Famous Physician Research Articles

Avicenna (IbnSina) aspect of Ileus

Dear Editor, Ileusis derived from the Greek word 'eileos,' which means twisting, a prevalent and non- prophylactic consequence in major abdominal operations (Jonson W it occurs post-operatively, ileus (PI) is a delay in the return of a normal bowel movement, which typically lasts 3-5 days dependent on the location, 0 to 24 hours in the small intestine, 24 to 48 hours in the stomach, and 48 to 72 hours in the colon respectively (Ianey2004)(RychterC and creation of wind in the intestine may be accumulated inside muscular tissues, which will be followed by pain and intestinal atony and paralysis (IbnSina 2005 p.262). With deference to the above statements previously discussed, this hypothesis purposes that one of the causes for postoperative ileus is wind. Therefore, those drugs, which remove the produced dense wind in the digestive system, may contribute to the return of intestinal movement (peristalsis) in the post-surgical patient more quickly following the operation. Additionally, this theory could possibly be used and studied as a new method for prophylactic purpose and treatment of the patient’s postoperative ileus (PI) state. We would like to continue further discussions on the aspects of Persian traditional medicinal treatment of ileus in future articles. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/ijls.v9i5.12709

You Are as Old as Your Arteries ‐ And Microvessels

Nearly four centuries ago the famous English physician Thomas Sydenham (1624‐1689) commented that “a man is as old as his arteries.” Cardiovascular diseases are the indeed most common cause of death among the elderly patients in the Western world. It is becoming evident that aging results in well‐defined phenotypic changes, which render the cardiovascular system prone to disease even in the absence of traditional risk factors. The consequences of vascular aging range from myocardial infarction through erectile dysfunction to stroke. In addition to its deleterious effects on large arteries aging also results in functional and phenotypic alterations at the level of the microcirculation. There is increasing evidence that age‐related microvascular impairment plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of vascular cognitive impairment (VCI). The potential roles of microvascular mechanisms involved in VCI, including microvascular rarefaction and disruption of the blood‐brain barrier will be discussed. Also, moment‐to‐moment adjustment of cerebral blood flow via neurovascular coupling is essential for the maintenance of normal neuronal function. Increased oxidative stress that occurs with aging was shown to impair neurovascular coupling, which likely contributes to a significant age‐related decline in higher cortical function, increasing the risk for VCI. There are suggestions in the literature and new data will be presented that in aged laboratory rodents neurovascular coupling and endothelium‐dependent cerebromicrovascular dilation can be rescued, which represents a potential therapeutic target for the promotion of healthy brain aging.

The First Neurologist in Korea: Dr. Succ-Jo Suh.

Dr. Succ-Jo Suh (1921-1999) graduated in 1946 from the School of Medicine, Kyoto Prefectural University in Japan. Afterward, he returned to Korea and began his career as a medical doctor at the Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, Seoul National University. Due to his enthusiastic spirit for state-of-the-art medicine, however, he flew to the United States and completed an internship at St. Barnabas Hospital in New Jersey in 1949, a residency program in Thoracic Surgery of the Rockford Niagara Sanatorium in New York in 1950, a residency program in Internal Medicine of the New Jersey City Medical Center in 1952, and finally, a residency program in Neurological Medicine at the Bellevue Hospital of Cornell University in New York in 1953, making him the first Korean neurologist. After his residency training, he began working as an instructor in the Neurology Department of Cornell University in 1954. In January 1955, at the age of 34, he was appointed as an assistant professor in the Department of Internal Medicine, Severance Union Medical College. Two years later, Dr. Myung Sun Kim, the Dean of Severance Union Medical College, bestowed a position of full professorship and head of the Department of Internal Medicine on Dr. Suh in recognition of his excellent education and practice in patient care (Fig. 1A).1 Dr. Suh organized a clinico-pathological conference for the first time in Korea, where many doctors and professors attended with much interest. During his time at Severance Hospital, he published nine original papers, seven review articles, and four case reports with coworkers (Fig. 1B). These works equal more than one third of all his publications. He then moved to Catholic University, where I met him as a student. Since then, I remained a close aide to him until he passed away on December 19, 1999. Therefore, it is my greatest honor and privilege to memorialize him here. The excellence of his research was continually proven at Catholic University from 1960 to 1964. During his time at Severance Hospital and Catholic University, he published most of his clinical studies on neurologic and endocrinologic diseases, especially on cerebral vascular accidents,2 Bell's palsy,3 cerebellar artery occlusion,4 physical therapy of hemiplegia,5 goiter,6 and diabetes.7 The excellence of the publications was reflected by the large number of study subjects included therein: 177 thyroid disease cases out of 133359 study subjects, 200 Bell's palsy patients out of 209084 subjects, and 183 diabetics out of 216656 individuals. These numbers were extremely hard to achieve in the early 1960s. In addition, under circumstances in which even basic laboratory facilities were not available, he undertook the uphill task of pioneering experimental studies using experimental animals.8 He proposed and strongly advocated for an independent academic society of neuroscience and a specialized training system for medical neurologists in the early 1960s. On February 25, 1971, he founded the Korean Neurological Society, where he served as the founding president. At a conference in the autumn of 1962, he introduced the Korean medical term Nyoejoljeung, meaning brain stroke, for the first time in Korea. Fig. 1 Pictures of Dr. Succ-Jo Suh (A) and colleagues (B) from graduation album in 1960, College of Medicine, Yonsei University. While studying in the US, Dr. Suh had dreamt of establishing hospitals in Korea equivalent to the Mayo Clinic in the United States. The initial realization thereof was the establishment of the Soonchunhyang Hospital in 1974 as the first medical foundation in Korea,9 where he served as a director in the Department of Internal Medicine. He later founded the Soonchunhyang Medical College in 1978. In 1980, he was inaugurated as the second Chairman of the Board of Trustees at the Educational Foundation of Dong-eun Academy Institute and was committed to the establishment of a distinguished university for about 20 years until he passed away in December 1999. Even while administering the hospital, he spared no efforts to continue his studies and practice and was recognized as the most famous physician in those days. He was awarded the Dongbaek National Medal of the Republic of Korea in 1981 for his profound service in the fields of medical education and national health promotion. He always emphasized the importance of for human beings and for humanity, which have become the mission of Soonchunhyang University. In his medical practice, he emphasized humility and respect for patients by saying, It is not a doctor but Heaven that cures diseases. Doctors only serve as an aide to fulfill the good will of God. This spirit is upheld by all members of Soonchunhyang University, Seoul, Bucheon, Cheonan, and Gumi Hospitals.

John P. McGovern: A Lifetime in Stories by Bryant Boutwell (review)

Reviewed by: John P. McGovern: A Lifetime in Stories by Bryant Boutwell Megan Seaholm John P. McGovern: A Lifetime in Stories. By Bryant Boutwell. (College Station: Texas A&M University Press. 2014. Pp. 262. Photographs, notes, bibliography, index.) At first glance, this book by Bryant Boutwell seems to be a hagiography of a remarkable man—physician/scientist, consummate professional, philanthropist, and one who made the Texas Medical Center into a magnificent and unparalleled collection of therapeutic, educational, and scientific institutions. Indeed, seventeen pages of appendices are required to list John P. McGovern’s awards, editorial appointments, and professorships, as well as facilities and endowed programs named for him. But Boutwell has done much more. [End Page 336] Boutwell, a doctor of public health, teaches medical communications, history, ethics, and humanities at the University of Texas (UT) Medical School at Houston and has held leadership positions at the UT School of Public Health and at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. Before writing this biography of McGovern, he wrote Conversation with a Medical School: The University of Texas-Houston Medical School, 1970–2000. Boutwell writes of McGovern’s early and prodigious accomplishments—stellar medical student at Duke University, impressive resident at Yale University as well as in London and Paris, military service in a veteran’s hospital (1946–1948) and physician/scientist in the relatively new field of pediatric allergy. McGovern was just twenty-eight when he joined the faculty at George Washington University. He was teaching at Tulane’s School of Medicine when “[Lee] Clark’s pink palace of healing . . . captured the attention and imagination of Jack McGovern” (127). McGovern moved to Houston in 1956, assumed a thriving practice in pediatric allergy, created Baylor’s first allergy and immunology residency and fellowship program, taught in the UT Houston Postgraduate School of Medicine, began investing some of his money, and became a major philanthropic force for Houston and the Texas Medical Center. McGovern was, Boutwell explains, “the triple hitter in medicine . . . physician, teacher, and researcher” (104). Boutwell provides a veritable genealogy of famous physicians, milestones in the development of medical education, and a short history of the Texas Medical Center. For example, he tells the story of Johns Hopkins Medical School, opened in 1893 and representing “a new era in American medical schools . . . along the lines of the great German model that [William] Osler and other leaders in American medicine admired” (45). This is pertinent to McGovern because Wilburt Davison, early mentor and life-long friend, studied medicine at Hopkins when Osler and other luminaries in American medicine taught there. Boutwell provides similar informative digressions regarding Duke, Columbia, and Tulane Universities; M.D. Anderson Cancer Center; the Hôpital des Enfants-Malades in Paris; and McGovern’s associates. Senior scholars in the history of medicine will not find any new arguments about medical education, the development of the specialty of allergy and immunologic disease, or what makes a great physician, but general readers will gain a splendid introduction into the history of medical education in the United States, the significance of “Oslerian Medicine,” the development of the Texas Medical Center, and the life and career of McGovern. Megan Seaholm The University of Texas at Austin Copyright © 2014 The Texas State Historical Association

Acerca del Juramento Hipocrático

Los orígenes de la medicina occidental se ubican en la isla de Cos, pequeño territorio griego vecino al Asia Menor. En ella se desarrolló una medicina que descartó toda influencia divina en la explicación de las enfermedades y mas bien buscó sus causas en desarreglos naturales. Sus conceptos se desarrollaron en diferentes obras escritas en los siglos V y IV antes de Cristo; estas obras ejercieron considerable influencia en Grecia y en todo el mundo antiguo. El médico más famoso de esta escuela fue Hipócrates, que nació en la mencionada isla en el año 460 AC, pero de quien hay poca información segura, mucha de la cual está basada en una biografía escrita por Sorano. médico griego que vivió en la segunda centuria después de Cristo. Que Hipócrates vivió no hay duda, pues es directamente aludido por Platón en sus Diálogos Protág oras y Fedro y por Aristóteles en su Política.

Giacomo Puccini (1858–1924): Crazy about Music and More

Giacomo Puccini was born in Lucca on December 22, 1858, the sixth of nine children of Michele Puccini and Albina Magi, and the last member of an 18th century pedigree of musicians. Heir of Giuseppe Verdi's melodramatic tradition, Puccini had enormous success on the European and American scenes. He was a passionate hunter but also liked cars, cigarettes, cigars, motorboats and buying and restoring houses. A car crash in 1903 resulted in a poorly healing tibial injury; he was subsequently diagnosed with diabetes and started taking saccharin but in 1923 initiated insulin therapy at empiric dosages. After accidentally swallowing a goose bone in 1923, he began to suffer from recurrent laryngitis, earaches, swallowing pain, dysphonia and swelling of the neck so severe that he could not close his shirt collar. Like after the car crash, famous physicians were consulted. On November 3, 1924, a collegial consultation in Florence among professors Torrigiani, Toti and Gradenigo referred him to doctor Louis Ledoux in ...

Hacı Paşa’nın Şifâü’l Eskâm ve Devâü’l-Âlâm adlı eserindeki şurup formülleri

Bilinen en eski meslekler arasında yer alan eczacılık mesleğine ait bilgilere pek çok tıp tarihi eserinde rastlamak mümkündür. Önemli bir tarihi geçmişe sahip olan Anadolu’da da tıp ve eczacılık konusunda değerli eserler yazılmıştır. Eski Anadolu Türkçesi döneminde, çeşitli bilim dallarında yazılmış tıp yazmaları arasında Şifâü’l Eskâm ve Devâü’l-Âlâm önemli bir yer tutmaktadır. Eser, 14. yüzyılın ikinci yarısında ve 15.yüzyılın başlarında yaşamış, çağının ünlü hekimlerinde Hacı Paşa adıyla bilinen Celâlüddin Hızır tarafından yazılmıştır. Adının anlamı “hastalıkların şifası ve ağrıların tedavisi hakkında kitap” olan eserin ilk iki bölümü teorik ve pratik bilgilerden oluşmaktadır. Üçüncü ve dördüncü bölümlerde ise hastalıklardan ve tedavilerinden bahsedilmektedir

Zoonotic Diseases and One Health Approach

One Health is not a new concept. Hippocrates, the famous ancient Greek physician, wrote “Airs, Waters, and Places” promoting the concept of health through a clean environment. Rudolf Virchow, the German physician considered the father of pathology, coined the term, “zoonosis.” He stated, “Between animal and human medicine there are no dividing linesnor should there be.”This recognition that human and animal health are linked is as important now as ever

Health-related development aid: what comes after it?

The famous physician and theologian Dr. Albert Schweitzer (1875–1965) has been the hero and model for generations of medical missionaries and development workers. This talented man dedicated his entire life to the health of the people of Lambarene and its catchment area. He had a natural gift for leadership and a tremendous capacity for financial management. Health economics and scientific management were almost irrelevant during his time and for a lot of his successors. However, the world has changed and health care in resource-poor countries has become highly complex so that health economics in developing countries builds the foundation of effective and efficient humanitarian and development aid. Consequently, donor agencies have employed health economists and health care managers in order to determine the most efficient allocation of scarce development resources. The final objective is still the same: health for the poor and vulnerable of this world. But the methods have changed significantly, i.e., there has been a paradigm shift between the era of Albert Schweitzer and his ‘‘followers’’ and the era of professionally managed healthrelated development aid today. Nevertheless, it may be that we are facing a similar paradigm shift as so-called ‘‘developing countries’’ economically improve and the disease pattern changes dramatically. One has to ask what will happen to the thousands of professionals working in the field of health economics in development aid and the hundreds of organisations dedicated to this work if, one day, there will be no more need for healthrelated development assistance at all. This editorial elaborates on the history of health-related development aid, looks at the current challenges and points at potential developments that might challenge our complete understanding of health care in resource-poor countries.

Writing patients’ histories

On Christmas Day 1801 Dorothy Wordsworth wrote in her journal, ‘A very bad day … I went to bed after dinner’. Things had not improved on Boxing Day: ‘My head ached and I lay long in bed and took my breakfast there’. She recorded further headaches on 4 days in February 1802 and 6 days in March, including one spell of four continuous days. Her brother William, at that time engaged in writing many of the poems that would seal his place in the pantheon of English literature, was also afflicted: on New Year’s Eve 1801, Dorothy wrote, ‘William had slept very ill—he was tired and had a bad headache’. And again in February, ‘William [had] a bad headache; he made up a bed on the floor but could not sleep …’ (De Selincourt, 1935). ![][1] It is clear from Dorothy Wordsworth’s journals and letters that she suffered from recurrent headaches for much of her adult life. The earliest reference that I have come across was in letter written in 1787 at the age of 16; the last in 1829 at the age of 58, shortly before she experienced a serious illness while visiting friends in Halifax. The Grasmere journals, written between 1800 and 1803, are full of Dorothy’s headaches and bowel complaints, and there can be little doubt that her problem was migraine. She employed various means to deal with them—usually resting or sleeping, occasionally going for a walk and rarely taking laudanum. In February 1804, after a particularly severe attack, she wrote to her friend Catherine Clarkson, imploring her to ask the famous Bristol physician Thomas Beddoes what she should do: ‘I began with sickness, violent head-ache, yellow and pale looks … all times when I am not in uncommon strength (as I was before the last attack) … [1]: /embed/graphic-1.gif

͗<i>Iggeret ha-musar</i>: estudio preliminar, edición y traducción de un pseudo-Aristóteles hebreo

In this article we offer a preliminary approach to Iggeret ha-Musar along with a critical edition based on sixteen manuscripts and a Spanish translation of this text attributed to Yehudah al-Ḥarizi (12 th -13 th c.). This Hebrew version, surprisingly widespread in Jewish circles, brings together ethical reflections from the famous Egyptian physician Alī Ibn Riḍwān (10 th c.) and a supposed letter from Aristotle which is at the core of this work. This heterogeneous text, preserved in at least thirty-six manuscripts, contains an interesting amalgam of materials intended to provide a code of conduct based on universal principles.

The Emerging Specialty of Orofacial Pain

The Emerging Specialty of Orofacial Pain

"의문보감(醫門寶鑑)"의 편찬과 주명신의 행적에 대한 연구

Objective : Euimunbogam(醫門寶鑑) is a synthetic medical book based on Dongeuibogam(東醫寶鑑), which was written by Myoung-Shin Zhu(周命新) in middle of Joseon era. And the book was published by Myoung-Seok Lee(李命錫) in 1918. This book has generally known as it's written in 1724 so far. But the life of Myoug-Shin Zhu is not well-known, and the year when Euimunbogam was compiled should be reconsidered. Method : We will find the historical records of Myoug-Shin Zhu through the close study of Joseon literatures. Result : Seungjeongwonilgi(承政院日記), Ilsungrock(日省錄), Taeuiwonseonsaengan(太醫院先生案), Yeolha diary(熱河日記), Yeonamgip(燕巖集), Euimunbogam show that Myoug-Shin Zhu was born in 1729 and he died in 1798. He worked as Ju-Bu(主簿) in HyeMinseo(惠民署) and Euiyakdongcham(醫藥同參) in Naeuiwon(內醫院). Conclusion : Myoug-Shin Zhu wrote Euimunbogam in 1784. And he was one of the famous physicians during the period between the king Young-Jo and Jung-Jo.

Calorie-restriction and longevity. End of a dream, at least for primates?

One of the most intensely pursued ambition of physicians engaged in aging research was rejuvenation and increasing longevity. The most remarkable examples, the one initiated by Brown-Séquard, professor at the Collège de France in Paris will be cited because performed by a famous physician, who initiated endocrinology, among others. Then will be cited the only reproducible experiment producing increased longevity in several animal species: calorie restriction (CR). This method, tested on yeast resulted in the discovery of sirtuins, genes involved in the regulation of longevity, discussed in a previous article in this journal (Robert, 2012 [1]). For reasons detailed in this article, the author doubted from the beginning that CR will ever work for humans. The recent publication by the team of NIA of NIH on a 20-year follow-up of a CR experiment on primates appears to confirm this caveat. Moreover, other recent experiments of a group of scientists working on intrauterine health programming produced arguments indicating the potential harmful effects of CR in humans and its variants on offsprings. Remains however the possibility, widely exploited that the pharmacological stimulations of gene-expression, of the sirtuins and some other genes, appears to produce indirectly longevity by postponing age-associated diseases (Robert, 2012 [1]), in contradistinction to CR which is inefficient and apparently harmful in primates.

Doctor-patient relationships, laws, clinical guidelines, best practices, evidence-based medicine, medical errors and patient safety

Patient safety has now become a mantra of modern medical practice. Rules, laws, guidelines, evidence and best practices are frequently invoked to improve patient safety. These are not new; they have governed the practice of medicine since antiquity. A set of laws, known as the Code of Hammurabi (circa 1740 B.C.E.) have come down to us from the Babylonians after its namesake, the founder of the Babylonian empire.1 These 282 statues or common laws governed nearly all aspects of social, political, economic and professional life including those pertaining to physicians, surgeons, veterinarians, midwifes and wet nurses. Carefully conscribed details were devoted to specifying the relationship between patients and practitioners, including fees and penalties. Problems of “internal medicine” were dealt with physicians of the priestly class who saw to internal disorders caused by supernatural factors. The surgeon who dealt with physical problems, however, was accountable for both remuneration and liability to earthly courts. If a doctor performed surgery, generally with a bronze knife, and saved the life or eyesight of an upper class citizen, he was to be paid 10 shekels of silver. A similar outcome for a commoner was worth 5 shekels and only 2 shekels for a slave. If the outcome for the upper class citizen was bad (blindness or death), the doctor’s hand was amputated. If a slave died because of the surgery, the doctor had to provide a replacement but had to pay only half the value in silver if the slave was blinded. The Code provided further detail for many procedures including those of veterinarians (“doctor of an ox or ass”). Probably the most famous physician of all time and the founder of clinical medicine is Hippocrates (circa 460-360 B.C.E.) of Greek antiquity, the putative author of the Corpus Hippocraticum.2 Upon graduation from medical school, many modern physicians continue to take the Hippocratic Oath, the model of the ideal physician. Many historians question whether Hippocrates actually wrote this Oath or even the essays attributed to him. Some even question whether Hippocrates was a real person or was a composite created later by Greek and Roman scholars. Even in antiquity there were rules, policies, and regulations on how to behave as a physician. Next to Hippocrates, Galen is probably the next most famous physician in history. His works and texts continued to be studied by medical students and scholars for hundreds of years after his death. When Galen ventured to Rome in 161 A.D. he was met with hostility by the medical establishment. For five years he was able to remain to practice medicine, lecture and conduct public discussions under the protection of the powerful Emperor Marcus Aurelius who named him the “first of physicians and philosophers”.2 Eventually, Galen left to return to Greece complaining that he had been driven out of Rome by the medical establishment who saw him as an interloper. Galen did subsequently return to Rome honoring a request from Marcus Aurelius. He remained for the rest of his life.

A treatise on proportion in the tradition of Thomas Bradwardine: The De proportionibus libri duo (1528) of Jean Fernel

The famous French physician Jean Fernel published in 1528 in Paris the De proportionibus libri duo. This treatise belongs to the tradition of texts on proportion that follow Bradwardineʼs Tractatus de proportionibus seu de proportionibus velocitatum in motibus (1328). In the first book, Fernel presented a theory of ratios that is traditional but contains some distinctive features, on denominating ratios, on fractions, on irrational ratios. The second book is devoted to a theory of ratio of ratios of which I give an account in this paper.

Textual research on the edition of WU Kun's books

WU Kun is a famous physician of the Xin'an School. He wrote a 6-volume Yi fang kao (Textual Research on Recipes) in 1584, a 24-volume Wu zhu su wen (Wu's Annotation of Plain Questions) in 1594, a 6-volume Zhen fang liu ji (Six Collections of Acupuncture and Prescription) in 1618 block-printed and funded by CHENG Biao, and a 2-volume Mai yu (Language of Pulse) with writing date unknown. For Yi fang kao, there were 4 editions, including Ming-dynasty block-printed edition, Japanese and Korean block-printed edition, old hand-copied edition and modern printing edition. For Wu zhu su wen, there were 5 editions, Ming-Qing-dynasty block-printed edition, Japanese block-printed edition, old hand-copied edition, photocopy and modern edition. For Zhen fang liu ji, there were Ming-dynasty block-printed edition, hand-copied edition, photocopy and modern edition. Mai yu always was printed together with Yi fang kao, and its editions were same as those of Yi fang kao, except some modern printing edition with Mai yu excluded.

Avicenna’s Educational Views with Emphasis on the Education of Hygiene and Wellness

Today, on the contrary of the last ten decades, the necessity of teaching hygienic issues, and caring the children's health, is pretty obvious. Avicenna (10 AC), the famous Iranian physician and philosopher, scrutinized the health and hygiene with a deep insight to the matter. He considered the wellness not only as the recovery from the disease, but emphasized the maintenance of health by suggesting special points and instructions. In Islamic education, paying attention to cleanliness, health and physical strength is very important and considered as the intermediate goals for the achievement of "pure life", which is the ultimate goal. Avicenna paid special attention to physical purity, health and wellness, and devoted the major parts of his book to them. The present article analyzes the Avicenna's educational opinions, specially his viewpoints regarding hygiene and health in three stages of childhood, teenage years, and youth.

The Bromell fossil collection at Uppsala University, Sweden: its history and the people behind it

Remains of 17th century cabinets of curiosity collections are held at the Museum of Evolution, Uppsala University, Sweden. Some of the oldest date back to the 1650s, and were included in the collection of Archiater, i.e. physician to the Crown, von Bromell (1679–1731). He is also known for publishing the first series of papers in Sweden to exclusively deal with palaeontology. Throughout his life he acquired specimens by collecting, buying or receiving in exchange to add to those he inherited from his father Olaus Bromelius, a famous botanist and physician. Information on the labels gives a glimpse of his network of friends, colleagues and fellow collectors, such as Kilian Stobaeus, Lars Roberg, Emanuel Swedenborg, Elias Brenner and Johan Döbelius. When Bromell died, his vast collections of books, coins, furniture, conchs, stuffed animals, minerals and fossils were sold off. The minerals and fossils were split up and owned by various persons during the following century. Parts owned by A. Lagerberg between the years 1746 and 1776 were bought in 1796 by Johan Afzelius and donated to Uppsala University at his death. Fossils and minerals earlier described by Bromell were in the care of The Royal Society of Science in Uppsala at least by 1791. Through the Institute of Geology, fossils accumulated over the centuries at Uppsala University eventually came together under the same roof in 1932, under professor Carl Wiman's care at the then newly erected Palaeontology museum building. Today, about 300 fossils from the Bromell collection are preserved at the museum.

The stomatological use of stones cited in the Kitab al-tasrif treatise (Abulcasis, 1000 CE)

Abstract The search for remedies to treat dental disease is as old as mankind; such is the importance of the stomatognathic system (mouth, jaws, teeth and related structures) in the evolution of man and society. This paper concentrates on the Kitab al-tasrif , a medical treatise completed in 1000 CE by the famous Arab physician, surgeon and pharmacologist Abulcasis ( Abu al-Qasim al Zahrawi ; 936–1013), from Córdoba (Andalusia, southern Spain). Volume ( Maqal ) XXI of this 30-volume-long work, is dedicated to mineral panaceas for diseases of the mouth and teeth. The remedies detailed by Abulcasis are compared with those in Dioscorides' much earlier Materia Medica (first century CE), the later Hortus sanitatis (1496) by Johannes de Cuba and recent pharmacopoeias to trace and evaluate the evolutionary path of mineral-containing drugs and dental compounds, and to account for the survival of many of them in therapeutic compounds. Although effective, some of the old mineral remedies have a narrow therapeutic range and have no place in current pharmacology; however, many of them are still useful as astringents, haemostatics, antiseptics, teeth whiteners, remineralizers or caustics.