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60 results
  • Veratrum nigrum L. Melanthiaceae Distribution: Europe. Cows do not eat Veratrum species in the meadows, and human poisoning with it caused vomiting and fainting. In the 1850s it was found to reduce the heart's action and slow the pulse (Bentley, 1861, called it an 'arterial sedative'), and in 1859 it was used orally in a woman who was having convulsions due to eclampsia. Dr Paul DeLacy Baker in Alabama treated her with drops of a tincture of V. viride. She recovered. It was used thereafter, as the first choice of treatment, and, when blood pressure monitoring became possible, it was discovered that it worked by reducing the high blood pressure that occurs in eclampsia. By 1947 death rates were reduced from 30% to 5% by its use at the Boston Lying-in Hospital. It works by dilating the arteries in muscles and in the gastrointestinal circulation. A further use of Veratrum species came to light when it was noted that V. californicum - and other species - if eaten by sheep resulted in foetal malformations, in particular only having one eye. The chemical in the plant that was responsible, cyclopamine, was found to act on certain genetic pathways responsible for stem cell division in the regulation of the development of bilateral symmetry in the embryo/foetus. Synthetic analogues have been developed which act on what have come to be called the 'hedgehog signalling pathways' in stem cell division, and these 'Hedgehog inhibitors' are being introduced into medicine for the treatment of various cancers like chondrosarcoma, myelofibrosis, and advanced basal cell carcinoma. The drugs are saridegib, erismodegib and vismodegib. All the early herbals report on its ability to cause vomiting. As a herbal medicine it is Prescription Only, via a registered dentist or physician (UK Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA)). Photographed in the Medicinal Garden of the Royal College of Physicians, London.
  • Veratrum album L. Melanthiaceae Distribution: Europe. Cows do not eat Veratrum species in the meadows, and human poisoning with it caused vomiting and fainting. In the 1850s it was found to reduce the heart's action and slow the pulse (Bentley, 1861, called it an 'arterial sedative'), and in 1859 it was used orally in a woman who was having convulsions due to eclampsia. Dr Paul DeLacy Baker in Alabama treated her with drops of a tincture of V. viride. She recovered. It was used thereafter, as the first choice of treatment, and when blood pressure monitoring became possible, it was discovered that it worked by reducing the high blood pressure that occurs in eclampsia. By 1947 death rates were reduced from 30% to 5% by its use at the Boston Lying in Hospital. It works by dilating the arteries in muscles and in the gastrointestinal circulation. A further use of Veratrum species came to light when it was noted that V. californicum -and other species - if eaten by sheep resulted in foetal malformations, in particular only having one eye. The chemical in the plant that was responsible, cyclopamine, was found to act on certain genetic pathways responsible for stem cell division in the regulation of the development of bilateral symmetry in the embryo/foetus. Synthetic analogues have been developed which act on what have come to be called the 'hedgehog signalling pathways' in stem cell division, and these 'Hedgehog inhibitors' are being introduced into medicine for the treatment of various cancers like chondrosarcoma, myelofibrosis, and advanced basal cell carcinoma. The drugs are saridegib, erismodegib and vismodegib. All the early herbals report on its ability to cause vomiting. As a herbal medicine it is Prescription Only, via a registered dentist or physician (UK Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA)). Photographed in the Medicinal Garden of the Royal College of Physicians, London.
  • A dilapidated hay wain, pulled by emaciated donkeys (Mental and Physical Weakness) is driven by a young man (Torpor) and carries two women in rags (Poverty and Humility) while three women (Fragility, Patience and Servitude) accompany the cart; representing the attributes of human existence. Engraving by Cornelis Cort, 1564, after M. van Heemskerck.
  • Wellington and Peel, in the roles of the body-snatchers Burke and Hare, suffocating John Bull; representing the extinguishing by Wellington and Peel of the constitution of 1688 by Catholic Emancipation. Coloured etching, 1829.
  • Burdett, Peel, O'Connell and Wellington in the roles of the body-snatchers Burke and Hare, suffocating John Bull with a rope; representing the extinguishing by Wellington and Peel of the constitution of 1688 by Catholic Emancipation. Coloured etching by A. Sharpshooter, 1829.
  • Chinese Materia Dietetica, Ming: ' Salt gall' water
  • A large John Bull being held down and force-fed by Peel and Wellington; representing the idea of the Catholic emancipation as a breach of the constitution. Coloured etching by W. Heath, 1829.
  • Acu-moxa aid: landmark measurements, Chinese MS, late Qing
  • Body measurements, front view, Chinese woodcut, 1443
  • Patient suffering under conventional medicine compared with health via Morisonian alternative medicine; represented by trees, one bloated and dying under the varied administration of conventional doctors and the other drained of impurities and healthy. Coloured lithograph.
  • A black woman stands in a field with flowers holding a red ribbon above her head with the sun behind; advertisement by the National Urban League, Inc for those with or affected by AIDS. Colour lithograph by P. Beane.
  • Egyptian carving, dwarf demon Bes, taken in 1989
  • A staunch magistrate surprised by the apparition of a radical demon. Etching by G. Cruikshank, 1835.
  • Egyptian carving, dwarf demon Bes, taken 1989
  • A human anatomical figure. Drawing, Nepalese, ca. 1800 (?).
  • A human anatomical figure. Drawing, Nepalese, ca. 1800 (?).
  • Symbiosis, embroidery on fabric. 2015
  • Humane research donor card scheme / Animal Aid.
  • Egyptian carving, dwarf demon Bes, taken 1989
  • Egyptian carving of dwarf demon Bes, taken 1989
  • Egyptian carving, dwarf demon Bes, taken 1989
  • A gouty patient having his pulse taken by a doctor; representing George IV's opposition to Catholic emancipation, and Wellington's support of it. Coloured etching by T. Jones, 1829.
  • A doctor trying to convince an obese lady that her over-eating problems are psychologically based. Wood engraving by EH, 1894.
  • The female sign incorporating the faces of five women who work in the AIDS field with a list of list of HIV-related conditions common in women by the Maricopa Area Health Education Center. Colour lithograph by Jeff Dorgay and Creative Syndicate.
  • The message in Swedish 'Don't forget. Men'; one of a series of AIDS prevention advertisements by the RFSL, the Swedish Federation for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights. Colour lithograph, ca. 1997.
  • A cobbler sits on a stool in front of a wooden jointed figure which he has created in order to give himself respect. Engraving by J. Neagle after H. Singleton.
  • Red apples representing healty living with a message about how AIDS patients can learn to live with the disease with the help of the assistance of the Diocesan Caritas Association for the Archdiocese of Cologne eV AIDS-Hilfe Unit. Colour lithograph by Hüsch & Hüsch Aachen and Werbung.
  • Humane research fund appeal / Mark Gold.
  • Dr Richard Price kneeling on a large crown (with a demon on his back) to look through a peep-hole at a group of ruffians ransacking Marie Antoinette's bedroom; representing a speech by Price which allegedly advocated the French Revolution. Coloured etching by I. Cruikshank, 1790 (?).
  • A doctor examining a disgruntled patient, John Bull, who is being reassured by his master. Lithograph by Crichton, 1834.