Phineas Gage (1823-1860) is one of the earliest documented cases of severe brain injury. Gage is the index case of an individual who suffered major personality changes after brain trauma. As such, he is a legend in the annals of neurology, which is largely based on the study of brain-damaged patients.Gage was foreman of a crew of railroad construction workers who were excavating rocks to make way for the railroad track. This involved drilling holes deep into the boulders and filling them with dynamite. A fuse was then inserted, and the entrance to the hole plugged with sand, so that the force of the explosion would be directed into the boulder. This was done with a crow bar-like tool called a tamping iron.
On 13th September, 1848, 25-year-old Gage and his crew were working on the Rutland and Burlington Railroad near Cavendish in Vermont. Gage was preparing for an explosion by compacting a bore with explosive powder using a tamping iron. While he was doing this, a spark from the tamping iron ignited the powder, causing the iron to be propelled at high speed straight through Gage’s skull. It entered under the left cheek bone and exited through the top of the head, and was later recovered some 30 yards from the site of the accident.
http://neurophilosophy.wordpress.com/2006/12/04/the-incredible-case-of-phineas-gage/
(Source: midnight-gallery)
Via The Midnight Gallery
For those who study medicine and spend 24/7 studying the med books (:
One of two tumors removed from abdomen. Together the two tumors weighed approximately 140 pounds. Before discovering the tumors, doctors assumed that the patient was simply overweight.
A new study tracks a large chunk of the adult population in Denmark and finds no evidence that cell phone use raises cancer risks.
(Source: lidel)
En el XIX, se le llamaba «medicinante» al estudiante de Medicina que se anticipaba a visitar enfermos sin haber finalizado sus estudios. En esta foto de 1840 podemos apreciar la apariencia de un discípulo de Galeno.
A inicios del siglo 19 la tasa de mortalidad era muy alta cuando se realizaba una cirugía.
In the early 1900’s, the mortality rate was very high when performing surgery.
The breakdown of ammonia in the body.
Concise notes. Thanks.
Portal hypertension
Portal hypertension is an increase in the blood pressure within a system of veins called the portal venous system. Normally, the veins come from the stomach, intestine, spleen, and pancreas - then merge into the portal vein, which then branches into smaller vessels and travels through the liver. The most common causes are cirrhosis, hepatitis, alcohol abuse, and blood clots in the portal veins.
If the vessels in the liver are blocked, it is hard for the blood to flow causing high pressure in the portal system. When the pressure becomes too high, the blood backs up and finds other ways to flow back to the heart. The blood can travel to the veins in the esophagus (esophageal varices), in the skin of the abdomen, and the veins of the rectum and anus (hemorroids) to get around the blockages in the liver.
Curioso dispositivo para “corregir” el Genu valgum (1987).
Citado en:
Orthopraxy: the Mechanical Treatment of Deformities, Debilities, and Deficiencies of the Human Frame. Henry Heather Bigg, 1877.
Corrective device for genu valgum.
Genu valgum (also known as knock-knee) is a not-uncommon problem that can either be present at birth or developing between the ages of 2 and 5 (when a child starts walking proficiently). It’s seriously exacerbated by both rickets and obesity, the former of which was fairly common during the Victorian era.
While corrective devices can be very helpful and actually completely correct the condition if implemented early in development, the later the treatment is started, the worse the outcome. Once adulthood rolls around and development of the long bones ceases, no true correction can be achieved. Cosmetic surgery can be performed, but it doesn’t improve movement ability.
(Source: twitter.com)
Via Biomedical Ephemera, or: A Frog for Your Boils
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