Seventeenth Century

It was in the seventeenth century that modern medicine began with the publication of Sir William Harvey's classic text Exercitatio anatomica de motu cordis. He introduced the scientific method, and medicine had finally and forever ascended from the Dark Ages. 

Tabulae Anatomicae (1627) by Giulio Cesare
Dissected figures seemed to delight in playfully showing off their anatomy in the copperplates of Odoardo Fialetti in Tabulae anatomicae by Giulio Cesare Casseri (1552-1616). This is a demonstration of the internal organs.
William Harvey, oil by an unknown artist
Possibly the most important landmark in the history of medicine, and indeed in all of science came in 1628 when William Harvey (1578-1657) wrote Exercitatio Anatomica de Motu Cordis et Sanguinis in Animalibus. Harvey’s study of circulatory physiology was another major departure from the long held principles held by Galen. His use of the scientific method and his application of mathematical measurements to vital phenomena revolutionized medical investigation. This was one of several paintings saved by a librarian from the great London fire of 1666 as he ran with with it under his arm.
Exercitatio anatomica de motu cordis (1628) by William Harvey
the title page
Exercitatio anatomica de motu cordis (1628) by William Harvey
Harvey's famous illustration depicting the circulation and venous valves
A compleat treatise of the muscles as they appear in the humane body (1681) by John Browne
John Browne (1642-1702) produced a copperplate showing a posing nobleman in this depiction of the muscular system. Here the subject appears to be from the upper class though the poor were usually the ones whose remains found their way onto dissecting tables for study by artists and physicians.
De motu animalium (1680-1681) by Giovanni Alfonso Borelli
Anatomists and physiologists began to interpret the body in terms of its structure and mechanics, leaving aside questions of religion and the “soul” to clerics. Astronomer and mathematician Giovanni Borelli of Pisa exemplified this approach in his De Motu Animalium when he applied the laws of physics to view the body as a machine that functioned by way of a system of pulleys and levers. This is a demonstration of leg joints
The Anatomy of humane Bodies (1698) by William Cowper
This is the title page of perhaps the finest anatomy text of the seventeenth century. William Cowper published the same book using the same illustrations, merely providing a translation from Latin into English. He did not acknowledge Bidloo as the true author anywhere in the book, and pasted a small printed flap (see below) with his own name over that of Bidloo on the engraved title page of the first edition.
The Anatomy of humane Bodies (1698) by William Cowper
This is a close up of Cowper's title page with pasted on credits over Bidloo's name.
Anatomia humani corporis (1685) by Govard Bidloo
the skeletal anatomy
Anatomia humani corporis (1685) by Govard Bidloo
the muscles of the arm
Anatomia humani corporis (1685) by Govard Bidloo
the abdominal anatomy
The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicholaes Tulp (1632) by Rembrandt van Rijn
Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669) turned his attention to medicine in this famous painting. The Amsterdam Company of Surgeons had commissioned this work when Rembrandt was only 26 years old, and shows Dr. Tulp, a leading Dutch physician at the time, pointing out a tendon in a cadaver. Dr. Tulp was actually demonstrating the function of the tendons that flexed the fingers rather than their anatomy since he was more interested in the role of functional anatomy as a clue to the causes of disease.
Anatomia per uso et intellligenza del disegno ricercata non solo su gl'ossi (1691) by Bernardo Genga
Ecorché statuettes, or flayed anatomic models, were popular during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and were often patterned after sketches similar to this copperplate ecorché by Bernardino Genga, (1620-1690).
sketch by Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640)
muscular system sketch for an ecorche

Sixteenth Century

The first true great anatomic illustrations were by Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), who was an acclaimed inventor, engineer, and architect prior to his achieving fame as an artist. Illustrations that follow from "De humani corporis fabrica libri septem" by Andreas Vesalius mark the beginning of modern medicine since they are the result of independent investigation.  

Vitruvian Man (ca. 1487) by Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci drew the Vitruvian Man after the inspiration of architect Vitruvius in order to demonstrate the "perfect" proportions of man. The male anatomy in separate positions superimposes exactly on both a circle and a square.
sketches by Leonardo da Vinci (ca. 1500)
the skeletal system
sketches by Leonardo da Vinci (ca. 1500)
the muscular system
sketches by Leonardo da Vinci (ca. 1500)
principal arteries and organs of the female
De humani corporis fabrica libri septem (1543) by Andreas Vesalius
Andreas Vesalius (1514-1564) brought medicine into the modern era with his monumental work De humani corporis fabrica libri septem (1543), now considered one of the greatest books in the history of medicine and science. Vesalius took that first great step away from the dogma that had strangled scientific investigation for centuries when he discarded all of Galen’s previously held “truths” and based his anatomic investigations on what he himself observed with his own careful dissections. This is a self-portrait from the first edition.
De humani corporis fabrica libri septem (1543) by Vesalius
the title page
De humani corporis fabrica libri septem (1543) by Vesalius
the skeletal system
De humani corporis fabrica libri septem (1543) by Vesalius
the muscular system
La dissection des parties du corps humain (1546) by Charles Estienne
a cross section of the brain
Anatomy lesson given by Michelangelo to other artists by Bartolomeo Passarotti (1529-1592)

Fifteenth Century

The first to investigate anatomy through dissection was Mondino de Cuzzi (1275-1326) of Bolognia when he dissected a human cadaver in about 1315, this famous lesson now a landmark in the history of medicine. 

 

Fasciculus Medicinae (1493) by Johannes de Ketham
Johannes de Ketham illustrated Mondino's first dissection in Fasciculus Medicinae (1493), and thereby became the author of the first anatomic illustration ever to appear in print. The gentleman sitting in the chair at the center of the woodcut orchestrated the procedure while he read from one of Galen’s anatomic texts. This illustration is believed to be the origin of the term “chairman of the department”, and the actual dissection would not have been done by the physician himself, but rather by an assistant.
dissection performed by Mondino de Cuzzi in Bologna in 1318 by Ernest Board (late nineteenth century)
a later depiction of that first dissection

Radioactivity

The newly discovered wonder of radioactivity in the early twentieth century awaited a commercial application which was eagerly supplied by innovative entrepreneurs. 

the Glen Springs radioactive baths
Sanitariums offering radioactive therapy throughout the country were popular in the early twentieth century.
radioactive inhalation treatment
Dr. Shower's Radium Salve
When the therapuetic benefits of radiation were unknown, radioactive substances were used to treat almost every medical condition.
Radithor
Radithor was a highly radioactive cureall manufactured and sold by William John Aloysius Bailey, a con artist in the late 1920’s. Eben M. Byers was a millionaire socialite who was the 1907 US Amateur Golf Champion and the Chairman of the AM Byers Iron Foundry. He was a handsome and dashing figure popular in all circles of society, though when chronic pain interfered with his golf, he began to take an interest in radithor for relief. Byers became the “poster boy” for radithor, and drank 1,400 bottles between 1927 and 1930. He subsequently developed cancer of his jaw and skull, marking the end of his life and the beginning of regulations regarding the sale of radioactive substances.
Radium Water
A number of radioactive jugs were offered for home use. The patient would fill the jug in the evening and drink the radioactive contents the next morning.
Invigorator
another radioactive container for the treatment of water
radioactive jugs
Zimmer Laborartory Radium Emanator
This small radioactive device could be hung in a jar of water if a radioactve jug was not available.
The Radium Nutex
Radioactive condoms were supposed to have magical properties.

Light

Light therapy has always been considered a healing force, and because they felt that light was the source of life, some Egyptian cults worshipped the sun and the healing ability of light. This modality was rediscovered by JH Kellogg in his "Light Therapeutics" (1910): "To be able to harness this force, to control it, and to focus it upon any desired organ or function of the body, is one of the newest and greatest triumphs of modern therapeutics.” 

the Horizontal Electric-Light Bath
from A System of Instruction in XRay Methods and Medical Uses of Light, Hot-Air, Vibration and High-Frequency Currents (1902) by S.H. Monell, MD
Light Therapeutics (1910) by J.H. Kellogg
a demonstration of arc light therapy to the spine
SunArc bath treatment of an infant
Healers did not hesitate to use these untested devices on patients of all ages.
early twentieth century light therapy
early twentieth century light therapy
early twentieth century Dinshah Spectro-Chrome Metry devices by the Spectro-Chrome Institute, Malaga, New Jersey
Colonel Dinshah Ghadiali was a “metaphysician,” and President of the Spectro-Chrome Institute. According to his theories, most diseases could be treated by shining lights of differing colors and intensity on the ill and disabled. The foundation of Dinshah’s therapy rested on the assumption that colors projected on the skin can be effective in treating various diseases, both internal and external, by altering the abnormal physiology that those diseases cause.
unmarked light healing helmet
This French healing helmet employed different light sources for the treatment of various conditions.
early twentieth century violet ray cased sets
Numerous annealed glass tubes constructed under low vacuum glowed with different colors, depending on the gas within. They were designed to spark when touched and came in different shapes to treat different parts of the body for the therapy of almost any condition. (left to right) Energex by Sears, Roebuck, and Co., Renulife, model R, Renulife Electric Co., Detroit, Michigan, LifeLite, model A, Ultra-Violet Home Products, Inc., Los Angeles, California
Violet Ray by Aloe and Co.
This is a very rare complete violet ray device by Aloe.
early twentieth century violet ray attachments
(top): two ozone generators, ophthalmic attachment, body roller, ozone-cocaine wound electrode, insulated rectal electrode, penile applicator, insulated vaginal applicator; (bottom): radium electrode, body coil, head and hair brush, breast attachment
ultraviolet ray treatment using the LifeLite ultraviolet light (ca. 1930)
demonstration of the bifurcated eye vacuum tube
from High Frequency Electric Currents in Medicine and Dentistry (1910) by S.H. Monell, MD
demonstration of the Shelton ozone generator with bulb attachment (ca. 1930)
Ozone was a byproduct of the discharge from these vacuum tubes, and was inhaled for its supposed health benefits.
treatment of the chest with the violet ray
from High Frequency Electric Currents in Medicine and Dentistry (1910) by S.H. Monell, MD
violet ray treatment of the breast
from High Frequency Electric Currents in Medicine and Dentistry (1910) by S.H. Monell, MD
the Brain Wave Synchronizer
Not long after the discovery of the electroencephalogram and its demonstration of the presence of brain waves, an entrepreneur produced this device to treat irregularities.

20th Century Charlatans - Kellogg, Brinkley, and Abrams

The explosion of technology and the discovery of the many applications of electricity in the early twentieth century provided opportunities for entrepreneurs who were not burdened by having to prove the safety or efficacy of their therapeutic theories. 

Dr. John Harvey Kellogg
Dr. Kellogg (1852-1943) was a holistic physician from Battle Creek, Michigan whose belief in moderation brought him to national fame. Visitors from all over the world visited his sanitarium to regain their health through a vegetarian diet, regular enemas, exercise, and therapy that included water, vibration, and electrical treatments.
The Battle Creek Santiarium
Patients visited the Battle Creek Sanitarium in hopes of curing any number of diseases including tuberculosis, cancer, obesity, and nervous disorders.
food laboratory at the Battle Creek Sanitarium
The baked wheat flakes Kellogg produced to feed guests became so popular that they replaced the usual breakfast pork and fried potatoes of the day, creating the present cereal empire that was commercially developed by his brother, William Keith.
prescribed diet in January, 1918 at the Battle Creek Sanitarium
All had to endure rather bizarre dietary regimens of Dr. Kellogg. He was also an early advocate of “Fletcherizing,” or the chewing of food to excess before swallowing.
inside the Battle Creek Sanitarium
Those entering were exposed to a full range of therapeutic modalities though one of Kellogg's great obsessions was with functions of the colon, and his “guests” spent many hours in bowel cleansing activities.
daily activities at the Battle Creek Sanitarium
Graham crackers
A number of entrepreneurs from Battle Creek, including Sylvester Graham (“Graham Crackers”) and CW Post (“Post Cereals”), soon climbed upon the bandwagon with their manufacture of breakfast cereals and health foods.
Dr. John Brinkley, the goat gland doctor
Dr. John Romulus Brinkley became the wealthiest and most powerful quack physician in the world by promoting rejuvenation through the transplantation of goats’ gonads to his patients. The theory that animal characteristics could be transmitted by transplantation had previously been suggested by physicians for hundreds of years, and with a talent for promotion, Dr. Brinkley's made his operation the rage of America and the world.
The Brinkley Hospital in Little Rock Arkansas
This is one of Dr. Brinkley's hospitals, which was dedicated to the performance of his procedure.
XERA, Brinkley radio
In 1931, Brinkley's radio station XER which was located just across the Mexican boarder initially broadcast a variety show with a powerful 75,000 watts, though after some encouragement, Mexican authorities allowed him to boost power to 500,000 watts, making it the most powerful station in the world. It was not long before XER became XERA and with power increased to an earth shattering one million watts, many channels were drowned out over a large part of the United States.
Dr. Albert Abrams, King of the Quacks
Albert Abrams, AM, MD, LLD, FRMS, a neurologist born in San Francisco in 1864, was the King of American Charlatans. Abrams believed that the diagnosis and treatment of a number of illnesses began with the percussion of reflex centers in the spine, and he was happy to provide courses on the subject at up to two hundred dollars apiece. Abrams’ electric devices were termed ERA, or Electronic Reactions of Abrams (later to be called “radionics”), and he was responsible for the production of a generation of quack machines that flooded the market in the first part of the twentieth century.
Dr. Abrams treating a patient
The treatment method recommended by Abrams involved an “oscilloclast,” which was a machine that supposedly duplicated the vibrations characteristic of each disease in order to neutralize that disorder.
Abrams' Oscilloclast (ca. 1920)
Oscilloclast
This is a rarer and more advanced form of Abrams' oscilloclast.
Abrams dynamizer and reflexophone

Early Theories

There has been a long history of confusion regarding the efficacy of various therapeutic regimens, a fact that has often led to the success of disreputable physicians: a) many patients improve spontaneously no matter what the therapy, b) up to one third will feel better by placebo effect alone, and c), the therapist's convincing conclusion that a bad outcome resulted from the patient's sinful behavior or tardiness in seeking medical help.    

Extraction of the Fool’s Stone, oil on wood by Jan Sanders van Hemessen (1500-1557)
Early quack physicians roamed the countryside curing the insane or possessed by removing the “stone of insanity.” The healer would make an incision in the forehead of those afflicted and, while palming a stone, he would appear to remove it for a cure. The present day expression describing one who exhibits unusual behavior as having “rocks in the head” is probably derived from that practice. The healer had moved on to the next town before his deception was discovered.
Perkins Tractors from the Perkins family (ca. 1796)
On February 19, 1796, Dr. Elisha Perkins (1741-1799) patented the first medical quackery device in the United States when he created two metal probes which supposedly “drew out” disease and pain after being drawn across the skin on any part of the body. His “Perkins Tractors” were two rods of brass and iron, though one tractor was supposedly made of copper, zinc, and gold, and the other iron, silver, and platinum.
Metallic Tractors (1801), aquatint with watercolors on paper by James Gillray
a famous illustration demonstrating the use of Perkin Tractors
a group of mesmerised French patients (1778/1784), oil on canvas, artist unknown
The first to bring international attention to the possibility that imbalanced magnetic life forces (termed “animal magnetism”) could be an important cause of disease processes was the German physician Franz Anton Mesmer (1734-1815). Though he is recognized as an early pioneer of hypnosis, credit for that discovery went to James Braid, who refined the technique in 1842 and popularized the term “hypnosis” from the Greek word for sleep (hypnos). Dr. Mesmer’s legacy in the English language remains the term mesmerize, meaning “to cast a spell.”
a case of sixty phrenology heads (1831) by William Bally, Dublin, ceramic phrenology head by Lorenzo Fowler (1860–1896)
The assessment of character and intelligence through the examination of physical appearance is comical in one respect, though offensive regarding both race and gender in another. This “science” was taken seriously in the nineteenth century and was referred to as either phrenology or physiognomy. Phrenology, the study of facial characteristics as a reflection of personality, was created by a Viennese physician, Dr. Franz Gall (1758-1828). However, modern neuroanatomists would certainly agree that different areas of the brain are responsible for different functions and personality characteristics.
calipers for measuring dimensions of the skull
These are the calipers of George Combe, one of the founders of phrenology.
Phrenologic measurements
German phrenologist Robert Burger-Villingen is taking measurements in order to determine the personality of his patient.
German Craniometer
This is a late 19th century craniometer made in Braunshweig Germany for the determination of personality characteristics through skeletal anatomy.
Craniometer by Mathieu
Another 19th century craniometer, this one by one of the more prominent medical instrument makers in France.
Illustrated Craniometer
This would be the Mathieu craniometer in use.
New Physiognomy or Signs of Character as Manifested through Temperament and External Forms (1880) by Samuel R. Wells
“The Melancholy Nose,” is one of several illustrations of the way in which many did (and do) equate appearance with personality and behavior.
Comparative Physiognomy
Comparative Physiognomy
Phrenological Journal, March 1866
This is one of several journals published in the nineteenth century promoting the "science" of phrenology. Joseph Spurzheim brought these theories to the United States in 1832, suggesting that various parts of the brain were responsible for different personality traits, a kernal of truth that later found a more scientific footing.
symbological chart from the Phrenological Journal
Psychograph (ca. 1935) by the Psychograph Co., Minneapolis, Minnesota
In 1905, Henry C. Lavery of Superior Wisconsin invented his very complex Psychograph to evaluate personality by determining an individual’s head measurements. The Psychograph contained 1,954 parts and the cost to lease was $2,000 with an additional $35 a month. In only five minutes, the operator was able to describe a patient’s personality by print-out in thirty-two different categories that included constructiveness, secretiveness, caution, friendship, dignity, combativeness, and wit.

Dental Furniture

During the nineteenth century, great craftsmen turned their attention to the production of dental furniture as manufacturers attempted to meet the needs of a growing population that was more able to afford dental care. 

the Josiah Flagg dental chair (1790)
The first chair to be used specifically in the dental office was designed by Josiah Flagg in 1790 when he added a headrest to an armchair, that chair now considered to be the oldest dental chair in the United States.
the “High-Low”Wilkerson dental chair (1886)
a typical nineteenth century dental office
Morrison dental chair with spittoon by S.S. White, dentist’s stool by Smith, foot dental engine by S.S. White, Holmes bracket table with S.S. White bracket, Electro-Dental MFG. Co. Rhein cluster light (ca. 1911), quarter-sewn oak dental cabinet (ca. 1902) by The Harvard Co.

Dental Instruments

“His instruments of torture, called by courtesy dental tools, were many and varied. He was very skillful in his profession and when he took a job he did it in first-class style. The dental tools are simply copies in miniature of articles used in the Spanish inquisition and on refractory prisoners in the Tower of London. There are monkey wrenches, raspers, files, gouges, cleavers, pickes, squeezers, drills, daggers, little crowbars, punches, chisels, pincers, and long wire feelers with prehensile, palpitating tips, that can reach down through the roots of a throbbing tooth and fish up a yell from your inner consciousness. When a painstaking dentist cannot hurt you with the cold steel, he lights a small alcohol lamp and heats one of his little spades red hot, and hovers over you with an expectant smile. Then he deftly inserts this into your mouth and when you give a yell he says, ‘Does that hurt?’”   

                                                           from the Chicago Herald  

a pelican
In the early fourteenth century, Guy de Chauliac invented an instrument that continued to be used into the late eighteenth century. It was called a dental pelican because of its resemblance to the beak of that bird. With it, the operator could apply extreme leverage to loosen the tooth out of the socket.
dental pelican (ca. 1600)
dental pelican (ca. 1600)
dental pelican (ca. 1700)
eighteenth century dental pelican
dental pelican (ca. 1800)
dental pelican (ca. 1860)
This ivory screw type pelican was the finest of its era.
dental forceps (ca. 1600)
These forceps were decorated with a dragon's mouth.
dental forceps (ca. 1600)
dental forceps (ca. 1600)
dental extraction with tooth key in Traité complet d’anatomie de l’homme, 2nd ed. (1866–1871), by J.M. Bourgery
dental tooth keys
(below): eighteenth century door key from which the name of the instrument was derived; (left to right): eighteenth and nineteenth century dental keys of metal, ivory, and ebony
eighteenth century extraction instruments
(top to bottom): goat’s foot elevator, chisel, split-shaft punch elevator by Benjamin Bell
two ivory dental file carriers
ebony dental screw
Once the crown of the tooth was broken off, this instrument was drilled into the tooth for removal.
bow drill (mid nineteenth century)
ivory Archimedes drill, ivory hand drill
two dental cauteries
cased dental set of ivory and mother-of-pearl (ca. 1860) by John D. Chevalier
A dentist would have been proud to exhibit this large cased set to his patients as a mark of his expertise and success.
daguerreotype of a dentist with his instruments (ca. 1855)
Maw, Son & Thompson roll up dental extraction set
This ninetenth century portable set would have been used by dentists in their travels from town to town.
tongue scrapers
Tongue scraping was routine dental hygiene in the nineteenth century. (upper): by Prout; (lower): silver and ivory (ca. 1780)
Queen Victoria’s oral hygiene instruments
nineteenth century dental hygiene sets
(left): ivory with multiple blades; (right): cased set with mother-of-pearl toothbrush

Dentures and The Vulcanite Murder

The demand for dentures dramatically increased in the mid nineteenth century after the discovery of anesthesia made relatively painless extractions possible.   

Etruscan dental bridges (seventh century B.C.)
The art of producing replacement dentures began with the Etruscans when they designed false teeth skillfully crafted of ivory and bone as early as 700 B.C.
President George Washington’s dentures (1795)
Washington had dental disease from his teenage years and lost teeth on a regular basis until he was down to only one tooth, a premolar on the left side of his jaw when he took the oath of office as the first president of the United States in 1789 at the age of 57. He visited most of the dentists in colonial America, though his favorite was Dr. John Greenwood, who produced almost all of the dentures worn by the first president. They were constructed of various combinations of hippopotamus ivory, cow teeth, elephant tusk, natural teeth and gold, though none were made of wood as legend would have it.
vulcanite denture with porcelain teeth and gold inlay (ca. 1880)
In 1839, Nelson Goodyear discovered a hardened rubber material that he called vulcanite, making dental prostheses available to the masses since dentures with vulcanite bases and porcelain teeth were easy to manufacture, affordable, and were quite comfortable. Goodyear enforced their patent on vulcanite throughout the country, that is until Dr. Samuel P. Chalfant murdered Goodyear's attorney, Josiah Bacon, after loosing in court on several occassions.
Lewis vulcanizer, Buffalo Dental Manufacturing Co. (ca. 1880)
early twentieth century French dental form
dental powders
(left to right): Royal Tooth Powder (ca. 1900), Allen Pharmaceutical Co., New York and Plainfield, NJ, Dr. Huff ’s Tooth Powder (ca. 1921), Hot Springs, AR; Dr. Lyon’s Ammoniated Tooth Powder (licensed by the University of Illinois Foundation, 1951), Sterling Drug, NY, Dr. VC Bell’s Tooth Powder (ca. 1890), American Dentifrice Co., NY, Smith’s Rosebud Tooth Powder, Rosebud Perfume Co., Woodsboro, MD (ca. 1910)
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