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  • Article

Female masturbation and the perils of pleasure

Dr Kate Lister exposes the brutal 19th-century ‘cures’ for women who indulged in masturbation.

  • Article

The rise and fall of a medical mesmerist

Uncover the fascinating story of the doctor who popularised hypnotism as a medical technique, and could name Dickens among his famous friends.

  • Article

Deadly doses and the hardest of hard drugs

The invention of the modern hypodermic syringe meant we could get high – or accidentally die – faster than before. Find out how this medical breakthrough was adapted for deadly uses.

  • Article

The extraordinary body of Evatima Tardo

Darling of 19th-century American freak shows, Evatima Tardo remained serene as she withstood crucifixion and the bites of poisonous snakes. But she took the secret behind her abilities to her grave.

All stories (10)

Images

  • College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York. Coloured wood engraving.
  • 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.
  • Mary Putnam Jacobi, M.D., a pathfinder in medicine : with selections from her writings and a complete bibliography / edited by the Women's Medical Association of New York City.
  • A long list of different types of people from 'uncle' to bisexual' surrounding the vertical words 'AIDS' and below, 'does not discriminate'; advertisement for the AIDS hotline by the SUNY Purchase College in New York. Colour lithograph by BRIana G. Weiner.
  • On a new method of managing fractures : from the address in surgery, delivered at the Twentieth Anniversary Meeting of the Provincial Medical and Surgical Association, held at Oxford, on Wednesday and Thursday, July 21st and 22nd, 1852 / by James Torry Hester, fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons, surgeon to the Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford.
  • Eschscholzia californica Cham. Papaveraceae. Californian poppy. Named for German botanist and physician, Johan Friedrich von Eschscholtz (1793-1831). Distribution: North America. Official state flower of California. Contains berberine, considered a potential source for many new medicines, and numerous alkaloids some of which may have mild anxiolytic activity. Photographed in the Medicinal Garden of the Royal College of Physicians, London.
  • Loimologia: or, An historical account of the plague in London in 1665: : with precautionary directions against the like contagion. / By Nath. Hodges, M. D. and Fellow of the College of Physicians, who resided in the city all that time. To which is added, An essay on the different causes of pestilential diseases, and how they become contagious: with remarks on the infection now in France, and the most probable means to prevent its spreading here. By John Quincy, M. D.
  • Conference : recent developments in prevention and therapy through Maharishi ayur-veda towards a disease-free society : new approaches to the prevention and treatment of heart disease, chronic disorders, cancer, AIDS : Royal College of Physicians, London, Monday 17 October 1988 / World Medical Association for Perfect Health - Great Britain.
  • Conference : recent developments in prevention and therapy through Maharishi ayur-veda towards a disease-free society : new approaches to the prevention and treatment of heart disease, chronic disorders, cancer, AIDS : Royal College of Physicians, London, Monday 17 October 1988 / World Medical Association for Perfect Health - Great Britain.
  • Conference : recent developments in prevention and therapy through Maharishi ayur-veda towards a disease-free society : new approaches to the prevention and treatment of heart disease, chronic disorders, cancer, AIDS : Royal College of Physicians, London, Monday 17 October 1988 / World Medical Association for Perfect Health - Great Britain.
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