A Legacy of Scientific Racism: William Osler's "An Alabama Student".

William Osler's essay "An Alabama Student" made John Young Bassett (1804-1851) a widely admired avatar of idealism in medicine. However, Bassett fiercely attacked the idea that all humans are members of the same species (known as monogenesis) and asserted that Black inferiority was a justification for slavery. Antebellum physician-anthropologists bequeathed a legacy of scientific racism that in subtler forms still runs deep in American society, including in the field of medicine.

National Socialist Medical Literature and the Censorship Practices in the Soviet Occupation Zone and Early East German State.

This study examines how medical discourse and culture were affected by the denazification policies of the Soviet occupation authorities in East Germany. Examining medical textbooks in particular, it reveals how the production and dissemination of medical knowledge was subject to a complex process of negotiation among authors, publishers, and censorship officials. Drawing on primary-source material produced by censorship authorities that has not been rigorously examined to date, it reveals how knowledge production processes were structured by broader ideological and political imperatives. It thus sheds new light on a unique chapter in the history of censorship.

Skin and Disease in Early Modern Medicine: Jan Jessen's De cute, et cutaneis affectibus (1601).

This article examines skin and disease in early modern medicine through the writings of the little-known Bohemian physician Jan Jessen (1566-1621). In 1601, Jessen published De cute, et cutaneis affectibus, a set of twenty-one theses dedicated to the question of whether skin disease existed. In considering Jessen and his relationship to a broader world of writing, this article makes three arguments. First, it suggests that, contrary to existing historiography, the question of skin disease was a common sixteenth-century concern. Second, it posits a professional channel for this concern, which arose from surgery and disease, rather than from anatomy and physiology. Finally, rather than positioning Jessen at the forefront of discovery, I suggest his text functions as a representative case study. It allows us to see material change in medicine within a stable Galenic framework.

Post-Modern Epidemiology: When Methods Meet Matter.

In the last third of the 20th century, etiological epidemiology within academia in high-income countries shifted its primary concern from attempting to tackle the apparent epidemic of noncommunicable diseases to an increasing focus on developing statistical and causal inference methodologies. This move was mutually constitutive with the failure of applied epidemiology to make major progress, with many of the advances in understanding the causes of noncommunicable diseases coming from outside the discipline, while ironically revealing the infectious origins of several major conditions. Conversely, there were many examples of epidemiologic studies promoting ineffective interventions and little evident attempt to account for such failure. Major advances in concrete understanding of disease etiology have been driven by a willingness to learn about and incorporate into epidemiology developments in biology and cognate data science disciplines. If fundamental epidemiologic principles regarding the rooting of disease risk within populations are retained, recent methodological developments combined with increased biological understanding and data sciences capability should herald a fruitful post-Modern Epidemiology world.

Sports, physical activity and headache in the classical age: historical descriptions from the first sports textbook, "De arte gymnastica", by Girolamo Mercuriale.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The relationship between physical activity, sports and headache presents a growing interest, testified by numerous papers recently published. The correlation between headache and sporting activities or physical exercise dates back to the classical age. We aim at promoting the development of more studies focused on the relationship between headache and physical activity. METHODS: We analysed the book "De arte gymnastica", written by Girolamo Mercuriale (Forlì, Italy, 1530-1606), and considered the first "sports medical textbook". We discuss these classical literature findings in the light of the International Classification of Headache Disorders, 3rd edition. RESULTS: The Author's work derives from the systematic revision of Greek, Roman and Arabic literatures about the matter. Despite some references to inveterate headaches or cold-related pains, Mercuriale does not gather specific clinical characterisations of different types of headache. However, interestingly, he reports detailed descriptions of how the same sport, or the same physical activity, could cause or give relief from head pain, depending on the precise way of practising. Mercuriale summarises 18 sports or physical activities that can give relief from headache; conversely, running or heavy activities, such as boxing, appear among the 12 contraindicated sports for people suffering from headache. CONCLUSIONS: "De arte gymnastica", by Girolamo Mercuriale, is the first textbook on sports medicine. Headache if often cited along the treatise: different sports and physical activities, or various ways of practising the same action could produce opposite effects for people suffering from headache.

Osler Centenary Papers: Osler, inscribed.

BACKGROUND: As the centenary of Sir William Osler's death approaches on 29 December 2019, it is worth pausing to reflect on the relationship between the Osler Library of the History of Medicine at McGill University and the image of William Osler, for the two are arguably inextricable. When Osler died he had not yet completed his library, yet his donation to McGill included nearly 8000 volumes that represented the foundations of western medicine. The Osler Library now boasts over 100 000 titles and is recognised globally as a centre for the study of medical history. METHODS: The approach taken here was to examine inscriptions in the books that William Osler bequeathed to the McGill Medical Facultyin order to learn more about William Osler, the man. RESULTS: By examining inscriptions William Osler and others made in his books, it was possible to learn more about how Osler interacted with his friends, his patients, and also his books. CONCLUSION: It is argued that these inscriptions are as instructive as they are enriching. They reveal information about Osler's priorities and his personal and professional relationships; future scholars will likely find it useful to examine inscriptions more broadly, to gain insight into such topics as the book trade and world events.

Osler Centenary Papers: William Osler in medical education.

William Osler combined many excellent characteristics of a clinical educator being a scientific scholar, a motivational speaker and writer and a proficient physician. As we celebrate his life a century on, many of his educational ideals are as pertinent today as they were in those Victorian times. Osler's contributions to modern medicine go beyond his legacy of quotable aphorisms to a doctor, educator and leader whose proponent use of bedside teaching, careful clinical methods, and clinicopathological correlation was a great inspiration for students and junior doctors. He was also a great advocate of patient-centred care-listening to and closely observing his patients, an important message for modern medicine as the reliance on investigations strains modern healthcare systems. This review of Osler's contribution to medical education summarises his development as an educator and provides reflection on his influences to modern clinical education.

"Tesrih-ül Ebdan ve Tercümâni Kibale-i Feylesûfan": the first illustrated anatomy handwritten textbook in Ottoman-Turkish medicine.

INTRODUCTION: Semseddîn-i Itâkî is a key Turkish scientist in the field of anatomy. His book entitled Tesrih-ül Ebdan ve Tercümâni Kibale-i Feylesûfan which was written in the seventeenth century is accepted as the first illustrated anatomy handwritten textbook in Turkish language. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this article, it was examined an original copy of Tesrih-ül Ebdan ve Tercümâni Kibale-i Feylesûfan, which is available at the Süleymaniye Library in Istanbul, Turkey, as well as the transliteration of this book from old Turkish (Ottoman-Turkish) alphabet to contemporary Turkish alphabet by Esin Kâhya. In this book, the anatomical drawings and their descriptions were evaluated. RESULTS: In this ancient handwriting, Itâkî begins with thanking God and then describes the general structure of the organs, bones, nerves, muscles and vessels, supporting with various illustrations. These illustrations are mainly focused on cranial bones, muscles, cranial nerves, spinal nerves, stomach, intestines, urogenital system, bladder, trachea, larynx and bronchi. CONCLUSION: While some of these illustrations are similar to the illustrations of the earlier authors such as Ahmed Ibn Mansur, Andreas Vesalius and Juan Valverde de Amusco, others are peculiar to this book. This book is highly significant for it's being the first Turkish book in the field of anatomy in Ottoman-Turkish medicine and the text's being supplemented by illustrations. This book is also a fundamental source for translation of anatomical terms into Turkish. Our knowledge of anatomy continues to improve thanks to the contributions of leading scientists such as Itâkî and, therefore, he deserves praise.

What is the history of the term "azygos vein" in the anatomical terminology?

The term "azygos vein" is in common use in modern anatomical and cardiovascular textbooks to describe the vein which ascends to the right side of the vertebral column in the region of the posterior mediastinum draining into the superior vena cava. "Azygos" in Greek means "without a pair", explaining the lack of a similar vein on the left side of the vertebral column in the region of the thorax. The term "azygos" vein was utilized firstly by Galen and then was regenerated during Sylvius' dissections and Vesalius' anatomical research, where it received its final concept as an official anatomical term. The purpose of this study is to highlight the origin of the term "azygos vein" to the best of our knowledge for the first time and its evolution from the era of Hippocrates to Realdo Colombo.

Josias Weitbrecht, the founder of syndesmology, and the history of the retinacula of Weitbrecht.

"Syndesmologia siue historia ligamentorum corporis humani", published in 1742 by a German anatomist Josias Weitbrecht (1702-1747), who for a long time lived and worked in St. Petersburg, is the first comprehensive textbook of syndesmology. The accuracy and quality of the accompanying illustrations are fascinating, even after almost 300 years. Weitbrecht was also the first to describe the synovial folds of the hip joint, later named after him as the retinacula of Weitbrecht. This eponym appeared in the first half of the nineteenth century in the studies of femoral neck fractures published in the UK. In the study of syndesmology, Weitbrecht was followed by a number of outstanding authors of that time, such as Meckel, Barkow, Arnold, Henle, Humphry and Fick.

The Texture of Rare and Common Lesions in Soemmerring and Baillie.

The publications on morbid anatomy by Matthew Baillie and Samuel Thomas Soemmerring put pathological preparations and images center stage. A comparison between their works highlights major shifts from exceptional to more representative cases and significant differences in the art of representation. Initially Baillie provided careful descriptions of internal postmortem lesions (1793). Then Soemmerring's prompt German translation added a wealth of references to the literature and specifically to pathological images available in print (1794). Soon after a second unillustrated edition incorporating some of Soemmerring's comments (1797), Baillie issued ten installments with dozens of pathological plates (1799-1803). His plates differed from those referred to by Soemmerring for their broader scope, representing common and rare conditions alike, and specific attention to the fine changes of texture of the affected parts. Their works document the crucial status of pathological preparations and images at the time and highlight the achievement of Baillie's work at an artistic as well as at an intellectual level.

Maligned for mathematics: Sir Thomas Urquhart and his Trissotetras.

Thomas Urquhart (1611-1660), celebrated for his English translation of Rabelais' Gargantua et Pantagruel, has earned some notoriety for his eccentric, putatively incomprehensible early book on trigonometry The Trissotetras (1645). The Trissotetras was too impractical to succeed in its own day as a textbook, since it lacked both trigonometric tables and sample calculations. But its current bad reputation is based on literary authors' amplifications of the verdict prefaced to its 19th century reprinting by one mathematician, William Wallace, who lacked the background to appreciate the book's historical context. Considering that context (including seventeenth century 'copious' prose, and medieval logic and 'art of memory'), the bad reputation is undeserved: the book is mathematically clear, clever (e.g. in superimposing 16 problems into one diagram), and complete. The Trissotetras may thus be viewed as simply one more of Urquhart's polymathic projects and involvements - which included education, rise of the middle class, religious and class conflicts, development of science and mathematics, search for patronage, universal language construction, and development of English prose - which serve to make him a lively and instructive intellectual Everyman for his time.

Julius Sachs (1868): The father of plant physiology.

The year 2018 marks the 150th anniversary of the first publication of Julius von Sachs' (1832-1897) Lehrbuch der Botanik (Textbook of Botany), which provided a comprehensive summary of what was then known about the plant sciences. Three years earlier, in 1865, Sachs produced the equally impressive Handbuch der Experimental-Physiologie der Pflanzen (Handbook of Experimental Plant Physiology), which summarized the state of knowledge in all aspects of the discipline known today as plant physiology. Both of these books provided numerous insights based on Sachs' seminal experiments. By virtue of a reliance on detailed empirical observation and the rigorous application of chemical and physical principles, it is fair to say that the publication of these two monumental works marked the beginning of what can be called "modern-day" plant science. Moreover, Sachs' Lehrbuch der Botanik prefigured the ascendance of plant molecular biology and the systems biology of photoautotrophic organisms. Regrettably, many of the insights of this great scientist have been forgotten by the generations who followed. It is only fitting, therefore, that the anniversary of the publication of the Lehrbuch der Botanik and the career of "the father of plant physiology" should be honored and reviewed, particularly because Sachs established the physiology of green organisms as an integral branch of botany and incorporated a Darwinian perspective into plant biology. Here we highlight key insights, with particular emphasis on Sachs' detailed discussion of sexual reproduction at the cellular level and his endorsement of Darwinian evolution.

Katharsis of the skin: peeling applications and agents of chemical peelings in Greek medical textbooks of Graeco-Roman antiquity.

BACKGROUND: Recipes for peelings date back to medical texts of old Egypt. The oldest medical papyri contain recipes for 'improving beauty of the skin' and 'removing wrinkles' by use of agents such as salt and soda. The Egyptian Queen Cleopatra (69-30 BC) is said to have taken bathes in donkey's milk to improve the beauty of her skin. However, little is known about other agents and peeling applications in later Greek medical textbooks. OBJECTIVE: We will discover new agents and describe ancient peeling applications. First, we will have to identify ancient Greek medical terms for the modern terms 'peeling' and 'chemical peeling'. Second, on the basis of the identified terms, we will perform a systematic full-text search for agents in original sources. Third, we will categorize the results into three peeling applications: (i) cleansing, (ii) aesthetical improvement of the skin and (iii) therapy of dermatological diseases. METHODS: We performed a full systematic keyword search with the identified Greek terms in databases of ancient Greek texts. Our keywords for peeling and chemical peeling are 'smexis' and 'tripsis'. Our keywords for agents of peeling and chemical peeling are 'smégmata', 'rhýmmata', 'kathartiká' and 'trímmata'. RESULTS: Diocles (4th century BC) was the first one who mentioned 'smexis' and 'tripsis' as parts of daily cleansing routine. Criton (2nd century AD) wrote about peeling applications, but any reference to the agents is lost. Antyllus (2nd century AD) composed three lists of peeling applications including their agents. CONCLUSION: Greek medical textbooks of Graeco-Roman antiquity report several peeling applications such as cleansing, brightening, darkening, softening and aesthetical improvement of the skin by use of peeling and chemical peeling, as well as therapy of dermatological diseases. There are 27 ancient agents for what is contemporarily called peeling and chemical peeling. We discovered more specific agents than hitherto known to research.

The views of Wilhelm Griesinger (1817-68) on suicidality or 'self-murder'.

To date, little attention has been paid to the fact that a whole section in Wilhelm Griesinger's textbook is devoted to suicidality. Griesinger perceived suicide as a distinct entity. In his opinion, only one-third of all suicides were committed by people suffering from mental disorders; heredity and brain anomalies could also be involved. Therapeutically, Griesinger recommended removing all potential means for suicide and admitting people at risk to a psychiatric hospital. Since his textbook was a standard work, his views reveal what young doctors could have learned about suicidality in German psychiatry of the second half of the nineteenth century.

Back to the Future - Part 1. The medico-legal autopsy from ancient civilization to the post-genomic era.

Part 1 of the review "Back to the Future" examines the historical evolution of the medico-legal autopsy and microscopy techniques, from Ancient Civilization to the Post-Genomic Era. In the section focusing on "The Past", the study of historical sources concerning the origins and development of the medico-legal autopsy, from the Bronze Age until the Middle Ages, shows how, as early as 2000 BC, the performance of autopsies for medico-legal purposes was a known and widespread practice in some ancient civilizations in Egypt, the Far East and later in Europe. In the section focusing on "The Present", the improvement of autopsy techniques by Friedrich Albert Zenker and Rudolf Virchow and the contemporary development of optical microscopy techniques for forensic purposes during the 19th and 20th centuries are reported, emphasizing, the regulation of medico-legal autopsies in diverse nations around the world and the publication of international guidelines or best practices elaborated by International Scientific Societies. Finally, in "The Future" section, innovative robotized and advanced microscopy systems and techniques, including their possible use in the bio-medicolegal field, are reported, which should lead to the improvement and standardization of the autopsy methodology, thereby achieving a more precise identification of natural and traumatic pathologies.

Cookbooks in U.S. history: How do they reflect food safety from 1896 to 2014?

Historical cookbooks as a source of recipes and food preparation information would be expected to document advancements in food safety related to kitchen equipment, cleaning, foodborne illness knowledge, and consumer education materials. In turn, this food safety information might be expected to contribute to consumers' food safety behaviors. Using both quantitative and qualitative research methodology, this study assessed how food safety information in cookbooks changed and how quickly advancements were incorporated. Faster assimilation into cookbooks was associated with kitchen equipment, educational resources (hotlines and websites), and foodborne illness outbreaks. The rate of incorporation of education materials was moderate. Cleaning advances were the slowest to be incorporated. Modern cookbooks published after the 1980's rapidly evolved with advances in food safety knowledge.

Historical perspective on the "discovery" of the anterolateral ligament of the knee.

There is a lively debate about the existence, origins and discoverer of the anterolateral ligament of the knee. The complex anatomy of the lateral aspect of the knee has made it difficult to differentiate between various structures such as the iliotibial band, capsulo-osseous layer, Kaplan's fibres and the anterolateral capsule. The "discovery" of a new anterolateral structure in 2013 was the culmination of many historical studies. In 1879, Paul Ferdinand Segond described a tibial plateau fracture in which he noted a pearly band reinforcing the joint capsule. Other anatomists had their suspicions about this ligament; it was described by Vallois in 1914 in his thesis and extensively studied by Jost in 1921. References to it can be found in comparative anatomy studies. This historical review serves as a reminder that understanding and treating knee sprains is not something new. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: V.

Edwin G. Boring: The Historian's Path in the Pages of The American Journal of Psychology.

Although he is best known for his classic textbook, A History of Experimental Psychology, Edwin Garrigues Boring published dozens of articles in The American Journal of Psychology and used its various formats to guide the discipline in the early 20th century. This report reviews a small sample of his publications, including obituaries, notes, and experimental articles, and presents them in historical and biographical context. A central objective is to show how Boring shared the values of his structuralist training with the emerging American schools and how time allowed him to reconsider his approach to history and the legacy of his iconic mentor, Edward Bradford Titchener.