Great Medical DisastersMan'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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Common terms and phrases
American anthrax Army arrived Beachy Head Berlin Black Death blood bomb bomblets Boswell bottle Britain British Medical Journal Brontë Burke Burke and Hare Canal cancer cause cent Clemens IX Clinic Colonel cook corpse coughing cure dead died disaster disease doctors Dr Knox dropped Edinburgh Emperor England epidemic ergot Florence Nightingale Frederick French gave German germs girl Gorgas Gruinard Gruinard Island Guillotin hanged Hare Hitler hospital infection John kidney killed King laboratory ladies later Liston live Loch Maree London Mackenzie Mary Mary Mallon meat milk million Minister Miss Nightingale monkeys morning mosquitoes murder night nurse operation Panama patient penicillin penis Penis captivus physicians poisoning post-mortem Professor puerperal fever Queen Richard Gordon Robert Liston Royal College scurvy Spilsbury suffered surgeon surgery throat took treatment typhoid vaccine vasectomy Victoria ward week whisky William Worcestershire sauce yellow fever young