A History of Transphobia in the Medical Establishment
At a time when trans people who wanted surgery needed to trust doctors, transphobia made it difficult.
The Wellcome Collection—Perfect Medicine for the Incurably Curious
Pharmacy genius, Henry Solomon Wellcome amassed a lot of knowledge—and amazing tchotchkes too.
The Surgeons Who Said No to Gloves
In the late 1800s, doctors in German-speaking countries were having trouble agreeing on one simple thing: whether to wear gloves during surgery.
Before Vaccines, Variolation Was Seriously Trendy
Lady Mary Wortley Montagu is credited with popularizing variolation among the aristocracy in England.
How Influenza Devastated the Navajo Community in 1918
Like COVID-19, the 1918 influenza pandemic moved swiftly through the Navajo community, but firsthand accounts of the devastation are rare.
The Weird Ways People Have Tied Blood Types to Identity
Scientific racism. Paternity tests. And mass tattooing, just in case of nuclear attack.
How Doctors Make End-of-Life Choices
Many people facing the end of their life receive treatments that ultimately have no benefit. A team of researchers set out to find out why.
Teaching Pandemics Syllabus
Readings on the history of quarantine, contagious disease, viruses, infections, and epidemics offer important context for the current coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
The Study of Human Anatomy and the Corpses of Vienna
For cultural and geographical reasons, the city was a great place to find bodies to dissect. But there was also the matter of one well-connected doctor.
The True Costs of Managing Pandemics
The fear of the next global virus isn't just media indulging in catastrophizing; it's a collective concern for global economic and political health.