The Medicine Cabinet Of Curiosities

Author : Nicholas Bakalar
Publisher : Macmillan
Page : 265 pages
File Size : 41,8 Mb
Release : 2009-07-21
Category : Health & Fitness
ISBN : 9781429964548

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The Medicine Cabinet of Curiosities by Nicholas Bakalar Pdf

Delightful doses of medical miscellany about wacky doctors and their curious patients, from their smallest bones (the stapes) to their heaviest organs (the liver) In this addictive collection of trivia, Nicholas Bakalar, the "Vital Signs" columnist for The New York Times, spoons out the things you never realized you really want to know about your body and your health. Bakalar shares the wonders of medicine, from medical firsts (in 1667, the first survivor of a blood transfusion received sheep's blood) to medical onlys (rabies is the only infectious disease that is 100 percent curable when treated and 100 percent fatal if not). He takes a tour of diseases that belong in horror movies: liquefying organs, flesh-eating bacteria, mushrooms sprouting in the throat. He notes remarkable remedies, such as dark chocolate, which can stand in for blood-pressure pills. And he dissects the chemistry of the human body (including the 0.0000000000000015259 percent that is radium). With a specialist's attention to the funny bone as well as the gray matter, Bakalar's The Medicine Cabinet of Curiosities tickles the curiosity of both the healthy and the hypochondriac, following Voltaire's dictum that "the art of medicine consists of amusing the patient while nature cures the disease."

Author : Jan Bondeson
Publisher : Cornell University Press
Page : 276 pages
File Size : 52,9 Mb
Release : 2019-01-24
Category : Medical
ISBN : 9781501733451

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A Cabinet of Medical Curiosities by Jan Bondeson Pdf

Long ago, curiosities were arranged in cabinets for display: a dried mermaid might be next to a giant's shinbone, the skeletons of conjoined twins beside an Egyptian mummy. In ten essays, Jan Bondeson brings a physician's diagnostic skills to various unexpected, gruesome, and extraordinary aspects of the history of medicine: spontaneous human combustion, colonies of snakes and frogs living in a person's stomach, kings and emperors devoured by lice, vicious tribes of tailed men, and the Two-Headed Boy of Bengal. Bondeson tells the story of Mary Toft, who gained notoriety in 1726 when she allegedly gave birth to seventeen rabbits. King George I, the Prince of Wales, and the court physicians attributed these monstrous births to a "maternal impression" because Mary had longed for a meal of rabbit while pregnant. Bondeson explains that the fallacy of maternal impressions, conspicuous in the novels of Goethe, Sir Walter Scott, and Charles Dickens, has ancient roots in Chinese and Babylonian manuscripts. Bondeson also presents the tragic case of Julia Pastrana, a Mexican Indian woman with thick hair growing over her body and a massive overgrowth of the gums that gave her a simian or ape-like appearance. Called the Ape Woman, she was exhibited all over the world. After her death in 1860, Julia's husband, who had also been her impresario, had her body mummified and continued to exhibit it throughout Europe. Bondeson tracked the mummy down and managed to diagnose Julia Pastrana's condition as the result of a rare genetic syndrome.

Author : Paul Dowswell
Publisher : A&C Black
Page : 213 pages
File Size : 49,6 Mb
Release : 2010-07-05
Category : Young Adult Fiction
ISBN : 9781408811832

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The Cabinet of Curiosities by Paul Dowswell Pdf

When Lukas Declercq is orphaned, his uncle summons him to Prague, a refuge for Europe's greatest alchemists and natural philosophers, offering to take him on as an apprentice. Uncle Anselmus is court physician to Rudolph II, the reclusive and unstable Emperor. He is also curator of Rudolph's bizarre Cabinet of Curiosities, a series of vast rooms stuffed with wonders and scientific marvels such as a nail from Noah's Ark, phoenix feathers and monstrous freaks of nature, which fascinate Lukas. As Rudolph retreats further into his fantasy world, the threat of rebellion hangs in the air. Dorantes, a diplomat from Spain, comes with his daughter, Celestina, on a mission from Philip II to persuade Rudolph to give up his heretical ways. But he discovers the court is full of diplomats who have been waiting months or years for an audience with the Emperor. Dorantes notices how some had wormed their way into the Emperor's favour by presenting him with fantastic gifts for his Cabinet, and sets about creating a device that he says will stop time. But it works only in the presence of the Emperor. Lukas knows the terrible truth behind Dorantes's mission. But sinister forces have plans for Lukas too, and before he can thwart the plot against the Emperor, Lukas must gamble on Celestina's loyalty in order to save his own life.

Author : J. C. McKeown
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 289 pages
File Size : 51,8 Mb
Release : 2017
Category : Greek World
ISBN : 9780190610432

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A Cabinet of Ancient Medical Curiosities by J. C. McKeown Pdf

There are few disciplines as exciting and forward-looking as medicine. Unfortunately, however, many modern practitioners have rather lost sight of the origins of their discipline. 'A Cabinet of Ancient Medical Curiosities' aspires to make good this lapse by taking readers back to the early days of Western medicine in ancient Greece and Rome. Quoting the actual words of ancient authors, often from texts which have never been translated into English, it gives a glimpse into the beginnings of such fields as surgery, gynecology, pediatrics, preventive medicine, and pharmacology, as well as highlighting ancient views on such familiar topics as medical ethics and the role of the doctor in society.

Author : J. C. McKeown
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 272 pages
File Size : 52,6 Mb
Release : 2010-06-01
Category : History
ISBN : 0199752788

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A Cabinet of Roman Curiosities by J. C. McKeown Pdf

Here is a whimsical and captivating collection of odd facts, strange beliefs, outlandish opinions, and other highly amusing trivia of the ancient Romans. We tend to think of the Romans as a pragmatic people with a ruthlessly efficient army, an exemplary legal system, and a precise and elegant language. A Cabinet of Roman Curiosities shows that the Romans were equally capable of bizarre superstitions, logic-defying customs, and often hilariously derisive views of their fellow Romans and non-Romans. Classicist J. C. McKeown has organized the entries in this entertaining volume around major themes--The Army, Women, Religion and Superstition, Family Life, Medicine, Slaves, Spectacles--allowing for quick browsing or more deliberate consumption. Among the book's many gems are: ? Romans on urban living: The satirist Juvenal lists "fires, falling buildings, and poets reciting in August as hazards to life in Rome." ? On enhanced interrogation: "If we are obliged to take evidence from an arena-fighter or some other such person, his testimony is not to be believed unless given under torture." (Justinian) ? On dreams: Dreaming of eating books "foretells advantage to teachers, lecturers, and anyone who earns his livelihood from books, but for everyone else it means sudden death" ? On food: "When people unwittingly eat human flesh, served by unscrupulous restaurant owners and other such people, the similarity to pork is often noted." (Galen) ? On marriage: In ancient Rome a marriage could be arranged even when the parties were absent, so long as they knew of the arrangement, "or agreed to it subsequently." ? On health care: Pliny caustically described medical bills as a "down payment on death," and Martial quipped that "Diaulus used to be a doctor, now he's a mortician. He does as a mortician what he did as a doctor." For anyone seeking an inglorious glimpse at the underside of the greatest empire in history, A Cabinet of Roman Curiosities offers endless delights.

Author : Anthony Kaldellis
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 240 pages
File Size : 41,6 Mb
Release : 2017-09-01
Category : History
ISBN : 9780190625955

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A Cabinet of Byzantine Curiosities by Anthony Kaldellis Pdf

Weird, decadent, degenerate, racially mixed, superstitious, theocratic, effeminate, and even hyper-literate, Byzantium has long been regarded by many as one big curiosity. According to Voltaire, it represented "a worthless collection of miracles, a disgrace for the human mind"; for Hegel, it was "a disgusting picture of imbecility." A Cabinet of Byzantine Curiosities will churn up these old prejudices, while also stimulating a deeper interest among readers in one of history's most interesting civilizations. Many of the zanier tales and trivia that are collected here revolve around the political and religious life of Byzantium. Thus, stories of saints, relics, and their miracles-from the hilarious to the revolting-abound. Byzantine bureaucracy (whence the adjective "Byzantine"), court scandals, and elaborate penal code are world famous. And what would Byzantium be without its eunuchs, whose ambiguous gender produced odd and risible outcomes in different contexts? The book also contains sections on daily life that are equally eye-opening, including food (from aphrodisiacs to fermented fish sauce), games such as polo and acrobatics, and obnoxious views of foreigners and others (e.g., Germans, Catholics, Arabs, dwarves). But lest we overlook Byzantium's more honorable contributions to civilization, also included are some of the marvels of Byzantine science and technology, from the military (flamethrowers and hand grenades) to the theatrical ("elevator" thrones, roaring mechanical lions) and medical (catheters and cures, some bizarre). This vast assortment of historical anomaly and absurdity sheds vital light on one of history's most obscure and orthodox empires.

Author : Gregg Mitman,Marco Armiero,Robert S. Emmett
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
Page : 258 pages
File Size : 45,5 Mb
Release : 2018-04-20
Category : Science
ISBN : 9780226508825

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Future Remains by Gregg Mitman,Marco Armiero,Robert S. Emmett Pdf

What can a pesticide pump, a jar full of sand, or an old calico print tell us about the Anthropocene—the age of humans? Just as paleontologists look to fossil remains to infer past conditions of life on earth, so might past and present-day objects offer clues to intertwined human and natural histories that shape our planetary futures. In this era of aggressive hydrocarbon extraction, extreme weather, and severe economic disparity, how might certain objects make visible the uneven interplay of economic, material, and social forces that shape relationships among human and nonhuman beings? Future Remains is a thoughtful and creative meditation on these questions. The fifteen objects gathered in this book resemble more the tarots of a fortuneteller than the archaeological finds of an expedition—they speak of planetary futures. Marco Armiero, Robert S. Emmett, and Gregg Mitman have assembled a cabinet of curiosities for the Anthropocene, bringing together a mix of lively essays, creatively chosen objects, and stunning photographs by acclaimed photographer Tim Flach. The result is a book that interrogates the origins, implications, and potential dangers of the Anthropocene and makes us wonder anew about what exactly human history is made of.

Author : Mark Thurner,Juan Pimentel
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 250 pages
File Size : 47,6 Mb
Release : 2021-02-22
Category : Electronic
ISBN : 190885782X

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New World Objects of Knowledge by Mark Thurner,Juan Pimentel Pdf

Author : Mark Dion,Colleen Josephine Sheehy
Publisher : U of Minnesota Press
Page : 107 pages
File Size : 40,9 Mb
Release : 2006
Category : Art
ISBN : 0816644705

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Cabinet of Curiosities by Mark Dion,Colleen Josephine Sheehy Pdf

The richly illustrated essays in Cabinet of Curiosities records the creative processes behind an installation designed by contemporary artist Mark Dion at the Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum at the University of Minnesota, a collaboration of museum staff, students, and collection curators. Drawing from university collections, Dion and the curators chose seven hundred objects representative of the state’s history, ranging from a Bierstadt painting of Minnehaha Falls to Hubert Humphrey memorabilia, as well as objects that would have fascinated Renaissance viewers—such as mirrors and the world’s smallest plant—and arranged them into categories typical of Renaissance inquiry, such as the Underworld, the Sea, Humankind, and the Library. Together, the cabinets represented the university in miniature, just as their Renaissance precursors had attempted to represent microcosms of the world. Cabinet of Curiosities offers commentary on the ways in which collecting has undergirded the creation of knowledge within universities and in Western society. Colleen J. Sheehy is director of education at the Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum and associate faculty in American studies and art history at the University of Minnesota. Published in cooperation with the Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum

Author : Jørgen Bruhn,Asun López-Varela Azcárate,Miriam de Paiva Vieira
Publisher : Springer Nature
Page : 1254 pages
File Size : 46,9 Mb
Release : 2024-01-02
Category : Literary Criticism
ISBN : 9783031283222

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The Palgrave Handbook of Intermediality by Jørgen Bruhn,Asun López-Varela Azcárate,Miriam de Paiva Vieira Pdf

This handbook provides an extensive overview of traditional and emerging research areas within the field of intermediality studies, understood broadly as the study of interrelations among all forms of communicative media types, including transmedial phenomena. Section I offers accounts of the development of the field of intermediality - its histories, theories and methods. Section II and III then explore intermedial facets of communication from ancient times until the 21st century, with discussion on a wide range of cultural and geographical settings, media types, and topics, by contributors from a diverse set of disciplines. It concludes in Section IV with an emphasis on urgent societal issues that an intermedial perspective might help understand.

Author : Ken Arnold
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 290 pages
File Size : 54,8 Mb
Release : 2017-03-02
Category : History
ISBN : 9781351953597

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Cabinets for the Curious by Ken Arnold Pdf

The last few years has, within museums, witnessed nothing short of a revolution. Worried that the very institution was itself in danger of becoming a dusty, forgotten, culturally irrelevant exhibit, vigorous efforts have been made to reshape the museum mission. Fearing that history was coming to be ignored by modern society, many institutions have instead marketed a de-intellectualised heritage, overly relying on computer technology to captivate a contemporary audience. The theme of this work is that we can do much to reassess the rationale that inspires contemporary collections through a study of seventeenth century museums. England's first museums were quite literally wonderful; founded that is on the disciplined application of the faculty of wonder. The type of wonder employed was not that post-Romantic idea of disbelief, but rather an active form of curiosity developed during the Renaissance, particularly by the individuals who set about gathering objects and founding museums to further their enquiries. The argument put forward in this book is that this museological practice of using objects actually to create, as well as disseminate knowledge makes just as much sense today as it did in the seventeenth century and, further, that the best way of reinvigorating contemporary museums, is to return to that form of wonder. By taking such a comparative approach, this book works both as a scholarly historical text, and as an historically informed analysis of the key issues facing today's museums. As such, it will prove essential reading both for historians of collecting and museums, and for anyone interested in the philosophies of modern museum management.

Author : Sarah Hurley
Publisher : Welbeck Publishing
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 52,9 Mb
Release : 2021-06
Category : History
ISBN : 0233006109

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Science Museum: the Medicine Cabinet by Sarah Hurley Pdf

Written by the curators of the Museum's Medicine Galleries, experts at using objects to bring history to life.

Author : H.P. Wood
Publisher : Sourcebooks, Inc.
Page : 368 pages
File Size : 40,7 Mb
Release : 2016-06-07
Category : Fiction
ISBN : 9781492631491

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Magruder's Curiosity Cabinet by H.P. Wood Pdf

"It's a rare novel that manages to combine humor, tragedy, powerful friendships, outcasts, insiders, detached satire, and deeply felt emotion all in one, but HP Wood's Magruder's Curiosity Cabinet manages to pull off the trick— just don't ask how it's performed! "—Lauren Willig, New York Times bestselling author of The Other Daughter In this hypnotic novel set in turn-of-the-century Coney Island, an abandoned girl collides with a disgruntled ménage of circus freaks, sparking events that will irrevocably intertwine their lives and transform the only worlds they've ever known. Kitty Hayward and her mother are ready to experience the spectacles of Coney Island's newest attraction, the Dreamland amusement park. But when Kitty's mother vanishes from their hotel, she finds herself penniless, alone, and far from her native England. The last people she expects to help are the cast of characters at Magruder's Curiosity Cabinet, a museum of oddities. From con men to strongmen, from flea wranglers to lion tamers, Kitty's new friends quickly adopt her and vow to help find the missing Mrs. Hayward. But even these unusual inhabitants may not be a match for the insidious sickness that begins to spread through Coney Island...or the panic that turns Dreamland into a nightmare. With shades of Water For Elephants and The Museum of Extraordinary Things, Magruder's Curiosity Cabinet sweeps readers into a mesmerizing world where nothing is as it seems, and where "normal" is the exception to the rule.

Author : Anonim
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 596 pages
File Size : 45,9 Mb
Release : 1887
Category : Medicine
ISBN : UCAL:$B215937

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The Medical Age by Anonim Pdf

Author : Anonim
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 78 pages
File Size : 50,7 Mb
Release : 1882
Category : Medicine
ISBN : UOM:39015069804204

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The Medical Brief by Anonim Pdf