Wellcome uses cookies.

Read our policy
Wellcome Collection homepage
All
Stories
Images
Catalogue
Events
501 results
  • Medico-chirurgical transactions.
  • Medico-chirurgical transactions.
  • Medico-chirurgical transactions.
  • Medico-chirurgical transactions.
  • Medico-chirurgical transactions.
  • Medico-chirurgical transactions.
  • Medico-chirurgical transactions.
  • Medico-chirurgical transactions.
  • Catharanthus roseus (L.)G.Don Apocynaceae. Madagascar Periwinkle Distribution: Madagascar. It is the source of vincristine and vinblastine, which impair cell multiplication by interfering with microtubule assembly, causing metaphase arrest and are effective medications for leukaemias, lymphomas and some solid tumours. The mortality from childhood leukaemia fell from 100% to 30% once it was introduced - not a drug that could ethically be tested by double-blind trials. These chemicals were initially discovered by investigators in 1958 who were looking for cures for diabetes so tested this plant which was being used in the West Indies to reduce blood sugar levels. There are 70 different alkaloids present in this plant, and some - catharanthine, leurosine sulphate, lochnerine, tetrahydroalstonine, vindoline and vindolinine - lower blood sugar levels. However, the toxicity of this plant is such that this is not a plant to try at home for diabetic management. The vincristine content of the plant is 0.0003%, so two kilograms of leaf are required to produce sufficient vincristine for a single course of treatment for a child (6gm). Fortunately it is a vigorous weed and easy to grow in the tropics. Artificial synthesis has now been achieved. Photographed in the Medicinal Garden of the Royal College of Physicians, London.
  • Euphorbia milii Des Moul. Euphorbiaceae. Crown of Thorns - so called because of its very spiny stems. Distribution: Madagascar. The latex contains a copper-containing amine oxidase, a lectin, lipase, peroxidase, and a diamine oxidase. In vitro the latex is synergistic with ketoconazole against Candida albicans (thrush). All Euphorbia have a toxic white latex, and in Europe this has been used as a folk remedy to treat warts. It can cause skin allergies and the smoke from burning them is toxic. the genus named for Euphorbus (fl. circa 10 BC – 20 AD), the Greek physician to the Berber King Juba II (c. 50 BC – 23 AD) of Numidia, Euphorbia milii is one of the tropical spurges, with fierce, cactus-like spines, grown as a house plant. The sap of spurges is used in folk medicine for treating warts (not very effective), and, historically, as a purgative - the word spurge being derived from the French word for purgation. The sap (probably dried) was administered inside a fig because it is so corrosive that it would otherwise burn the mouth and oesophagus – a technique used today, rather more subtly, with ‘enteric coated’ medications. The sap contains a potential anti-leukaemic chemical, lasiodoplin, and is also used in drainage ditches to kill the snails which carry the parasitic trematode which causes fasciolaris. It does not kill the fish. Photographed in the Medicinal Garden of the Royal College of Physicians, London.
  • Capsicum annuum 'Masquerade' Distribution: Central and South America. This ‘domesticated species’ originated from Mexico (although the centre of Capsicum evolution was much earlier and from Bolivia) and includes the bland salad peppers and the hot chilli peppers, of which capsaicin (sometimes called capsicain), from the lining of the inside of the chilli, is the main active ingredient. Chilli comes from the Aztec language of the Nahuatl people. It was reputedly introduced to Europe by Columbus in the mid-15th century, but was cultivated in Mexico since 4,000 BCE and used in cooking since 7,200 BCE. After its introduction to Europe, its cultivation very rapidly became world-wide. It appears first as a description (Bock, 1539) with the name teutschem Pfeffer. The first illustration, as Siliquastrum, appears in Historia Stirpes commentarii insignis (Fuchs, 1542). Fuchs did not realise it came from the Americas, as he identified it as a plant described by Pliny, Dioscorides and Avicenna and gave their uses of it. It appear in Dodoen's Cruydeboeck (1551) and Lyte's translation (1557) with the note that it is 'hot and drie in the third degree.' He recommended it for dressing meat, and noted that it 'warmeth the stomach' and was good for a sore throat, scrofula, and topically got rid of spots. Fuch's had reported these properties as being described by Avicenna, but what that plant was is unknown. Lindley (1838) wrote: 'It is employed in medicine, in combination with Cinchona in intermittent and lethargic affections, and also in atonic gout, dyspepsia accompanied by flatulence, tympanitis, paralysis etc. Its most valuable application appears however to be in cynanche maligna [=severe sore throat, with impending suffocation] and scarlatina maligna [=severe scarlet fever], used either as a gargle or administered internally.' However, its principal use medically has been in pain relief, applied locally for pain from muscle injury to post herpetic neuralgia. Capsaicin acts on the pain and heat sensing neurones to make them trigger the sensation of pain at body temperature. Repeated exposure to capsaicin depletes the neurotransmitter substance P that is used to perceive pain, so the relevant nerves no longer transmit the sensation of pain/heat from any cause. It is a banned substance in the equestrian events at the Olympics because of its ability to stop perception of pain. Capsaicin has been shown, experimentally, to kill cancer cells by attacking their mitochondria. Particular interest has concentrated on its ability to reduce the size of tumours of the pancreas and prostate. Various cultivars are used in cooking, and the strength (i.e. how hot they are) is measured in Scoville units. A standard chilli pepper used in England would be around 5,000 Scovilles, the hottest peppers are rated over one million Scoville units. Photographed in the Medicinal Garden of the Royal College of Physicians, London.
  • Public health.
  • Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.
  • An appeal to housewives : demand humanely killed rabbits : don't buy them caught like this / Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
  • An infected hand being raised in salute to a skull, representing the fatal effect of septicaemia. Lithograph after Pat Keely, 1943.
  • A man with an injured back after lifting a crate of heavy metal bolts; with diagrams of the approved and disapproved methods of lifting. Colour lithograph after K-S.
  • A hand injured by a wooden stick which is also a pole bearing Germanic lettering and a swastika, comparing Germany in wartime to germs. Colour lithograph after H.A. Rothholz.
  • The hand of a factory worker clutching his foot because he has knocked it against a heavy cogwheel lying on the ground. Colour lithograph after Arthur G. Mills.
  • An orange sea-horse with a serrated back like a circular saw, against which two medical auxiliaries carry an injured man on a stretcher. Colour lithograph after Pat Keely, 1945.
  • A hornet, and a metal band which has sprung loose from around a crate, comparing the effects of the two. Colour lithograph after G.R. Morris.
  • A frayed steel cable with dangerous, jagged projections. Colour lithograph after Pat Keely, 1945.
  • A careless lathe operator getting his tie caught in the lathe. Colour lithograph after P. Mendoza, 1943.
  • A spanner and an adjustable spanner, as if in conversation, standing against a brick wall covered with a spider's web. Colour lithograph after G.R. Morris, 1945.
  • The face of the Japanese emperor represented as a yellow sun issuing red rays. Colour lithograph after H.A. Rothholz, 1945.
  • An artificial hand holding a sheet of glass. Colour lithograph after G.R. Morris, 1945.
  • A circular saw properly set up and equipped. Colour lithograph after Pat Keely, 1943.
  • A general list of the members of the Royal College of Surgeons in England : members who reside and practise, or who have resided and practised, in or within seven miles of the City of London ... members who do not reside or practise, in or within seven miles of the City of London.
  • Lister, Diploma...Chirurgical Society of London, 1905
  • The Medical Society of London: John Coakley Lettsom presenting to the society the deeds of 3 Bolt Court, City of London. Stipple engraving by N.C. Branwhite, 1801, after S. Medley, 1800.
  • The Boston medical and surgical journal.