Finsen was the founder of modern phototherapy. He demonstrated the value of invisible light, the actinic or chemical ray, the ultra-violet ray, as therapeutic measures. He received the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1903.

The discovery of radioactivity – research stimulated by Roentgen’s discovery of x rays. Becquerel shared the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1903 with Pierre and Marie Curie.

First use of x rays for deep irradiation therapy.

The Curies, studying the radioactivity of minerals containing uranium and thorium, isolated from pitchblend a substance which they called radium and which they showed to possess an astonishing degree of radioactivity. They shared the Nobel Prize for Physics with Becquerel in 1903, and Marie Curie received the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1911.

Introduction of ionic medication.

Leduc reported the effects of a galvanic current on the brain. His work led the way to electric convulsion therapy, introduced by Carletti and Bini (No. 4962).

Bergonié-Tribondeau law, “the sensitivity of cells to radiation varies directly with the reproductive capacity of the cells and inversely with their degree of differentiation” (Dorland).

Nagelschmidt employed high frequency currents in treatment after the suggestions of Tesla and the work of Nernst, claiming priority over the latter in the use of this method. Nagelschmidt named this form of treatment “diathermy”.

Dose fractionation.

Introduction of short-wave diathermy.

First therapeutic use of ultrasonics. With R. Richter and E. Parow.

Betatron.

Continued as Kerst, "The acceleration of elecrons by magnetic induction," Phys. Rev., 60 (1941) 47-52. Digital facsimile of the 1941 paper at this link.

With W. R. Kennedy.

Introduction of microwave radiation therapy. With J. F. Herrick, G. M. Martin.

Page 170 includes the first definite description of a blood transfusion, notably published in the same year as Harvey's discovery of the circulation of the blood in De motu cordis. Digital facsimile from Google Books at this link.

In February 1665 Lower successfully transfused dogs with blood.

The first transfusion of blood into a human was performed by Denis on June 15, 1667; he transfused lamb’s blood into a youth. For a partial translation, see Geoffrey Keynes’s Blood transfusion (Bristol, 1949) 14-15. Denis also wrote: “a letter concerning a new way of curing sundry diseases by transfusion of blood”, which was published in some copies of Phil. Trans., 1667, 2, 489-504; for a reprint and a paper on the subject, see A. D. Farr, Med. Hist., 1980, 24, 143-62.

First transfusion of blood performed on a human in England, Nov. 23, 1667.

Blundell invented a syringe by means of which he was able to transfuse dogs.

Records the first human to human transfusion. A man received 12 to 14 oz. of blood from several donors by means of Blundell’s funnel and syringe. He died 56 hours after the transfusion.

First successful use of defibrinated blood for animal transfusions. This was the first attempt to prevent coagulation during transfusion.

The first human to human transfusion in which the patient did not die. Blundell established the most fundamental points in transfusion, including the incompatibility of interspecies transfusion and the method of indirect transfusion. With his descriptions of about ten cases over a ten-year period, Blundell revived interest in blood transfusion after a century-long hiatus.

Sodium phosphate used as anticoagulant in blood transfusion.

Portable transfusion apparatus.

Landois discovered the hemolyzing effect of blood serum of one species when transfused into another.

In order to prevent blood coagulation during transfusion, Kimpton and Brown used apparatus lined with paraffin wax. See also Boston med. surg. J., 1915, 173, 425-7.

Hustin demonstrated the anticoagulant powers of sodium citrate and glucose in blood transfusion.

Agote was the first to transfuse citrated blood. Text in Spanish and French.

About the same time as Agote, Lewisohn introduced the citrate method of blood transfusion. See also his later paper in Surg. Gynec. Obstet., 1915, 21, 37-47.

Robertson stored blood and used it with good results to treat casualties on the battlefield.

Introduction of the slow-drip method of blood transfusion.

Heparin used in blood transfusion. See also the same journal, 88, 443-49.

Cadaver blood used in human transfusions. Prof. Shamov of Kharkov carried out the first experimental work on transfusion of cadaver blood in 1927.

Described the establishment of the first blood bank (at the Cook County Hospital).

J. R. Goodall, F. O. Anderson, G. T. Altimas, and F. L. MacPhail pointed out the possibility of using placental blood for transfusion purposes.

This work made possible the storage of whole blood for up to three weeks.

Introduction of dextran as plasma substitute.

Demonstration that human blood diluted with equal volumes of 30% glycerol in Ringer’s lactate solution could be frozen at -79° C and thawed after eight weeks without damage.

Schell was the author of the first 2 vols, which were the first major work on transfusion since the 17th century and an excellent early history of the subject. Scheel reviewed both transfusion and intravenous injection. J.F. Dieffenbach wrote the third volume, Die Transfusion des Blutes und die Infusion der Arzeneien in die Blutgefässe, published in Berlin, 1828. Digital facsimile of the third volume from wellcomecollection.org at this link.

Reprinted from Clio Medica, Vol. 9, 1974.

In this unsigned 4-page pamphlet the author argued that those who had been drowned for several hours could be resuscitated. His ideas inspired the formation of the Amsterdam Society (No. 2028.51). This anonymous work was attributed to Réaumur by various contemporary writers on drowning.

Digital facsimile of a 4-page Nancy printing of the pamphlet from Google Books at this link.

The first of many volumes of reports by the first society to save people drowned in the waterways of Amsterdam, established in 1767. Before 1767 anyone taken from the water was presumed dead and no attempts were made at resuscitation. News of the success of this organization spread rapidly through Europe, and similar societies were formed in other countries. French translation, Amsterdam, 1768. English translation by T. Cogan, London, 1773. See No. 2028.52.

An English summary of No. 2028.51, and the first detailed report on the society’s work published in England. Johnson proposed the formation of a similar society in England. The Royal Humane Society was formed by T. Cogan and W. Hawes in 1774.

Goodwyn emphasized the importance of ventilation in resuscitation.

Kite recommended the use of artificial respiration and was probably the first to recommend electric shock for resuscitation.

“Leroy invented a two-bladed instrument to aid in the insertion of a laryngeal tube by the ability to control the direction of its tip. He also invented a limiting mechanism for the bellows, to enable given amounts of air to be inflated, after he noticed at post-mortem where bellows had been used for inflation, that emphysema and tension pneumothorax were not uncommon. This research eventually led to the abandonment of bellows in resuscitation kits. Leroy also advocated chest and abdominal compression” (Huston).

Marshall Hall’s method of artificial respiration.

Silvester’s method of artificial respiration.

Howard’s method of artificial respiration is taught for resuscitation from drowning.

Holger Nielsen (“arm-lift”) method of artificial respiration.

A history of cold bathing.

Digital facsimile from the Biodiversity Heritage Library at this link.

Reprinted Hildesheim, 1966.

References to over 10,000 items, ‘arranged under 660 separate headings or articles,’ some with comments by the compiler. Digital facsimile from the Hathi Trust at this link.

Digital facsimile of the 1889 edition from the Internet Archive at this link. Translated into English by William Netter as Pictorial history of ancient pharmacy; with sketches of early medical practice (Chicago, G. P. Engelhard & Company, 1889). Digital facsimile of the English translation from the Internet Archive at this link.

The most comprehensive work on the coca plant and the history of its use by the Incas and their descendants. Reprinted, San Francisco, And/Or Press, 1974.

Reprinted Hildesheim, 1964.

Digital facsimile from the Internet Archive at this link.

From antiquity to time of writing, with chapters on pharmacy in mythology, in Shakespeare, in the Bible, and in popularmedicine. 

Reprinted London, Minerva Press, 1972.

Second edition, 1947-51.

First history of pharmacy by an American. Reprinted as The curious lore of drugs and medicines, New York, Garden City Publ. Co., 1936.

“Clio medica” series.

A comprehensive history, particularly for homeopathy in Germany. Includes extensive bibliographies.

Mainly 19th-20th century: includes hydrotherapy, massage, and dietetics. Second edition, 1951.

Includes an invaluable bibliography. Reprinted, with new introduction and additional references, 1987.

Deals exhaustively with the history of intravenous and intramuscular injection.

Digital facsimile from PubMedCentral at this link.

The most comprehensive treatise available on plants and plant products mentioned in the Bible.

Exhaustive and well-documented, but no index.

“Disposes of many myths deeply embedded in the literature” (Macfarlane, see No. 1934).

Includes a valuable bibliography. First published in German, Stuttgart, 1970.

A comprehensive history and bibliography of the subject, including a revised history of the English herbal literature, and accounts of other books of medical and pharmaceutical interest.

The most comprehensive study in English.

First published in German, 1959.

An anthology of outstanding achievement in the growth of pharmacology.

4th ed., 1976, revised by G. Sonnedecker.

Traces the origins of pharmacy in ancient civilizations and its development in England from medieval to modern times.

Nicander was a Greek poet and physician. His Theriaca, in 958 hexameters, dealt with the symptoms and treatment of poisoning by the bites of poisonous animals; the Alexipharmaca considered intoxications through animal, vegetable, and mineral poisoning, and their suitable antidotes. Nicander was also the first writer to mention the medicinal use of the leech. The above work has a Greek text, and is one of the few medical incunabula issued by Aldus Manutius of Venice. A Latin translation appeared at Cologne in 1531. See Nicander: The Poems and Poetical Fragments edited by A. S. F. Gow and A. F. Scholfield.(Cambridge, 1953), and also P. K. Knoefel & M. C. Covi, A Hellenistic Treatise on Poisonous Animals (The "Theriaca" of Nicander of Colophon): A Contribution to the History of Toxicology (1991).

Nicander's works were first published in print by Aldus Manutius together with the first edition in Greek of Dioscorides, De materia medica, and two works on venoms by "Pseudo Dioscorides" ISTC No: id00260000. Digital facsimile from Bayerisches Staatsbibliothek at this link

Includes the first printed book on toxicology; one of the more elegantly printed of medical incunabula, printed in folio format. For an English translation, see Ann. med. Hist., 1924, 6, 26-53. ISTC No. ip00431000. Digital facsimile from the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek at this link. In 1473 The same printer reprinted Petrus de Abano's De venenis in quarto format with Arnaldus de Villa Nova De arte cognoscendi venena, Velascus de Tarenta, De epidemia et peste, and Matthaeus Silvaticus, De lapide begaar ex pandectis. In that form Petrus de Abano's work, which has its own colophon, must must have been sold separately since about half of the surviving copies of the 1473 edition consist of De venenis alone. ISTC No. ia01065900. Digital facsimile of the 1473 edition from the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek at this link.

Includes the earliest English description of drug addiction, and withdrawal. Jones attempted to use wine as a partial substitute until withdrawal was complete.

Includes (p. 151) “original account of alcoholism, which is incidentally the first paper on the drug habit” (Garrison).

The first book on alcoholism, expanded from Trotter's MD dissertation: Dissertatio medica inauguralis, quædam de ebrietate, ejusque effectibus in corpus humanum complectens, quam ... pro gradu doctoris ... (Edinburgh: Apud Balfour et Smellie, 1788). Digital facsimile of the 1804 edition from the Internet Archive at this link.

Orfila, pioneer toxicologist, was the leading medico-legal expert of his time. He was born in Minorca, studied at Valencia, Barcelona, and Paris, and was one of the founders of the Académie de Médecine. Digital facsimile of the French edition from the Internet Archive at this link. English translation, 1815-17.

First description of cancer caused by arsenic (p. 133).

Waterton traveled to the Guyana region of South America to obtain curare. He provided a detailed description of its paralyzing effects, its preparation by distillation, and the blowpipe and darts used to deliver it. On his return to England Waterton conducted experiments with curare. His researches, in collaboration with veterinarian Wiliam Sewell and surgeon Benjamin Brodie, stimulated medical interest in the poison. One experiment that Waterton performed included resuscitating an animal poisoned with curare by blowing air into its lungs. This he tried at the suggestion of the natives who had supplied him with a few of their antidotes along with the poison. Reprinted, London, O. U. P., 1973, edited by L. H. Matthews. Digital facsimile from Google Books at this link.

The first book in English on the action of poisons on the living body.

Christison, a famous toxicologist, was a Professor of Medical Jurisprudence at Edinburgh. During the trial of Burke and Hare he performed an autopsy on the body of one of the victims and gave evidence as to the cause of death.

Marsh method for the detection of arsenic.

Lathyrism, a disease occuring in India, and parts of Africa, was known to Hippocrates. Sleeman, an Indian official and major general who presided over the suppression of Thuggee, had no special knowledge of medicine, but gave the first detailed account of lathyrism in vol. 1. Digital facsimile from the Internet Archive at this link.

Moreau's experments may have been the first medical experiments with a psychotropic agent in the treatment of mental illness. English translation by G. J. Barnett as Hashish and mental illness (New York: Raven Press, 1973).

First investigation of the effects of poisons on muscular contraction.

Bernard paralysed motor nerve-endings with curare and demonstrated the independent excitability of muscle. He showed that curare acted by stopping the transmission of impulses from motor nerves to voluntary muscles.

The first American book entirely devoted to toxicology and an important contribution to the identification of poisons.

This was the first book of its kind. It deals with the borderline between the pharmacological and the toxicological action of drugs with the untoward or side-effects of all kinds of medicaments. For details regarding this book and its author, see D. I. Macht, Ann. med. Hist., 1931, 3, 179-94, which includes a bibliography of Lewin’s writings. English translation by W. T. Alexander, with the author’s revisions, as The incidental effects of drugs. A pharmacological and clinical hand-book (New York, 1882). Digital facsimile of the 1882 edition from the Internet Archive at this link. The revised and enlarged second edition was translated by J. J. Mulheron and more appropriately titled The untoward effects of drugs. A pharmcological and clinical manual (Detroit, 1883). Digital facsimile of the 1883 translation from the Internet Archive at this link.

Fetal alcohol syndrome – first serious study.

Abel and Ford showed that there were two poisons in the fungus Amanita phalloides, and that immunity against them could be attained. A further study on the subject by the same authors is in Arch. exp. Path. Pharmak., 1908, Suppl., 8-15.

Discovery of the cause of the “vomiting sickness of Jamaica”: ackee poisoning.

The classic of psychoactive drug classification. Lewin established the following categories: Euphorics, Phantastics, Inebriants, Hypnotics, and Excitants. English translation, 1931.

The most comprehensive treatise on peyote and its active agent, mescaline, which was synthesized in 1919.

Introduction of “antabuse” in the treatment of alcoholism. With E. Jacobsen and V. Larsen. See also Lancet, 1948, 2, 1004.

Citois described Poitou colic, “colica Pictonum”, in great detail, and it was this description which was responsible for the condition being recognized as a definite syndrome. Partial English translation in No. 2241.

Huxham left a vivid account of the “Devonshire colic”. He was at fault, however, in ascribing it to the tartar extracted from apples in the process of making cider.

Cadwalader, an American pupil of Cheselden, left a classical account of lead colic and lead palsy. This was later shown by Benjamin Franklin, printer of the above work, to be due to the consumption of Jamaica rum which had been distilled through lead pipes. The “extraordinary case” mentioned in the title refers to a case of osteomalacia. Cadwalader’s autopsy of the victim’s body is one of the earliest recorded in the United States. The above work is probably the first medical book containing significant original research to be published by an American physician in America. Digital facsimile from the National Library of Medicine, Internet Archive, at this link.

Tronchin, sometime physician to Voltaire, showed that the so-called “Poitou colic” was caused by drinking water which had passed through lead gutters. Tronchin introduced inoculation into Holland, France, and Switzerland; he was Boerhaave’s favorite pupil and became a very wealthy practitioner. Translated with notes, but no attribution to Tronchin on the title page, by Ralph Schomberg as A treatise on the colica pictonum; or the dry belly-ach. (London, 1764). Digital facsimile of the 1764 edition from Google Books at this link. Digital facsimile of the 1757 edition from the Internet Archive at this link. Partial English translation in No. 2241.

Baker demonstrated that the cider of Devonshire contained lead, while that made in other parts of England did not. He further showed that it was common practice in Devon to line cider presses with lead, and proved that lead poisoning was the cause of Devonshire colic. He was responsible for the abandonment of lead in the making of cider presses, and thus for the disappearance of the colic. See also his paper in Med. Trans. Coll. Phys. Lond., 1768, 1, 175-256. Facsimile reprint, 1958.

Classical description of the diseases found among lead workers. Reporting on 1200 cases of lead poisoning, Tanquerel’s studies were so complete that later studies added little to knowledge of the symptoms and signs of the disease. Translated into English by Samuel L. Dana as Lead diseases: A treatise from the French of L. Tanquerel des Planches with notes and additions on the use of lead pipe and its substitutes. Lowell, Mass.: Daniel Bixby and Company, 1848. Digital facsimile of the English translation from the Internet Archive at this link.

Burton was the first to note the blue line on the gums in lead poisoning – “Burton’s blue line" – an important diagnostic sign. He was physician to St. Thomas’s Hospital, London.