Great Medical Disasters

Front Cover
House of Stratus, 2001 - Fiction - 158 pages
Man's activities have been tainted by disaster ever since the serpent first approached Eve in the garden. And the world of medicine is no exception. In this outrageous and strangely informative book, Richard Gordon explores some of history's more bizarre medical disasters. He creates a catalogue of mishaps including anthrax bombs on Gruinard Island, destroying mosquitoes in Panama, and Mary the cook who, in 1904, inadvertently spread Typhoid across New York State. As the Bible so rightly says, 'He that sinneth before his maker, let him fall into the hands of the physician.'
 

Contents

Triple KnockOut Disastrous surgical enthusiasm
1
Untreasured Island How to beat Hitler with sheep
4
Transatlantic Disaster The West and Red Indian revenge
10
Ironing Out the Bugs in Panama Colonel Gorgas v the US Army
12
Surgical Souvenirs Litigious Litter
22
The Green Monkeys Revenge in the Rhineland
24
A Touch of Class Waitingroom disaster
26
Boob Boobs A thing of beauty is a joy for lawyers
27
Doctor Death Nemesis on the down express
80
And so to Bed Devilish disaster
86
Luckless Lübeck Vaccine backfires
87
The Decline and Fall of Edward Gibbon Inexpressible embarrassment
91
The SackemUp Men Disaster for Scottish anatomy
93
A Lousy Trick Itching for revenge
99
The Black Death A clerical disaster
100
Everyday Disaster A risk ready reckoner
103

Rude Awakening Frozen assets
29
Typhoid Mary Death on a plate
30
Disastrous Motherhood Tales from the Vienna wards
34
Disastrous Habits Tom Browns schooldays
37
Scurvy Treatment Disastrous diet for gallant gentlemen
39
The Emperors Sore Throat Sir Morell Mackenzie and the Kaiser
42
The Tender Trap Delicate disaster
49
Scutari Miss Nightingale v the British Army
50
The Most Unkindest Cut of All Vasectomy vagaries
54
Bitter Victory Spanish flu
57
St Anthonys Fire Bakehouse disaster
60
Beachy Head Preventive medicine breakthrough
62
The King is Dead Not without help
65
Obstetrical Obsession Maternal mutilation
70
Sandwich Disaster Botulism on Loch Maree
72
Breaking It Off Liberated female disaster
76
Uses of a Dead Pope Disaster on Judgement Day
77
Love Locked In Dubious disaster
106
Suffer the Little Children If politically advantageous
108
Kinky Kinks Corset disaster
111
The Dying Art Hamfisted hangmen
114
Clubland Doctor Disastrous negligence 60 per cent
118
Design for Living Bricks and mortality
119
Terror in the Tucker Australian disaster
121
Cleaner Living Nature adores a vacuum
124
The Reluctant Benefactor Stillbirth at St Marys
127
Rien Ne Va Plus Disastrous French bedside manner
129
The Joy Slightly Impaired of Sex Boswells clap in 1763
130
The Joy Naval Fashion of Sex Disastrous effect of shore leave
138
One in the Eye Celebratory disaster
139
Disastrous Disasters Trop de zèle
141
The Final Diagnosis Still dodgy
143
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About the author (2001)

Gordon Ostlere was born on September 15, 1921 in England. He was a surgeon and anaesthetist at St Bartholomew's Hospital in London. He wrote several technical books under his own name including Anaesthetics for Medical Students, Anaesthetics and the Patient, and Trichlorethylene Anaesthesia. He also wrote novels, screenplays, and accounts of popular history under the pen name Richard Gordon. He became a full-time author in 1952. He books included the Doctor series of novels, The Alarming History of Medicine, and The Alarming History of Sex. He died on August 11, 2017 at the age of 95.

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