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  • Article

Mistakes and perfect medicine

This week our anonymous GP reflects on how a mistake made in a busy, stressful environment could have had serious consequences.

  • Article

How tuberculosis became a test case for eugenic theory

A 19th-century collaboration that failed to prove how facial features could indicate the diseases people were most likely to suffer from became a significant stepping stone in the new ‘science’ of eugenics.

  • Book extract

Ayurveda: Knowledge for long life

The story of medicine in India is rich and complex. Aarathi Prasad investigates how it came to be this way.

  • Article

Remote diagnosis from wee to the Web

Medical practice might have moved on from when patients posted flasks of their urine for doctors to taste, but telehealth today keeps up the tradition of remote diagnosis – to our possible detriment.

All stories (36)

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  • Un feto - a handwritten case study of an teratological case
  • Un feto - a handwritten case study of an teratological case
  • Un feto - a handwritten case study of an teratological case
  • Un feto - a handwritten case study of an teratological case
  • Ecballium elaterium (L.)A.Rich. Benincaseae Squirting cucumber - when ripe, the seed explodes from its case, squirting some distance. Distribution: Asia, Europe and N. Africa. Contain cucurbitacins which are very bitter, cytotoxic and poisonous. A restricted herbal product, only to be supplied in registered pharmacies or under the supervision of a pharmacist (UK Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA)). Photographed in the Medicinal Garden of the Royal College of Physicians, London.
  • Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi Lamiaceae. Baikal skullcap. Distribution: China. There are several hundred species of Scutellaria, also known as skull caps, so correct identification is important - in particular from Scutellaria lateriflora an American species known as Blue skullcap. The latter is used as an abortifacient and to expel placenta by the Cherokee and for cleaning the throat by the Iroquois (Austin, 2004). Much vaunted as a treatment for rabies with unlikely statistics (1,400 cases cured by one doctor alone). Also as ‘antispasmodic, nervine, [for] chorea, convulsions, tetanus, tremors, delirium tremens, [and as a] diaphoretic and diuretic'. Toxicity symptoms include mental confusion, stupor, headache, vertigo, photophobia, dilated pupils, difficulty in micturition, bradycardia, tremulousness and languor, followed by wakefulness and restlessness (Milspaugh, 1974). Hutchens (1991) reported that it reduces sexual desire and was used for almost every nervous illness. Scutellaria baicalensis contains baicalin, baicalein and wogonin (European Medicines Agency, September 2010). It is used in Traditional Chinese Medicine for treating inflammation, cancer, bacterial and viral infections of the lungs and gut and is one of the '50 Chinese herbs' in the lists of some authors. Scutellaria lateriflora (combined with Verbena officinalis, Passiflora incarnata and the seed of Avena sativa (oats) is licensed for use in Britain as a herbal medicine for temporary relief of mild symptoms of stress such as mild anxiety and to aid sleep, based upon traditional use only. Scutellaria baicalensis is not licensed for use in the UK (UK Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA)). Photographed in the Medicinal Garden of the Royal College of Physicians, London.
  • Hacquetia epipactis DC Apiaceae. Small herbaceous perennial. No common name except Hacquetia Distribution: Europe. Named for the Austrian physician, Balthasar (or Belsazar) Hacquet (1739/40-1815). He studied medicine in Vienna, was a surgeon in the brutal Seven Years War (1756-1763) – a world-wide war in which up to 1,400,000 people died. Later he was professor at the University of Lemberg (1788-1810). He wrote widely on many scientific disciplines including geology. Parkinson (1640) grouped it with Helleborus and Veratrum, calling it 'Epipactis Matthioli, Matthiolus, his bastard black hellebore' but does not give any uses. It has no medicinal properties. Photographed in the Medicinal Garden of the Royal College of Physicians, London.
  • Zantedeschia aethiopica (L)Spreng. Calla lily, Arum lily. Half hardy annual. Distribution: South Africa. The genus name commemorates Giovanni Zantedeschi (1773-1846) an Italian physician and botanist. Born in Molina he studied medicine in Verona and Padua. He corresponded with the German botanist, Kurt Sprengel, who named the genus Zantedeschia in his honour in 1826, separating it from Calla, where, as C. aethiopica, it had been previously described by Linnaeus. He had broad interests, including the effect of different parts of the spectrum of light on plant growth, reporting in 1843, that red, orange and yellow light are heliotropically inactive. The botanic museum in Molina is dedicated to his memory. Aethiopica, merely means 'African'. The leaves are used as a warm poultice for headaches in ‘muthi’ medicine. It has become an invasive weed in parts of Australia. It was introduced, as a greenhouse plant, to Europe in the mid-17th century, where the long lasting flowers are popular in flower arranging and for weddings and funerals – a curious combination (Oakeley, 2012). Photographed in the Medicinal Garden of the Royal College of Physicians, London.
  • An itinerant quack-doctor. Oil painting by an English painter, mid-19th century.
  • An itinerant quack-doctor. Oil painting by an English painter, mid-19th century.
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