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  • Article

Ginger’s role in cures and courtroom battles

Some people will use a dose of ginger to help with hangovers – but it hasn’t always been a friend to the thirsty.

  • Article

How shame makes us sick

The fight-or-flight response can have long-term consequences for our bodies if left unchecked. Lucia Osborne-Crowley investigates how shame and trauma are connected, and how both can lead to chronic ill health.

  • 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.

  • Article

The secret hystery of a womb

A Renaissance image of a caesarean section inspired Anna Blundy to recount the story of a hidden, perhaps mysterious part of her body.

All stories (5)

Images

  • Candlesticks: One figure has an enema; the other has a stomach ache.
  • Candlesticks: One figure has an enema; the other has a stomach ache.
  • Showing the last lunar mansion of Scorpio followed by the first degrees into which the sign was divided (from the top down, right to left). 1. A man with a spear in one hand and an eagle perched on the other; 2. A man with a stomach ache; 3. Depiction of flowing blood; 4. A horse; 5. A man tilling the earth to give water to the land; 6. A man beats his chest with his hand; 7. A man beats his head with his hand;, 8. A man digging in a mountain; 9. A scorpion and a snake from Persian Manuscript 373
  • Ricinus communis L. Euphorbiaceae Castor oil plant. Palma Christi. Distribution: Mediterranean, E Africa, India. The seeds themselves are pretty, brown, bean-like usually with gold filigree markings on them, and the interior of the seed is the source of castor oil. The outer coat of the seed is the source of the poison ricin, famous (infamous) for the umbrella murder of Georgi Markov on Waterloo Bridge in 1978. The KGB are alleged to have killed Georgi Markov, a dissident Bulgarian journalist, with a pellet containing 0.28mgm of ricin fired into his leg using a specially adapted air gun in an umbrella. While his symptoms were those of ricin poisoning, no ricin was ever found in the pellet that was extracted from his leg. Two seeds, chewed and ingested are said to be fatal, but most people vomit and get rid of the toxin. Ducks are resistant to ricin, and need to ingest more than 80 to be fatal! In Peru the leaves are used as a tea for stomach ache, although they contain small amounts of ricin. It is called Palma Christi in early herbals because of the five pointed leaves, which schematically represent a hand. It is a monotypic genus in the spurge family. Photographed in the Medicinal Garden of the Royal College of Physicians, London.
  • Ricinus communis L. Euphorbiaceae Castor oil plant. Palma Christi. Distribution: Mediterranean, E Africa, India. The seeds themselves are pretty, brown, bean-like usually with gold filigree markings on them, and the interior of the seed is the source of castor oil. The outer coat of the seed is the source of the poison ricin, famous (infamous) for the umbrella murder of Georgi Markov on Waterloo Bridge in 1978. The KGB are alleged to have killed Georgi Markov, a dissident Bulgarian journalist, with a pellet containing 0.28mgm of ricin fired into his leg using a specially adapted air gun in an umbrella. While his symptoms were those of ricin poisoning, no ricin was ever found in the pellet that was extracted from his leg. Two seeds, chewed and ingested are said to be fatal, but most people vomit and get rid of the toxin. Ducks are resistant to ricin, and need to ingest more than 80 to be fatal! In Peru the leaves are used as a tea for stomach ache, although they contain small amounts of ricin. It is called Palma Christi in early herbals because of the five pointed leaves, which schematically represent a hand. It is a monotypic genus in the spurge family. Photographed in the Medicinal Garden of the Royal College of Physicians, London.
  • Ricinus communis L. Euphorbiaceae Castor oil plant. Palma Christi. Distribution: Mediterranean, E Africa, India. The seeds themselves are pretty, brown, bean-like usually with gold filigree markings on them, and the interior of the seed is the source of castor oil. The outer coat of the seed is the source of the poison ricin, famous (infamous) for the umbrella murder of Georgi Markov on Waterloo Bridge in 1978. The KGB are alleged to have killed Georgi Markov, a dissident Bulgarian journalist, with a pellet containing 0.28mgm of ricin fired into his leg using a specially adapted air gun in an umbrella. While his symptoms were those of ricin poisoning, no ricin was ever found in the pellet that was extracted from his leg. Two seeds, chewed and ingested are said to be fatal, but most people vomit and get rid of the toxin. Ducks are resistant to ricin, and need to ingest more than 80 to be fatal! In Peru the leaves are used as a tea for stomach ache, although they contain small amounts of ricin. It is called Palma Christi in early herbals because of the five pointed leaves, which schematically represent a hand. It is a monotypic genus in the spurge family. Photographed in the Medicinal Garden of the Royal College of Physicians, London.
  • Ricinus communis L. Euphorbiaceae Castor oil plant. Palma Christi. Distribution: Mediterranean, E Africa, India. The seeds themselves are pretty, brown, bean-like usually with gold filigree markings on them, and the interior of the seed is the source of castor oil. The outer coat of the seed is the source of the poison ricin, famous (infamous) for the umbrella murder of Georgi Markov on Waterloo Bridge in 1978. The KGB are alleged to have killed Georgi Markov, a dissident Bulgarian journalist, with a pellet containing 0.28mgm of ricin fired into his leg using a specially adapted air gun in an umbrella. While his symptoms were those of ricin poisoning, no ricin was ever found in the pellet that was extracted from his leg. Two seeds, chewed and ingested are said to be fatal, but most people vomit and get rid of the toxin. Ducks are resistant to ricin, and need to ingest more than 80 to be fatal! In Peru the leaves are used as a tea for stomach ache, although they contain small amounts of ricin. It is called Palma Christi in early herbals because of the five pointed leaves, which schematically represent a hand. It is a monotypic genus in the spurge family. Photographed in the Medicinal Garden of the Royal College of Physicians, London.
  • Punica granatum L. Lythraceae Pomegranate, granatum malum, balustines. Distribution: E. Mediterranean to Himalayas. The Pomegranate is in the centre of the Arms of the Royal College of Physicians, perhaps for its use in cooling, and therefore for fevers. However it was the sour pomegranate that would have been used as Dioscorides says the sweet ones are unfit for use in agues. Culpeper (1650) makes no mention of the fruit, but says of the flowers ‘... they stop fluxes and the Terms in women.’ In the Complete Herbal and English Physician (1826) he says the fruit ‘... has the same general qualities as other acid fruits.’ Of the flowers he says (among other properties) that ‘A strong infusion of these cures ulcers in the mouth and throat, and fastens loose teeth.’ Gerard (1633) says that the cravings of pregnant women can be abolished with the juice, and perhaps it was scurvy which was being treated effectively when he reports that the juice was very effective against splitting of blood and for loose teeth. The dwarf form of this species, Punica granatum var. nana has fruits no more than 3cm across. Pomegranate bark can only be sold by registered pharmacies in the UK and used to be used as a vermifuge, with the secondary use that the tincture made from it doubled as a permanent ink. In South Africa the fruit rind is used for diarrhoea and stomach ache, and the bark as a vermifuge, but undesirable side effects make this dangerous. It is reported to be effective against fevers, as a diuretic, to lower blood sugar and to be both antibacterial and antiviral (van Wyk, 2000). Photographed in the Medicinal Garden of the Royal College of Physicians, London.
  • Punica granatum L. Lythraceae Pomegranate, granatum malum, balustines. Distribution: E. Mediterranean to Himalayas. The Pomegranate is in the centre of the Arms of the Royal College of Physicians, perhaps for its use in cooling, and therefore for fevers. However it was the sour pomegranate that would have been used as Dioscorides says the sweet ones are unfit for use in agues. Culpeper (1650) makes no mention of the fruit, but says of the flowers ‘... they stop fluxes and the Terms in women.’ In the Complete Herbal and English Physician (1826) says the fruit ‘... has the same general qualities as other acid fruits.’ Of the flowers he says (among other properties) that ‘A strong infusion of these cures ulcers in the mouth and throat, and fastens loose teeth.’ Gerard (1633) says that the cravings of pregnant women can be abolished with the juice, and perhaps it was scurvy which was being treated effectively when he reports that the juice was very effective against splitting of blood and for loose teeth. The dwarf form of this species, Punica granatum var. nana has fruits no more than 3cm across. Pomegranate bark can only be sold by registered pharmacies in the UK and used to be used as a vermifuge, with the secondary use that the tincture made from it doubled as a permanent ink. In South Africa the fruit rind is used for diarrhoea and stomach ache, and the bark as a vermifuge, but undesirable side effects make this dangerous. It is reported to be effective against fevers, as a diuretic, to lower blood sugar and to be both antibacterial and antiviral (van Wyk, 2000). Photographed in the Medicinal Garden of the Royal College of Physicians, London.
  • Punica granatum L. Lythraceae Pomegranate, granatum malum, balustines. Distribution: E. Mediterranean to Himalayas. The Pomegranate is in the centre of the Arms of the Royal College of Physicians, perhaps for its use in cooling, and therefore for fevers. However it was the sour pomegranate that would have been used as Dioscorides says the sweet ones are unfit for use in agues. Culpeper (1650) makes no mention of the fruit, but says of the flowers ‘... they stop fluxes and the Terms in women.’ In the Complete Herbal and English Physician (1826) says the fruit ‘... has the same general qualities as other acid fruits.’ Of the flowers he says (among other properties) that ‘A strong infusion of these cures ulcers in the mouth and throat, and fastens loose teeth.’ Gerard (1633) says that the cravings of pregnant women can be abolished with the juice, and perhaps it was scurvy which was being treated effectively when he reports that the juice was very effective against splitting of blood and for loose teeth. The dwarf form of this species, Punica granatum var. nana with fruits no more than 3cm across. Pomegranate bark can only be sold by registered pharmacies in the UK and used to be used as a vermifuge, with the secondary use that the tincture made from it doubled as a permanent ink. In South Africa the fruit rind is used for diarrhoea and stomach ache, and the bark as a vermifuge, but undesirable side effects make this dangerous. It is reported to be effective against fevers, as a diuretic, to lower blood sugar and to be both antibacterial and antiviral (van Wyk, 2000). Photographed in the Medicinal Garden of the Royal College of Physicians, London.
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