April is National Poetry Month and, as in past years, we’re celebrating by showing off an example of poetry that has a medical flavor. Matthew Green’s long poem “The Spleen” is perfect for the occasion. Although Green (1696-1737) was not a literary scholar, he had a keen wit and a certain natural flair for poetry. [Read more]
When World War I began in 1914, American public opinion was divided about whether the U.S. should get involved. But by 1917, it was clear that U.S. involvement was inescapable. In early April 1917, the United States declared war on Germany. With a great show of public enthusiasm, support for the troops became a rallying [Read more]
One of my favorite parts of my job as a project archivist at Becker Medical Library is discovering individuals’ stories from the past.
All 54 issues of the Washington University Medical Alumni Quarterly spanning the years 1937-1951 are now available online via Digital Commons@Becker.
Joseph Jules Dejerine (1849-1917), a French neurologist whose research focused early on the anatomy and pathology of the nervous system, and later on psychoneurosis, died 100 years ago on February
There are a number of home remedies that claim to cure hangovers. Greasy breakfasts, black coffee, and attempting to sleep it off all come to mind.
A fairyland with hundreds of pale pink blossoms and twinkling lights,” raved the St. Louis Globe-Democrat in January 1962, describing the transformation of the Hotel Chase’s Khorassan Room for the first Jewish Hospital Auxiliary Clover Ball.
President Richard Nixon’s famous visit to China in February of 1972 symbolically formalized the normalization of relations between the United States and China. The two countries had been
In 1930, Vilray P. Blair, MD, the founder of the plastic surgery program at Washington University School of Medicine, was planning his new operating room in the surgical wing of Barnes Hospital. Blair was world-renowned for his work on the most difficult cases, and still did a considerable amount of surgeries on children under local anesthetic. Many of the children brought into the operating room awake were terrified. He hoped to find a way to comfort them and help them relax during the operations.
A little over 350 years ago, Thomas Willis of Oxford, England published Cerebri Anatome, which would go on to become highly cited by scholars. This work on the anatomy of the brain as a vehicle for viewing the soul or mind of the creator contains several scientific firsts.