An extendable 1566 medicine chest, up to a metre long, with 126 bottles & pots for drugs ~ some with their original contents ~ including rhubarb powder, anti-worms ointment, juniper water & mustard oil.
Made for Genoese governor of Aegean island of Chios.
This week, I talk to Dr Jennifer Evans about men’s sexual health in the 17th century—everything from kidney stones and aphrodisiacs to syphilis and genital gangrene.
Yes, genital gangrene.
It’s a wild ride, and it’s streaming now across all major platforms 🎧
now listening to "maladies of empire: how colonialism, slavery, and war transformed medicine" by jim downs.
from the intro:
"slavery, colonialism, and war - often treated separately in scholarly studies - had common features from the vantage point of medical professionals.
these episodes produced large, captive populations. slaveships, plantations, and battlefields created social arrangements and built environments that allowed physicians to observe how disease spread, and prompted them to investigate the social conditions that led to the outbreak of disease.
the increased appearance of these settings around the world between 1756 and 1866 gave way to a proliferation of medical studies that contributed to the emergence of epidemiology."
people say "colonialism is over! slavery is over!" but EVEN IF that were true, we still live in the world created by colonialism and slavery. ignoring this fact won't make it go away.
on a personal note, back when i worked at "PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases" (a scholarly journal for neglected tropical diseases), i learned that one of the main institutions for the study of tropical diseases was the london school of hygiene and tropical medicine. "that sounds like a kinda weird school name", one might think. and to this american's ears it certainly sounded strange... but once you know the history it's not so strange.
the school has that name because for physicians in england, they were dealing with soldiers & sailors who were getting stuff like malaria while out conquering the world. so that's why there's a whole field of "tropical medicine."
i absolutely do not mean to disparage anyone who is affiliated with tropical medicine or LSHTM. i worked with scientists who worked there and i deeply respect their work and commitment. my only point is that it's important to remember that almost all of us are still living in the house that colonialism, empire, and slavery built, and to act accordingly.
Being an academic maverick in early modern Europe included small comments on the good and bad fields of science. Here is the German calendar maker and medical doctor Johan Magirus in his working space in 1661 - with a cupboard full of orderly stacked "Libri Mathe" (maths books), and a set of non-ordered "Libri Medici" (medical books). Take this, #MedicalHistory.
Earlier today I dug through some records of mine to see if my intersex condition was visible on my ultrasound. It IS. I don't know what the situation on posting the image is, so I won't post it unless it IS safe. Oh, and the doctors never caught it, so... #fediquestion # #medicalhistory#medicalerror#ultrasound#intersex