Medicine Story Briefs

Understanding human anatomy, and how to diagnose and treat illnesses, has changed dramatically from ancient to modern times. This collection features people whose medical breakthroughs helped to save millions of lives.

Dr. Robert O. Wilson, born in the Chinese city of Nanking (Nanjing), stays to help victims of a massacre while others flee to save their own lives.

Our neuron transmitting system works well when nothing interferes with the process. Cocaine, however, substantially interfereswith the process.

Between October 22 and November 29, 1951, the United States government conducted nuclear-weapon tests at the Nevada Proving Ground (later called the N...

George Parkman had problems with his teeth.

The Romans had a preferred method of execution, known as crucifixion, which confronted victims with a tortuous way to die.

It's September, 1928, when Alexander Fleming sees something unusual in a culture plate. What he found changes the infection-fighting world, going on t...

The story of penicillin is an interesting one, starting with its name. "Penicillium" means "painter's brush" in Latin. Under a microscope, that's exac...

The thin sac which encloses a human's heart is called the "pericardium.

In the 11th century, doctors made house calls. At the time, the purpose of medicine, as described by Avicenna in his "Canon of Medicine," was the "pre...

October 23 is "World Polio Day." Step back to a time when Boards of Health issue warning signs to guard against contracting polio in the early 20th ce...

Although doctors searched for the derringer ball that killed Abraham Lincoln, they could not locate it with their probe. Something else had to happen ...

Dr. Jonas Salk and his team developed a polio vaccine at a time when children were dying of the illness. Declared safe and effective, in 1955, the vac...

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