disease)

-https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5531910/ (Pott’s Fracture)

-https://jdc.jefferson.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1008&context=dacosta_modernsurgery (Pott’s gangrene)

-https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK560789/ (Pott’s Puffy Tumor)

Support the show

-----
PHPod Merch Store (CLOSED)
-----
Podcast Linktree (social media links / reviews / ratings)
-----
#medicine #medicalhistory #history #historypodcast