History

Just what was English sweating sickness?

English sweating sickness swept through Europe in the sixteenth century. Those planning to catch up on BBC Two’s Wolf Hall should be warned that this blog post contains spoilers.…

Beethoven’s musical electrocardiograms

Could Beethoven have suffered from cardiac arrhythmia? His music suggests he could have.…

Osteoporosis: a disease of the modern world?

A lack of vigorous exercise has caused human bones to become weaker over thousands of years.…

Pointer’s rot: one of the oldest known occupational diseases

Making needles by hand was a risky job because of the likelihood of contracting “Pointer’s rot”, a crippling lung disease caused by inhaling dust from ground metal and grindstone.…

James Parkinson and the shaking palsy

James Parkinson, who discovered the shaking palsy that established Parkinson’s as a recognised medical condition, died 190 years ago on 21 December 1824…

Medicinal uses for slugs and snails and puppy dogs

‘What the apothecary ordered: questionable cures through the ages’, edited by Caroline Rance.…

A battleground between public health and disease

‘Dirty old London: the Victorian fight against filth’, by Lee Jackson.…

Gum disease is worse in modern Britain than Roman Britain

Pam Mason describes a study from the British Dental Journal, which found that 5% of Roman skulls examined showed signs of moderate to severe gum disease, compared with up to 20% of adults with chronic progressive periodontitis today.…

Smoking cessation – the Nazi method

Not renowned for its public health measures, Nazi Germany led the first anti-smoking campaign in modern history and was the most powerful anti-smoking movement in the world during the 1930s and early 1940s.…

James Prescott Joule – brewer and amateur pharmacist

Joule is famous for his research into electricity and thermodynamics. David Walsh describes Joule’s work.…