Blood bottles

Abstract

“The life of the flesh is in the blood”, says the Old Testament book of Leviticus. This vital fluid has a long therapeutic history. For centuries drinking it or bathing in it were the most common methods of seeking its healing properties. Transfusing blood waited until the 17th century, when unsuccessful experiments in London and Paris attempted to show its potential but instead revealed its dangers. Dogs seemed to cope with transfused blood from other dogs, but human beings could not tolerate blood from docile sheep or other humans, at least after the experiment was repeated. Objects and the story of medicineAn object is a tangible thing. It can be held in the hand, turned this way and that, and appraised with the eye. It may create a sound or emit an odour. In certain circumstances objects have flavours, although our sense of taste is only needed if the object in question was intended to be ingested—even then care must be excised, as Paracelsus (c 1493–1541) wrote “All things are poison, and nothing is without poison: the dose alone makes a thing not poison”. Full-Text PDF LancetBlood is usually let these days for diagnostic, not therapeutic, purposes; it is taken with a syringe and collected in tubes with differently coloured tops. Blood used to be let with a lancet (“little lance”), and although physicians often observed blood's properties to aid in diagnosing disease, phlebotomy's main purpose was to assist recovery. “Blood”, as Johann Wolfgang von Goethe wrote, “is a special juice”. Full-Text PDF Egyptian cowrie necklacePregnancy is a natural part of the female life course. Modern medicine facilitates an intense scrutiny of the developing fetus: ultrasound imaging allows non-invasive visual assessments and brings much joy to expectant parents. Tests using the mother's blood, fetal blood, and amniotic fluid provide information about potential genetic abnormalities and birth defects. Where they are available, these technologies have supplanted older folk ways of safeguarding the health of mother and child. One of the most enduring is the widespread belief in the protective power of cowrie shells. Full-Text PDF William Harvey's demonstration rodWhat do Napoleon's toothbrush, George Washington's false teeth, and William Harvey's pointer have in common? They are all in museums, not because of their intrinsic value but by virtue of their association with a famous individual. Most historians these days doubt the cogency of Thomas Carlyle's comment that “History is the essence of innumerable biographies”, and of great men at that. Nevertheless, the cult of celebrity means that even ordinary objects acquire special significance when they were once the possession of someone deemed worthy of remembering. Full-Text PDF