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264 episodes - English - Latest episode: 10 days ago - ★★★★★ - 3 ratingsThis fortnightly podcast from the Physicians' Gallery at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh presents stories from medicine, past and present
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Episodes
Ep.38 - Coping With Plague - Public Health And Epidemics
August 21, 2020 06:00 - 47 minutes - 42.1 MBItaly, though best known for the birth of the Renaissance, is also renowned for the precocious development of its public health policies in the 16th century. In this talk, Professor John Henderson argues that it is time to re-examine and reassess early modern Italian policies dealing with plague. Henderson’s approach is to examine the often moving and tragic stories of the individuals touched by plague from either side of the doctor-patient boundary. The way in which governments and individua...
Ep.37 - Substance Abuse: Past and Present
August 07, 2020 06:00 - 1 hour - 46.5 MBThis talk considers the changing public perception of drugs such as cannabis and the factors which have influenced its longevity, including immigration, diplomacy, medical science, and politics. Speaker: Professor Jim Mills, University of Strathclyde Twitter: twitter.com/RCPEHeritage Instagram: instagram.com/physiciansgallery/ Facebook: facebook.com/PhysiciansGallery TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@physiciansgallery
Ep.37 - Jim Mills - Substance Abuse: Past and Present
August 07, 2020 06:00 - 1 hour - 46.5 MBThis talk considers the changing public perception of drugs such as cannabis and the factors which have influenced its longevity, including immigration, diplomacy, medical science, and politics. Speaker: Professor Jim Mills, University of Strathclyde
Ep.36 - Louis Wain - Animals and Madness
July 24, 2020 05:59 - 49 minutes - 56.3 MBLouis Wain was a relatively well known British illustrator working in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, particularly known for his depictions of cats. It is claimed that ‘cats drove him mad’. This talk will explore the ‘madness’ of both human and animals, the curious cross-codings arising between ‘mad’ people and troublesome beasts, and parallels in the spaces/environments that they have occupied or to which they have been consigned. Speaker: Professor Chris Philo, Professor of Geograp...
Ep.36 - Chris Philo - The Wild and Tranquil Geographies of Animals and Madness
July 24, 2020 05:59 - 49 minutes - 56.3 MBLouis Wain was a relatively well known British illustrator working in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, particularly known for his depictions of cats. It is claimed that ‘cats drove him mad’. This talk will explore the ‘madness’ of both human and animals, the curious cross-codings arising between ‘mad’ people and troublesome beasts, and parallels in the spaces/environments that they have occupied or to which they have been consigned. Speaker: Professor Chris Philo, Professor of Geograp...
Ep.35 - Anna Dhody - Looking To The Past To Improve Our Future
July 10, 2020 06:00 - 56 minutes - 103 MBCan old specimens contain new information? Mütter Museum Curator, Anna Dhody will talk about the ways scientists are looking to the past to improve our future. New technology has emerged that allow researchers access into the past, to see what infectious microbes were responsible for previous pandemics, and hopefully provide insight on how to prevent or combat future ones. Ms. Dhody is also the Director of the Mütter Research Institute which endeavors to collaborate with scientific and medic...
Ep.35 - Looking To The Past To Improve Our Future
July 10, 2020 06:00 - 56 minutes - 103 MBCan old specimens contain new information? Mütter Museum Curator, Anna Dhody will talk about the ways scientists are looking to the past to improve our future. New technology has emerged that allow researchers access into the past, to see what infectious microbes were responsible for previous pandemics, and hopefully provide insight on how to prevent or combat future ones. Ms. Dhody is also the Director of the Mütter Research Institute which endeavors to collaborate with scientific and medic...
Ep.34 - Kristin Hussey - William Harvey, College of Physicians and the Discovery of Circulation
June 26, 2020 07:00 - 45 minutes - 36.7 MBBorn into a middle-class family in 1578, William Harvey rose to fame as one of Britain’s foremost anatomists, Harvey’s discovery of the circulation of blood rocked the medical world of the time, published in his treatise On the Motion of the Heart and Blood. Physician to King Charles I and a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of London, William Harvey is one of history’s prominent figures. Speaker: Dr Kristin Hussey (Curator, Royal College of Physicians of London)
Ep.34 - William Harvey and the Discovery of Circulation
June 26, 2020 07:00 - 45 minutes - 36.7 MBBorn into a middle-class family in 1578, William Harvey rose to fame as one of Britain’s foremost anatomists, Harvey’s discovery of the circulation of blood rocked the medical world of the time, published in his treatise On the Motion of the Heart and Blood. Physician to King Charles I and a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of London, William Harvey is one of history’s prominent figures. Speaker: Dr Kristin Hussey (Curator, Royal College of Physicians of London) Twitter: twitter.co...
Ep.33 - The Uses of Plants in Medicine in Ancient Greece and Rome
June 14, 2020 13:37 - 47 minutes - 36.2 MBPlants have always played a prominent role in the field of medicine since the first recorded examples. From Dioscorides, a Greek physician and botanist who wrote extensively on the subject, to Hippocrates, "the father of modern medicine", medical practitioners of the ancient world recognised the importance of herbal remedies and embraced them. This talk investigates the history of plants in medicine during the time of the Ancient Greeks and Romans, giving numerous examples of the plants used...
Ep.33 - Gavin Hardy - The Uses of Plants in Medicine in Ancient Greece and Rome
June 14, 2020 13:37 - 47 minutes - 36.2 MBPlants have always played a prominent role in the field of medicine since the first recorded examples. From Dioscorides, a Greek physician and botanist who wrote extensively on the subject, to Hippocrates, "the father of modern medicine", medical practitioners of the ancient world recognised the importance of herbal remedies and embraced them. This talk investigates the history of plants in medicine during the time of the Ancient Greeks and Romans, giving numerous examples of the plants used...
Ep.32 - Medical Tourism in Victorian Edinburgh
June 10, 2020 20:04 - 42 minutes - 35.6 MBThis talk focuses on an under-represented area of medical history: the depiction of places of medicine in 19th-century travel guides. Across a huge range of travel guides, written for strangers of all stripes, Edinburgh was illuminated as a city of medicine past, present and future. Investigating these travel guides reveals how Edinburgh's medical spaces and places were constructed and reimagined for new global audiences, and how they contributed to an idea of Edinburgh as a city, and to Brit...
Ep.32 - Martin Willis - Medical Tourism in Victorian Edinburgh
June 10, 2020 20:04 - 42 minutes - 35.6 MBThis talk focuses on an under-represented area of medical history: the depiction of places of medicine in 19th-century travel guides. Across a huge range of travel guides, written for strangers of all stripes, Edinburgh was illuminated as a city of medicine past, present and future. Investigating these travel guides reveals how Edinburgh's medical spaces and places were constructed and reimagined for new global audiences, and how they contributed to an idea of Edinburgh as a city, and to Brit...
Ep.31 - Katie Birkwood - John Dee: Magic, Medicine And The Tudor World
June 10, 2020 20:04 - 51 minutes - 51.5 MBJohn Dee (1527–1609) was one of the most intriguing figures in Tudor Britain. The model of a Renaissance man, he harboured interests in astrology, alchemy, history, religion, medicine, magic and much more besides. In this talk, Katie Birkwood explores Dee’s life story, thoughts and personality, which survive in the personally annotated collection of his books, now residing at the library of the Royal College of Physicians, London. Find out how the modern division between ‘science’ and ‘magic’...
Ep.31 - John Dee: Magic, Medicine And The Tudor World
June 10, 2020 20:04 - 51 minutes - 51.5 MBJohn Dee (1527–1609) was one of the most intriguing figures in Tudor Britain. The model of a Renaissance man, he harboured interests in astrology, alchemy, history, religion, medicine, magic and much more besides. In this talk, Katie Birkwood explores Dee’s life story, thoughts and personality, which survive in the personally annotated collection of his books, now residing at the library of the Royal College of Physicians, London. Find out how the modern division between ‘science’ and ‘magic’...
Ep.30 - Knowing and Selling Exotic Drugs in Paris c.1700
June 10, 2020 20:03 - 42 minutes - 34.2 MBMany exotic plant materials would become household words for the well-to-do during the decades around 1700. A language of curiosity, innovation and invention surrounded attempts to understand, trade in and profit from them. This talk considers some of the ways in which lay consumers, merchants and medical experts appropriated and ‘domesticated’ exotic foods and drugs within the French metropolitan world. The aim is to show how consumption, innovation, trade, knowledge and colonialism intersec...
Ep.30 - Emma Spary - Knowing and Selling Exotic Drugs in Paris c.1700
June 10, 2020 20:03 - 42 minutes - 34.2 MBMany exotic plant materials would become household words for the well-to-do during the decades around 1700. A language of curiosity, innovation and invention surrounded attempts to understand, trade in and profit from them. This talk considers some of the ways in which lay consumers, merchants and medical experts appropriated and ‘domesticated’ exotic foods and drugs within the French metropolitan world. The aim is to show how consumption, innovation, trade, knowledge and colonialism intersec...
Ep.29 - Matthew Smith - Food allergy Before “allergy”
June 10, 2020 20:02 - 50 minutes - 40.8 MBHow were bizarre reactions to food described before the coining of the term ‘allergy’ in 1906? Symptoms reminiscent of food allergy have been observed since Ancient Greece and Rome, with Lucretius stating that one person’s food could be another’s poison. Many physicians were convinced that reactions to food were responsible for symptoms ranging from asthma to migraine. At the root of debates about food allergy were questions about the value of patient testimony and the difficulty in proving t...
Ep.29 - Food allergy Before “allergy”
June 10, 2020 20:02 - 50 minutes - 40.8 MBHow were bizarre reactions to food described before the coining of the term ‘allergy’ in 1906? Symptoms reminiscent of food allergy have been observed since Ancient Greece and Rome, with Lucretius stating that one person’s food could be another’s poison. Many physicians were convinced that reactions to food were responsible for symptoms ranging from asthma to migraine. At the root of debates about food allergy were questions about the value of patient testimony and the difficulty in proving t...
Ep.28 - Samuel Cohn - ‘The great influenza’ of 1918-20: A plague of compassion
June 10, 2020 20:01 - 49 minutes - 39.3 MBThis talk explores popular reactions to the ‘great influenza’ of 1918-20, primarily in relation to other epidemics of the 19th and early 20th centuries. It will contest scholars’ contention that big epidemics, regardless of the disease, inevitably stirred suspicion and blame of the ‘other’, and that an essential factor stirring that hate rested on the mysteriousness of the disease and medical practitioners’ inability to cure or control it. Speaker: Professor Samuel Cohn (University Of Glasgow)
Ep.28 - The great influenza of 1918-20
June 10, 2020 20:01 - 49 minutes - 39.3 MBThis talk explores popular reactions to the ‘great influenza’ of 1918-20, primarily in relation to other epidemics of the 19th and early 20th centuries. It will contest scholars’ contention that big epidemics, regardless of the disease, inevitably stirred suspicion and blame of the ‘other’, and that an essential factor stirring that hate rested on the mysteriousness of the disease and medical practitioners’ inability to cure or control it. Speaker: Professor Samuel Cohn (University Of Glasgo...
Ep.27 - The Medical Campaign Against Female Musical Education
June 10, 2020 20:00 - 36 minutes - 32.9 MBAlthough playing the piano was often seen as a thoroughly respectable pastime for young ladies, for much of the nineteenth century there was serious medical discussion about the dangers of excessive music in girls’ education. Many of the period’s leading psychiatrists and gynaecologists argued that music could over-stimulate the female nervous system, playing havoc with vulnerable nerves and reproductive organs, and warned of the consequences of music lessons on the developing bodies of teen...
Ep.27 - James Kennaway - The Piano Plague: The Medical Campaign Against Female Musical Education
June 10, 2020 20:00 - 36 minutes - 32.9 MBAlthough playing the piano was often seen as a thoroughly respectable pastime for young ladies, for much of the nineteenth century there was serious medical discussion about the dangers of excessive music in girls’ education. Many of the period’s leading psychiatrists and gynaecologists argued that music could over-stimulate the female nervous system, playing havoc with vulnerable nerves and reproductive organs, and warned of the consequences of music lessons on the developing bodies of teen...
Ep.26 - Medical Innovation in the British Empire: The Edinburgh Connection
June 10, 2020 19:58 - 51 minutes - 39.4 MBSpeaker: Professor Mark Harrison (University of Oxford) Twitter: twitter.com/RCPEHeritage Instagram: instagram.com/physiciansgallery/ Facebook: facebook.com/PhysiciansGallery TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@physiciansgallery
Ep.26 - Mark Harrison - Medical Innovation in the British Empire: The Edinburgh Connection
June 10, 2020 19:58 - 51 minutes - 39.4 MBSpeaker: Professor Mark Harrison (University of Oxford)
Ep.25 - 1700s Dissection and the Stoic Ideal
June 10, 2020 19:56 - 43 minutes - 38.5 MBSpeaker: Simon Chaplin (Royal College of Surgeons of England) Twitter: twitter.com/RCPEHeritage Instagram: instagram.com/physiciansgallery/ Facebook: facebook.com/PhysiciansGallery TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@physiciansgallery
Ep.25 - Simon Chaplin - The Heroic Anatomist: 18thc Dissection and the Stoic Ideal
June 10, 2020 19:56 - 43 minutes - 38.5 MBSpeaker: Simon Chaplin (Royal College of Surgeons of England)
Ep.24 - David Purdie - What Killed Burns And What Did Not?
June 10, 2020 19:55 - 47 minutes - 39.9 MBThe poet and songwriter Robert Burns died in 1796, aged 37. There was no post-mortem and hence no tissue diagnosis. Detractors, commencing with unsigned obituaries, assigned the cause firmly to alcoholism. This talk examines the evidence for a range of alternative diagnoses. Speaker : Professor Emeritus David Purdie (Hull & York University Medical School)
Ep.24 - What Killed Burns And What Did Not?
June 10, 2020 19:55 - 47 minutes - 39.9 MBThe poet and songwriter Robert Burns died in 1796, aged 37. There was no post-mortem and hence no tissue diagnosis. Detractors, commencing with unsigned obituaries, assigned the cause firmly to alcoholism. This talk examines the evidence for a range of alternative diagnoses. Speaker : Professor Emeritus David Purdie (Hull & York University Medical School) Twitter: twitter.com/RCPEHeritage Instagram: instagram.com/physiciansgallery/ Facebook: facebook.com/PhysiciansGallery TikTok: https://w...
Ep.23 - Animals And Their Pathologists In London, 1846 - 1900
June 10, 2020 19:55 - 40 minutes - 36 MBThis talk uses the records of the Pathological Society of London, a key institution for the advancement of pathology, to reveal the place and purpose of animals within human pathological anatomy during the later 19th century. While animals, both wild and domestic, accounted for less than 5% of the specimens exhibited at their meetings, they were nonetheless regarded as legitimate subjects of pathological research by doctors. Their routes into PSL meetings illustrate the ubiquity of animals w...
Ep.23 - Abigail Woods - Animals And Their Pathologists In London, 1846 - 1900
June 10, 2020 19:55 - 40 minutes - 36 MBThis talk uses the records of the Pathological Society of London, a key institution for the advancement of pathology, to reveal the place and purpose of animals within human pathological anatomy during the later 19th century. While animals, both wild and domestic, accounted for less than 5% of the specimens exhibited at their meetings, they were nonetheless regarded as legitimate subjects of pathological research by doctors. Their routes into PSL meetings illustrate the ubiquity of animals w...
Ep.22 - After Burke And Hare: Procuring Corpses To Dissect In Scotland
June 10, 2020 19:54 - 42 minutes - 36.7 MBGrave-robbing and the Burke and Hare murders have become anatomy’s enduring reference points, but during the nineteenth century most bodies were stealthily acquired by medical schools through other means. After the 1832 Anatomy Act a distinctive pattern of corpse procurement was creatively forged in Scotland, through alliances between the country’s anatomists, anatomy inspectors, local law makers, and the men who were in charge of hospitals, poor houses and lunatic asylums. This system was o...
Ep.22 - Helen MacDonald - After Burke And Hare: Procuring Corpses To Dissect In Scotland
June 10, 2020 19:54 - 42 minutes - 36.7 MBGrave-robbing and the Burke and Hare murders have become anatomy’s enduring reference points, but during the nineteenth century most bodies were stealthily acquired by medical schools through other means. After the 1832 Anatomy Act a distinctive pattern of corpse procurement was creatively forged in Scotland, through alliances between the country’s anatomists, anatomy inspectors, local law makers, and the men who were in charge of hospitals, poor houses and lunatic asylums. This system was o...
Ep.21 - Mark Jackson - The Age of Stress: Myth or Reality?
June 10, 2020 19:54 - 46 minutes - 39.9 MBSince the late nineteenth century, stress has emerged as a popular means of explaining the onset of both physical and psychological disorders. Yet the definition of stress remains problematic and the manner in which stress might cause disease is still undetermined. This talk traces the history of stress in the twentieth century, exploring scientific theories, clinical formulations and personal experiences of stress and stress-related diseases. Speaker: Professor Mark Jackson (University of E...
Ep.21 - The Age of Stress: Myth or Reality?
June 10, 2020 19:54 - 46 minutes - 39.9 MBSince the late nineteenth century, stress has emerged as a popular means of explaining the onset of both physical and psychological disorders. Yet the definition of stress remains problematic and the manner in which stress might cause disease is still undetermined. This talk traces the history of stress in the twentieth century, exploring scientific theories, clinical formulations and personal experiences of stress and stress-related diseases. Speaker: Professor Mark Jackson (University of E...
Ep.20 - The Doctor-Patient Relationship In Art From Ancient Greece To The Present Day
June 10, 2020 19:53 - 51 minutes - 44.1 MBThe doctor-patient relationship has changed considerably over the centuries. There have often been cyclical changes: diagnostic improvements leading to increased respect but often followed by disillusionment if there is subsequently no effective treatment. The relationship is especially exemplified in works of art because, as John Berger has emphasised, ‘No other kind of relic or text from the past can offer such a direct testimony about the world which surrounded other people at other times....
Ep.20 - Alan Emery - The Doctor-Patient Relationship In Art From Ancient Greece To The Present Day
June 10, 2020 19:53 - 51 minutes - 44.1 MBThe doctor-patient relationship has changed considerably over the centuries. There have often been cyclical changes: diagnostic improvements leading to increased respect but often followed by disillusionment if there is subsequently no effective treatment. The relationship is especially exemplified in works of art because, as John Berger has emphasised, ‘No other kind of relic or text from the past can offer such a direct testimony about the world which surrounded other people at other times....
Ep.19 - The Evolution Of Controlled Trials
June 10, 2020 19:51 - 50 minutes - 43.7 MBContrary to widely believed assertions, the concept of unbiased creation of treatment comparison groups in clinical trials was not ‘a seminal statistical idea’, but was rooted in the much older idea that fair tests of treatments involve comparing like with like, achieved at least 200 years ago using alternate allocation to treatment comparison groups. Strict alternation deals with selection bias as effectively as strict random allocation, but alternation is more likely to result in foreknowle...
Ep.19 - Iain Chalmers - The Evolution Of Controlled Trials
June 10, 2020 19:51 - 50 minutes - 43.7 MBContrary to widely believed assertions, the concept of unbiased creation of treatment comparison groups in clinical trials was not ‘a seminal statistical idea’, but was rooted in the much older idea that fair tests of treatments involve comparing like with like, achieved at least 200 years ago using alternate allocation to treatment comparison groups. Strict alternation deals with selection bias as effectively as strict random allocation, but alternation is more likely to result in foreknowle...
Ep.18 - Anne Hardy - Epidemiology and the Science of Detection, 1890-1960
June 10, 2020 19:49 - 50 minutes - 40.4 MBThis talk looks at how forensic and investigative techniques were used to study epidemics in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Speaker: Professor Anne Hardy (University College London)
Ep.18 - Epidemiology and the Science of Detection, 1890-1960
June 10, 2020 19:49 - 50 minutes - 40.4 MBThis talk looks at how forensic and investigative techniques were used to study epidemics in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Speaker: Professor Anne Hardy (University College London) Twitter: twitter.com/RCPEHeritage Instagram: instagram.com/physiciansgallery/ Facebook: facebook.com/PhysiciansGallery TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@physiciansgallery
Ep.17 - Catherine Jones - Benjamin Rush, the Yellow Fever, and the Rise of Physician Autobiography
June 10, 2020 19:49 - 37 minutes - 29.4 MBThis talk examines the links between Benjamin Rush’s autobiography ‘Travels through Life’ and his protracted feud with the English journalist, politician and agriculturalist William Cobbett. The rhetorical strategies used by Rush to defend his character and medical practice, and the influence of his autobiography on later physician-writers are also explored. Speaker: Dr Catherine Jones (University of Aberdeen)
Ep.17 - Benjamin Rush, the Yellow Fever, and the Rise of Physician Autobiography
June 10, 2020 19:49 - 37 minutes - 29.4 MBThis talk examines the links between Benjamin Rush’s autobiography ‘Travels through Life’ and his protracted feud with the English journalist, politician and agriculturalist William Cobbett. The rhetorical strategies used by Rush to defend his character and medical practice, and the influence of his autobiography on later physician-writers are also explored. Speaker: Dr Catherine Jones (University of Aberdeen) Twitter: twitter.com/RCPEHeritage Instagram: instagram.com/physiciansgallery/ Fac...
Ep.16 - Forensic Science In The Era Of Burke And Hare
June 10, 2020 19:48 - 50 minutes - 40.1 MBIn this talk a CSI-style approach is taken to the discussion of the notorious murders carried out by Burke and Hare, who supplied bodies for dissection at Edinburgh's medical school. Speaker: Professor Lisa Rosner (Richard Stockton College, New Jersey) Twitter: twitter.com/RCPEHeritage Instagram: instagram.com/physiciansgallery/ Facebook: facebook.com/PhysiciansGallery TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@physiciansgallery
Ep.16 - Lisa Rosner - Crime Scene Edinburgh: Forensic Science In The Era Of Burke And Hare
June 10, 2020 19:48 - 50 minutes - 40.1 MBIn this talk a CSI-style approach is taken to the discussion of the notorious murders carried out by Burke and Hare, who supplied bodies for dissection at Edinburgh's medical school. Speaker: Professor Lisa Rosner (Richard Stockton College, New Jersey)
Ep.15 - James Kennaway - Fashionable Stomach Complaints And The Mind In Georgian Britain
June 10, 2020 19:47 - 35 minutes - 65.2 MBThe nerves have been the principal focus of ‘fashionable disease’ studies, but the stomach arguably has an equal claim for consideration. The stomach and bowels were not only implicated in a wide range of digestive diseases, but also in almost all à la mode conditions, from nervousness to the ‘flying gout’. This was due both to the connotations of over-eating with wealth, and because of the assumed link between the digestive system and the mind. This talk examines the development of thinking ...
Ep.15 - Fashionable Stomach Complaints And The Mind In Georgian Britain
June 10, 2020 19:47 - 35 minutes - 65.2 MBThe nerves have been the principal focus of ‘fashionable disease’ studies, but the stomach arguably has an equal claim for consideration. The stomach and bowels were not only implicated in a wide range of digestive diseases, but also in almost all à la mode conditions, from nervousness to the ‘flying gout’. This was due both to the connotations of over-eating with wealth, and because of the assumed link between the digestive system and the mind. This talk examines the development of thinking ...
Ep.14 - Irish Migration, Institutionalisation and Mental Illness in 1800s England
June 10, 2020 19:46 - 1 hour - 55.4 MBThis talk explores the migratory patterns of Irish patients into and through the Lancashire asylum system in the later 19th century. Asylum medical superintendents referred specifically to the pressure placed by the Irish on what were to become severely overcrowded institutions. Many Irish migrants ended up in asylums after periods spent ‘wandering’ across England or the globe. Pressure on the asylums was exacerbated by the intake of lunatics returned from North America to Lancashire. This ...
Ep.14 - Catherine Cox - Irish Migration, Institutionalisation and Mental Illness in 19thC England
June 10, 2020 19:46 - 1 hour - 55.4 MBThis talk explores the migratory patterns of Irish patients into and through the Lancashire asylum system in the later 19th century. Asylum medical superintendents referred specifically to the pressure placed by the Irish on what were to become severely overcrowded institutions. Many Irish migrants ended up in asylums after periods spent ‘wandering’ across England or the globe. Pressure on the asylums was exacerbated by the intake of lunatics returned from North America to Lancashire. This ...
Ep.13 - How Ideas about Psychiatric Trauma Evolved in the Two World Wars
June 10, 2020 19:45 - 41 minutes - 31.6 MBThe two World Wars intensified the study of the psychological effects of combat for both soldiers and civilians. This talk explores how health-care professionals in the UK interpreted psychosomatic disorders such as shell shock, battle exhaustion and traumatic neurasthenia, in the context of psychiatric research and the new forms of warfare. Civilians and emergency workers were exposed to extreme stress during air-raids forcing doctors to weigh up the causal contribution of personality versus...