Curare: The Poisoned Arrow that Entered the Laboratory and Sparked a Moral Debate

2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 881-897 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shira Shmuely
Keyword(s):  
19Th Century ◽  
Medical Knowledge ◽  
South American ◽  
Scientific Controversy ◽  
Moral Debate ◽  
Motor Nerves ◽  
Scientific Dispute ◽  
Cruelty To Animals ◽  
The 19Th Century

Summary Curare, a paralysing poison derived from South American plants, fascinated European explorers with its deadly powers. Generations of travellers were perplexed by how animals affected by curare showed no signs of suffering. British experimenters relabelled curare as an anaesthetic and used it to restrain animals during experiments. But during the 19th century, doubts started to appear: can a paralysed animal feel pain but be unable to express it? A scientific dispute emerged as not all British physiologists accepted Claude Bernard’s claim that curare affected only the motor nerves. The scientific controversy over curare reached the British parliament, and the Cruelty to Animals Act (1876) stated that curare would not be considered an anaesthetic. Nevertheless, antivivisection advocates continued to contest its use for decades. The article reveals new aspects of colonial import of bioactive plants in a case that reshaped the production of medical knowledge and presented epistemological and moral challenges.

Abortion and Infanticide

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
20Th Century ◽  
19Th Century ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Medical Knowledge ◽  
Criminal Trials ◽  
Late 20Th Century ◽  
Colonial Era ◽  
Public Defense ◽  
19Th And 20Th Century ◽  
The 19Th Century

The history of infanticide and abortion in Latin America has garnered increasing attention in the past two decades. Particularities of topic and temporal focus characterize this work and shape this bibliography’s geographic organization. Mexico possesses the most developed scholarship in both the colonial and modern periods. There, tracing of the persistence of pre-Conquest Indigenous medical knowledge and the endurance of paraprofessional obstetrical practitioners through the colonial era and into the 19th century features prominently and echoes some of the scholarship examining European midwives’ administration of plant-based abortifacients in the medieval and Early Modern eras. This topic plays a role, but a much less prominent one in scholarship on Colombia, Peru, and Brazil. Scholars of Brazil, the Caribbean, and circum-Caribbean have focused in particular on the issue of enslaved mothers’ commission of infanticide and abortion on their own children in the 18th and 19th centuries, a particularly fraught issue in the context of the abolition of the slave trade. A central assumption in much scholarship on the 19th-century professionalization (and masculinization) of obstetrical medicine is that the marginalization of midwives entailed a reduction in women’s access to abortion, although this position has been challenged in some recent scholarship on 19th-century Mexico in particular. The examination of the ways that the new republics perceived the crimes of infanticide and abortion in their legal codes, judicial processes, and in community attitudes is a central focus of 19th- and 20th-century scholarship. Scholars have remarked upon the considerable uniformity across all regions of a paucity of denunciations or convictions in the first half of the 19th century and the rise of criminal trials for both crimes in its last three decades. This change coincided (although no one has argued been provoked by) many countries’ issuance of national penal codes in the 1870s and 1880s. This intensification of persecution also coincided with the Catholic church’s articulation of an explicit condemnation of abortion (Pius IX’s 1869 bull Apostolicae Sedis), although demonstrating the concrete implications of this decree to the Latin American setting remains a task yet to be undertaken. Historians of both abortion and infanticide have also concentrated on defendant motives and defenses in criminal investigations. While some highlight defendants’ economic desperation, most scholars argue that the public defense of female sexual honor was a crucial motivator, which courts understood as a legitimate concern in 19th- and even mid-20th-century trials. Scholarship on 20th-century infanticide and abortion history continues to concentrate on fluctuations in attitudes toward honor, gender, and the family as influences on criminal codes and especially judicial sentencing for both acts, and toward the late 20th century on feminist efforts to decriminalize abortion that have met with varied success across countries.

Did Jules Dejerine describe AMAN at the end of the 19th century?

Neurology ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 89 (16) ◽  
pp. 1749-1753 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stéphane Mathis ◽  
Laurent Magy ◽  
Gwendal Le Masson ◽  
Jean-Michel Vallat
Keyword(s):  
19Th Century ◽  
Axonal Degeneration ◽  
Axonal Neuropathy ◽  
Northern China ◽  
Acute Motor Axonal Neuropathy ◽  
Acute Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy ◽  
Immune Mediated ◽  
Pathologic Lesions ◽  
Motor Nerves ◽  
The 19Th Century

Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is a heterogeneous group of acute immune-mediated neuropathies, including acute inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (AIDP) and acute motor axonal neuropathy (AMAN). AMAN is an axonal subtype of GBS that has been known since the 1990s; this term was first used to describe a summer epidemic of acute ascending paralysis observed in children in northern China (and Mexico). It is pathologically characterized by noninflammatory axonal degeneration of the motor nerves (with little or no demyelination). The French neurologist Jules Dejerine (1849–1917) conducted a clinical and pathologic description of AMAN in the late 19th century. We describe his observations, which provide us with valuable information on the course of pathologic lesions in this disease.

scholarly journals Patterns in the history of the commentation on the so-called ḥadīth Ibn Masʿūd

2019 ◽  
Vol 18 ◽  
pp. 137-162
Author(s):  
Thomas Eich
Keyword(s):  
19Th Century ◽  
Medical Knowledge ◽  
The Other ◽  
History Of ◽  
Diachronic Analysis ◽  
The One ◽  
The 19Th Century ◽  
Clear Line

This paper analyzes the so-called Ibn Masʿūd ḥadīth (see below) on two levels: the specific wording of the ḥadīth on the one hand and a significant portion of the commentation written about it since the 10th century until today on the other. This aims at three things. First, I will show how the ḥadīth’s exact wording still developed after the stabilization of the material in collections. Although this development occurred only on the level of single words, it can be shown that it is a reflection of discussions documented in the commentaries. Therefore, these specific examples show that there was not always a clear line separating between ḥadīth text and commentaries on that text. Second, the diachronic analysis of the commentaries will provide material for a nuanced assessment in how far major icons of commentation such as Nawawī and Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī significantly influenced following generations in composing their respective commentaries. Third, I will argue that in the specific case study provided here significant changes in the commentation can be witnessed since the second half of the 19th century which are caused by the spread of basic common medical knowledge in that period.

scholarly journals Na co umierali poznaniacy? Analiza przyczyn zgonów w zróżnicowanych ekologicznie i kulturowo dzielnicach Poznania

2014 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 151-162
Author(s):  
Agnieszka Budziałowska ◽  
Magdalena Górna
Keyword(s):  
Mortality Rate ◽  
19Th Century ◽  
Neurological Diseases ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Medical Knowledge ◽  
National Archive ◽  
Cultural Factors ◽  
Downtown Area ◽  
The 19Th Century ◽  
Death Causes

Dziewiętnastowieczny Poznań był miastem zaniedbanym pod względem komunalnym i przeludnionym. Utworzenie fortyfikacji wokół Poznania dodatkowo hamowało jego rozwój przestrzenny. Poza murami twierdzy nie było takiego skupiska ludności, jak w śródmieściu, ale za to problem stanowiła bieda oraz ograniczony dostęp do opieki medycznej. Celem niniejszego opracowania jest wykazanie zróżnicowania w przyczynach zgonów oraz ich ekologiczno-kulturowego uwarunkowania wśród poznaniaków z wybranych dzielnic miasta. Dane o przyczynach zgonów zaczerpnięto z ksiąg zgonów dla 4 katolickich parafii: św. Marcina, św. Rocha, św. Marii Magdaleny i św. Małgorzaty. Księgi zdeponowane są w Archiwum Państwowym w Poznaniu. Dla wymienionych parafii obliczono procentowy rozkład przyczyn zgonów w 4 kategoriach wiekowych zmarłych: 0-1 miesiąc, 2 miesiące-1 rok, 2-14 lat oraz 50+. Różnice w częstościach przyczyn zgonów pomiędzy parafiami weryfikowano testem u. W XIX-wiecznym Poznaniu głównym regulatorem umieralności były choroby zakaźne. Najwięcej zgonów wywołanych szkarlatyną, kokluszem, ospą, odrą i tzw. „wysypkami” (prawie 12%) odnotowano w ubogiej parafii św. Małgorzaty. Odsetek zgonów na cholerę był najmniejszy w podmiejskiej parafii św. Rocha i wynosił jedynie 2%. W parafii św. Rocha i św. Marcina chorzenia neurologiczne stanowiły odpowiednio 13,6% i 25,7% wszystkich zgonów. Najczęstszą przyczyną zgonów w parafii św. Rocha była słabość - śmiertelność z jej powodu osiągnęła poziomu prawie 23% wszystkich zgonów. Pozostałe parafie charakteryzowały się znacznie niższym odsetkiem zgonów z przyczyn neurologicznych (od prawie 4% do 7,5%). Częstość zgonów na gruźlicę także różnicowała badane parafie. Najwięcej odnotowano ich w parafii ze śródmieścia (św. Marii Magdaleny) oraz w parafiach: św. Małgorzaty i św. Marcina, najmniej w parafii św. Rocha. Tę ostatnią z kolei wyróżniała wysoka śmiertelność z powodu tzw. gorączek. Rozbieżności w częstościach zgonów z wymienionych przyczyn pomiędzy ludnością z centrum miasta i tą z dzielnic podmiejskich wynikały z przyczyn ekologicznych i kulturowych, w tym z niskiego poziomu fachowej wiedzy na temat chorób, co ostatecznie przekładało się na ich błędne rozpoznawanie i diagnozowanie. What did the inhabitants of Poznań die of? The analysis of death causes in environmentally and culturally diversified districts of Poznań In the 19th century, Poznań was an overpopulated and municipally-wise neglected city. Additionally, the fortifications surrounding Poznań blocked its spatial development. Behind the city walls, population was much lower than in the downtown area. However, poverty and limited access to healthcare were the real problems. The aim of the article is to demonstrate selected causes of death in selected Poznan districts and the role of environmental and cultural factors in this subject. Data on death cases are derived from the church registers in 4 Roman Catholic parishes: St. Martin’s, St. Roch’s, St. Mary Magdalene’s and St. Margaret’s. These registers are deposited in the National Archive in Poznan. For the abovementioned parishes, death causes were presented in percentage values and categorized in four age groups: children up to one moth, children between 2 months and 1 year, children between 2 and 14 years and people over 50 years old. Differences that appear when it comes to the number of death causes among the parishes were verified with the u test. In the 19th century, in Poznań the most common mortality regulator were infectious diseases. The largest number of deaths caused by scarlet flu, pertussis, smallpox, measles and the socalled “rashes” (almost 12%) was registered in a poor St.Margaret’s parish. The cholera death toll was the smallest in the suburban St. Roch’s parish – only 2% of deaths were caused by it. In St. Roch’s and St. Martin’s parishes, neurological diseases were responsible for 13.6% and 25.7% of all the deaths respectively. The most common death cause in St. Roch’s parish was weakness – weakness-related mortality reached 23% of all deaths. All the other parishes had much lower mortality rate related to neurological diseases (from almost 4% to 7.5%). Number of tuberculosis- related deaths also differed among the parishes. The highest mortality was observed in the downtown parish (St. Mary Magdalene’s) and in St. Margaret’s and St. Martin’s. The lowest – in St. Roch’s. However, St. Roch’s had a high mortality rate caused by the so-called fevers. Environmental and cultural factors, e. g. poor medical knowledge and therefore bad identification and diagnosis, influenced the fact that people from the downtown area and people from the suburbs died from different reasons and at different times.

The American Pediatric Society

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 95 (1) ◽  
pp. 147-151
Author(s):  
Howard A. Pearson
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
19Th Century ◽  
The United States ◽  
Work Place ◽  
Infectious Diarrhea ◽  
Pediatric Society ◽  
American Children ◽  
Cruelty To Animals ◽  
The 19Th Century ◽  
Deficiency Diseases

Pediatrics as a defined area in medicine did not emerge on the American scene until well into the 19th century. With few definitive therapies and little understanding of the pathogenesis of diseases, the "proto-pediatrics" of the first half of the nineteenth century in the United States was largely descriptive and empiric, but the problems of children were monumental. Deadly infectious diseases, including diphtheria, measles, and cholera infantum (infectious diarrhea), killed tens of thousands of American children annually. Deficiency diseases, especially scurvy and rickets, were rampant. Because children were considered chattel, abuse in the home and work place was prevalent. The Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals founded in 1866 conducted the first organized effort to prevent abuse and protect children.

scholarly journals Twentieth-century astronomical heritage: the case of the Brazilian National Observatory

2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (A29A) ◽  
pp. 106-108
Author(s):  
Christina Helena Barboza
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
20Th Century ◽  
19Th Century ◽  
South American ◽  
National Observatory ◽  
South American Country ◽  
In The Beginning ◽  
The 19Th Century ◽  
Historical Instruments

AbstractThis paper aims at contributing to the UNESCO-IAU Astronomy and World Heritage Initiative's discussions by presenting the case study of a 20th-century observatory located in a South American country. In fact, the National Observatory of Brazil was created in the beginning of the 19th century, but its present facilities were inaugurated in 1921. Through this paper a brief description of the heritage associated with the Brazilian observatory is given, focused on its main historical instruments and the scientific and social roles it performed along its history. By way of conclusion, the paper suggests that the creation of the Museum of Astronomy and Related Sciences with its multidisciplinary team of academic specialists and technicians was decisive for the preservation of that expressive astronomical heritage.

Border Wars in South America during the 19th Century

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter V. N. Henderson
Keyword(s):  
World War I ◽  
19Th Century ◽  
Political Process ◽  
South American ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
Early National Period ◽  
Latin Americans ◽  
Internal Conflicts ◽  
Nation States ◽  
The 19Th Century

While Europeans basked in the glory of their so-called century of peace between the end of the Napoleonic wars (1815) and the onset of World War I (1914), Latin Americans knew no such luxury. Conflict became a way of life for Latin Americans attempting to construct nation-states. Liberals and Conservatives dueled with one another for political power, while caudillos (military strongmen) added their unique twisted logic to the political process. Historians have spilled considerable ink detailing these internal conflicts that complicated Latin America’s struggle for effective state formation in the early national period but have paid much less attention to the external wars over disputed boundaries that involved every South American nation during the 19th century. As historian Robert Burr described it: boundary conflicts were the “congenital international disease of Spain’s former colonies.”

scholarly journals Corpo de mulher: a trajetória do desconhecido na Bahia do século XIX

2001 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Renilda BARRETO
Keyword(s):  
Social History ◽  
19Th Century ◽  
Medical Knowledge ◽  
The Body ◽  
Historical Study ◽  
Knowledge Based ◽  
Medical Reports ◽  
Historical Memories ◽  
The 19Th Century ◽  
De Medicina

Este trabalho, de natureza historiográfica, pretende discutir a forma de organização do saber médico na Bahia do século XIX em torno do corpo feminino. Este período revela a emergência do saber médico, fundamentado no espírito de cientificidade oitocentista, em contraposição às práticas seculares de curas, respaldadas no saber popular. O texto foi produzido a partir das consultas a fontes primárias, tais como as publicações da Gazeta Médica da Bahia, jornais e periódicos de circulação em Salvador, no período em questão; Memórias Históricas da Faculdade de Medicina; teses de conclusão de curso; os discursos proferidos na Câmara Municipal; relatórios médicos da Santa Casa de Misericórdia de Salvador, dentre outros documentos reveladores da construção do saber médico na Bahia do século XIX. A análise aqui desenvolvida está ancorada na história social da medicina e do corpo. Abstract This historical study aims at the discussion about how medical knowledge of the female body was organized in Bahia in the 19th century. That period reveals the emergence of medical knowledge based on the scientific spirit of the 1800’s as opposed to old healing practices supported by popular perceptions. The text was produced from research into primary sources such as issues of Gazeta Médica da Bahia (Medical Journal of Bahia) and periodicals available in Salvador during that time; Memórias Histórias da Faculdade de Medicina (Medical School Historical Memories); graduation theses; speeches given to the City Counsil; medical reports from Santa Casa de Misericórdia (a charity institution) in Salvador, among others. These documents show how medical knowledge was constructed in Bahia in the 19th century. The analysis is based on social history of medicine and the body.

scholarly journals José Enrique Rodó: The Birth of Latin America Out of Spiritual Revolt

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 182-200
Author(s):  
Hans Schelkshorn
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
20Th Century ◽  
19Th Century ◽  
South American ◽  
Anglo Saxon ◽  
The South ◽  
Jose Vasconcelos ◽  
Greek Culture ◽  
Jose Enrique Rodo ◽  
The 19Th Century

Abstract In the second half of the 19th century positivism became the official state doctrine of many countries in southern America. Around 1900, however, the authoritarian positivistic regimes were increasingly criticized due to their cultural imitation on the Anglo-Saxon world and the atheistic ideology. In this context, José Enrique Rodó, a poet and philosopher of Uruguay, called for a critical and creative re-adoption of the “Latin” roots of southern America, specifically Greek culture and early Christianity. In his essay “Ariel” (1900), Rodó sparked a spiritual revolt that especially affected the youth of the whole continent. In contrast to Nietzsche but on the basis of secular reason, Rodó defended a religion of love, which inspired important philosophies in the 20th century, from José Vasconcelos and Antonio Caso to the theologies and philosophies of liberation. Thus, “Latin America” as a self-designation of the South American peoples was essentially inaugurated through the spiritual revolt initiated by José Enrique Rodó.

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