Lægekunsten i oldtidens Ægypten
Josephine Schnohr:
Ancient Egyptian Medicine.
Bibl Læger 2002; 194: 4–36.
The ancient Egyptians began to practice medicine as early as 3000 B.C. and developed a tradition, which was later continued by the Greeks and Romans. Most of the medical texts preserved date far back as to The Old Kingdom (2686–2181 B.C.), an important period in the evolution of Egyptian medicine. These texts were copied during later periods, the knowledge being passed on from one generation of doctors to another down through the ages. The tradition of embalming the dead with the removal of the internal organs provided the Egyptians with a detailed knowledge of the human anatomy, which was utilized by the doctors. The Egyptian doctors were educated at special academies of medicine and were at the time superior compared to the rest of the world. They belonged among the more privileged in Egypt and were highly respected in society. Egyptian medicine was based on healing plants growing and minerals found in this fertile country offering cures for almost any type of disease – some more effective than others. However, the Egyptian doctors treated only the patient’s immediate symptoms and not the cause of the disease.
En koppeepidemi i Vendsyssel 1824 – 1926.
Hans J. Møller:
A local epidemic of smallpox.
Bibl Læger 2002; 194: 37–57.
In 1824 there was an outbreak of smallpox in Copenhagen which resulted in a local epidemic. The disease spread from Copenhagen to the northern part of Jutland where a local epidemic developed, but at the same time only sporadic cases occurred in other parts of the country. Vaccination against smallpox had not been carried out as much as in other parts of the country, and it was shown by the local doctors that many of the earlier vaccinations had been insufficient. Furthermore it was not possible to isolate the patients.
As a consequence of the epidemic there was a very great increase in vaccinations.
Om »Et Tilfælde af Kloroformdød, behandlet med direkte Hjertemassage og Luftindblæsning gennem Trakealkanyle« i år 1900.
Preben G. Berthelsen:
On the first successful restoration of the beat of the heart, by open-chest cardiac massage, after collapse from chloroform inhalation.
Bibl Læger 2002; 194: 58–73.
One hundred years ago Hjalmar Maag, MD, a surgeon in a small provincial town in Denmark, was the first to restore the beat of the heart by internal cardiac massage.
The victim was a 27 years old labourer with sciatic neuralgia. A surgical release of the nerve was planned. The young man was lightly anaesthetised with chloroform on an Esmarch mask, when upon incision of the skin he collapsed. Artificial respiration (Silvester’s method?) was tried but to no avail. Instead a tracheotomy was performed. A tube was inserted and mouth-to-tube respiration started. As this did not restore life, Dr. Maag opened the left side of the patient’s chest and compressed the heart rhythmically with his hand. Shortly, the circulation of the blood was re-established and spontaneous respiration returned.
The time needed for the surgical procedures was, however, too long so the patient died 12 hours later without regaining consciousness.
The paper discusses the pros and cons of Maag’s surgical modus operandi in the light of the scientific literature available at the time of the dramatic events.
Danske pionerer for tumorvirologi og cancercytogenetik.
Simon Fischer:
Danish pioneers in tumour biology and cancer cyatogenetics.
Bibl Læger 2002; 194: 74–109.
In 1907 Vilhelm Ellermann (1871–1924) in well-documented inoculation experiments founded the infectious idea of malignancy. He succeeded in transfering a virus-like agens of leukaemia in chickens. A few years later the American scientist Peyton Rous inoculated sarcoma in healthy chickens by similar methods. Ellermann also repeated his experiments but concluded the two diseases were not completely identical. Ellermann’s pupil Julius Engelbreth-Holm (1904–1961) established, however, coincident cases of leukaemia and sarcoma. Another Dane, Albert Fischer (1891–1956) who studied tissue culture technique with Alexis Carrel in the Department of Medical Research at the Rockefeller Institute in New York 1920–1922 often met Peyton Rous, who argued for his infectious idea of cancer. Albert Fischer who succeeded in culturing pure strains of epithelium and cartilago, repeated in vitro the former immunization animal experiments performed by Rous, stressing a separate resistance against virus and tumour cells treated by immune sera. In all his life Fischer used cultured Rous sarcoma cells and showed the progressive way to synthetic media and the puzzle of fibrinolysis. The Danish geneticist Tage Kemp (1896–1964) was introduced to his studies of chromosomes and mitosis in vitro in Albert Fischer’s and Øjvind Winges laboratories. Øjvind Winge (1886–1960), another Danish geneticist with an extensive international recognition for his study of the life cyclus of yeast in the Carlsberg Laboratory in Copenhagen, counted chromosomes in samples from the beet tumour crown gall and the tar exposed tumours in mice and then attained a position as a true pioneer in demonstration of chromosomal aneuploidy in malignancy.
Forsidebillede: Københavns Universitets festsal. Maleri af Aksel Jørgensen på Studentergaarden i København.