Skip to main content
86 results
  • Three long-faced physicians prepare a clyster for a pallid young woman; representing Thiers and two other ministers attending to France amidst her troubles after 1848. Lithograph by C. Vernier, 1849.
  • A man administers a clyster to a greedy little boy who is laying across his mothers lap, his two siblings watch the scene with amusement. Engraving by J. Ouvrier after J.E. Schenau.
  • A man administers a clyster to a greedy little boy who is laying across his mothers lap, his two siblings watch the scene with amusement. Engraving by J. Ouvrier after J.E. Schenau.
  • A hybrid of a cannon and a clyster is attended by General Georges Mouton and Gabriel Delessert, the chief of police; representing their use of the water-cannon to dispel an uprising. Coloured lithograph.
  • Carnival at Cuzco: a small Indian woman with a clyster pulls at a sheet worn by a man, who is holding an uprooted tree; representing malaria. Wood engraving by T. Hildebrand after E. Riou, 1869.
  • A physician administering a clyster to an embarrassed woman who hides her self and presents her behind through a window, female friends observe the scene. Photograph after a stone bas-relief in Bruges archaeological museum.
  • A satyr on a pedestal kicks out at a magician while a priestess attempts to insert a clyster-pipe; depicting a play called 'The Golden Rump' representing King George II with his wife and Sir Robert Walpole. Engraving, 1737.
  • Jules Grévy takes the pulse of Marshal Macmahon, who lies sick in bed with a priest and another man; they are choking from the fumes of their burning bed; Léon Gambetta emerges from behind the scenes carrying a clyster. Coloured wood engraving, 1879.
  • Four men whose distorted shadows are cast on the wall:a an apothecary casting the shadow of a clyster, a censor casting the shadow of a devil, a hereditary peer casting the shadow of a pig, and a Jesuit casting the shadow of a turkey. Coloured lithograph by J.J. Grandville, 1830.
  • A trio of quack doctors attending to Britannia: the Earl of Bute with an ass's head blindfolds a woman who is vomiting into a bowl held by Louis XV as a baboon: Tobias Smollett takes her pulse;while Henry Fox approaches her with a clyster-pipe; representing the loss of British assets to France in the Treaty of Paris. Etching attributed to Paul Sandby, 1762.
  • Caricature of bloodletting, clysters,...
  • A scared beautiful young woman standing between two physicians holding clysters illustrating a treatment for constipation. Chromolithograph after G. Droz.
  • An army of demons armed with clysters, one of which is a huge cannon, attack a man tied to a tree; suggesting the awful experience of having an enema. Pen drawing.
  • Chamaemelum nobile (L.) All. Asteraceae. English, Roman or garden chamomile Distribution: Europe, Mediterranean. Culpeper (1650): “... assuage swellings, inflammations of the bowels, dissolve wind, are profitable given in clysters or drink, to such as are troubled with colic or [renal] stone.” The leaves are pleasantly fragrant, hence its use as a lawn plant, but also in aromatherapy. A ‘tea’ made from the flowers is apparently used to lighten hair colour. Chamomile contains sesquiterpene lactones, and these are known to possess allergenic properties. Hypersensitivity reactions have been reported in this and other members of the Compositae (Asteraceae) and cross sensitivity reactions may occur (Medicines Control Agency, 2002). Analgesic, and used for cramps and spasms (Quincy, 1718). Chamomile tea is used to help sleep, but may cause uterine contractions so avoid in pregnancy (US National Institutes of Health advice). Photographed in the Medicinal Garden of the Royal College of Physicians, London.
  • A pharmacy. Oil painting by a French painter, ca. 1700 (?).
  • A pharmacy. Oil painting by a French painter, ca. 1700 (?).
  • A pharmacy. Oil painting by a French painter, ca. 1700 (?).
  • A pharmacy. Oil painting by a French painter, ca. 1700 (?).
  • A pharmacy. Oil painting by a French painter, ca. 1700 (?).
  • A pharmacy. Oil painting by a French painter, ca. 1700 (?).
  • The wedding of Lady Lucy Stanhope to Thomas Taylor, a surgeon-apothecary: the bride is given away by her father Earl Stanhope, while Fox and Sheridan officiate. Coloured etching by J. Gillray, 1796.
  • A nurse gives a man an enema. Colour line engraving by C.J.D. Eisen after himself, 1762.
  • A hypochondriac imagining himself being prepared for burial. Lithograph by H. Daumier, 1833.
  • A hypochondriac imagining himself being prepared for burial. Lithograph by H. Daumier, 1833.
  • A hypochondriac imagining himself being prepared for burial. Lithograph by H. Daumier, 1833.
  • An old, rich couple enjoy the latest fad in baton-powered enemas. Coloured engraving by G. de Cari (?).
  • An old, rich couple enjoy the latest fad in baton-powered enemas. Coloured engraving by G. de Cari (?).
  • A barber-surgeon attending to a man's forehead. Oil painting.
  • A barber-surgeon attending to a man's forehead. Oil painting.
  • A barber-surgeon attending to a man's forehead. Oil painting.