Explore the Old Operating Theatre
The Foundations of Modern Public Health: The ‘Body’ and the Environment in Nineteenth Century London
In the beginning there was paradise: “Life was without evils, hard toil and grievous disease.” But all changed, according to the poet, “thousands of miseries now roam among men that bring evils to the mortals.” (Hesiod 700 BC) Yet by the mid-
Victorian Parlour Fun & Games or What to Do During Lockdown in 2020
The Victorian’s idea of ‘Home Care’ didn’t just involve physical exercise, they also had to come up with inventive ways to pass the time and stay mentally stimulated while at home – with no television or internet! Victorian Parlour Games
The Scourge of the Nineteenth Century: Cholera in England (Part II)
The ‘Land of Death’ in which we dwelt was Newington, hemmed in by Lambeth, Southwark, Walworth, Bermondsey, and other gloomy parishes, through which the pestilence stalked like a destroying angelin the deep shadows of the night and the open noon
The Scourge of the Nineteenth Century: Cholera in England (Part I)
The Scourge of the Nineteenth Century: Cholera in England (Part I) Comes, black as a porpus. The diabolus ipse, Call’d Cholery Morphus; Who with horns, hoofs, and tail, croaks for carrion to feed him, Tho’ being a Devil, no one never has seed
William Lowder: A Male Midwife in 18th-Century England
Midwifery was a developing science in the 18th century. New discoveries were being made in anatomy and physiology; new instruments were developed, and midwifery schools began to open, with courses running in the hospitals and partnerships created with lying in
Ether, Anaesthesia and the Old Operating Theatre
In August 2008, as part of the building works at the museum, samples of sawdust from under the operating theatre were taken by conservator Jonna Holt. Apart from other things, she found ether residue in the area of the head
The Resurrection Men
Anatomy and physiology are most important disciplines to a surgeon. By the middle of the 18th century, dissection of the dead had become central to surgical education, and this meant that one of the most valuable commodities in surgery at
Dr. Thomas Joseph Pettigrew, a.k.a. “Mummy Pettigrew”: A Short Biography
On the 28th October 1791, Thomas Joseph Pettigrew was born in a house on Fleet Street in London. He was the son of a naval surgeon and began his own medical studies at 12 years old and by 16 was
Joseph Constantine Carpue and the Revival of Rhinoplasty
2016 marks the 200th anniversary of the publication of Joseph Constantine Carpue’s book An Account of Two Successful Operations for Restoring a Lost Nose from the Integuments of the Forehead. The 1816 publication was significant because it helped to reintroduce the
Chloroform – Fear, Crime and (Pain) Relief
The fear of the effects of chloroform goes back to the earliest days of its use in the late 1840s. This fear manifested itself in many ways. First, there was the surgeon who feared that the chloroforming would not be
The Truth and Pearl Harbor – Sodium Thiopental
A couple of weeks ago, whilst looking through stores and collections at the museum, the Curatorial Team came across an interesting box inscribed with the name “Sodium Thiopenal”. Knowing about my interest in all things anaesthetic, they asked me to
The Humoral Management of Blood: Cupping, Bloodletting and Staunching PART 3
The ‘Governor’ – The King of Cups In 1853 within the Lancet* St Thomas’ trained surgeon Thomas Wakley (1795-1862) wrote a substantial obituary of Monson Hills Senior (1792-1853) the long serving Cupper to Guy’s Hospital (a drawn portait is seen to the left):
The Humoral Management of Blood: Cupping, Bloodletting and Staunching PART 2
Scarification, Venesection V Leeching The scarificator was introduced to the process of bloodletting in the early nineteenth century and was known as the new ‘mechanical leech’. The small box-like machine held a line of matching blades that could be activated
The Humoral Management of Blood: Cupping, Bloodletting and Staunching PART 1
Blood and heart health is a central aspect of the normal monitoring and maintenance of our body function. Via medical analysis we know that a unit of blood is taken to be approximately one pint; that an average adult male
John Snow, the First English Anaesthetist, Part 7: Chloroform, Death and Explanations
John Snow’s credentials as the first English Anaesthetist have long been established. It was described in a previous blog, how his clinical evaluation and experiments helped establish an understanding of the safe use of ether and chloroform. The use of
John Snow, the First English Anaesthetist, Part 6: John Snow and the Pump Handle
Cholera had originally come from the East, transported by ship around the world. The first notes in a British Medical Journal come from a doctor in India in the year 1817. From then on the spreading of the disease could
John Snow, the First English Anaesthetist, Part 5: Anaesthetist to Queen Victoria
In the 1850s, with John Snow’s contributions to the science behind Anaesthesia, his fame in the London medical circle was growing. He had become a Licentiate of the Royal College of Physicians, the penultimate stage of recognition at the time.
John Snow, the First English Anaesthetist. Part 4: 1847, Ether and Chloroform
Medical life in London, especially for General Practitioners, was tough in the middle of the 19th century. The oversupply of GPs meant that income was low and competition tight. Snow had forged his medical career in this environment after passing his
John Snow, the First English Anaesthetist. Part 3: A medical living and the arrival of ether
John Snow took his medical qualifications in 1838 and started to look into ways of setting out in his chosen career. The first choice was staying at Westminster Hospital, where he had been walking the wards as a student. Just
John Snow, the First English Anaesthetist. Part 2: Medical School Days
There were 21 medical schools in London offering training for dual qualification. This meant that they fulfilled the requirements of both the ‘college’ and ‘hall’ as they were known, or Royal College of Surgeons and Apothecaries’ Hall. Both exams qualified
John Snow, the First English Anaesthetist. Part 1: Beginnings and the Way to London
The life of John Snow was the subject of the 2016 Ether Day talk at the Old Operating Theatre Museum and Herb Garret. But who was the man now best remembered for the Broad Street pump handle and Cholera and