Prior to 1961 drugs were not stringently tested before being introduced to the Australian market. The prevailing view in obstetric care was that medications that were non-toxic to the mother were non-toxic to the developing fetus. This illusion...

You might not know the name, but you have heard it countless times - and you either love or loathe Opus Number 1Opus Number 1 is copyright Tim Carleton and Darrick Deel. Parts reproduced here under fair dealing exceptions of the Copyrig...

Just like a fistful of black jellybeans from the chemist, "liquorice induced pseudohyperaldosteronism" is a challenging mouthful. Just how does liquorice cause high blood pressure and low potassium?ReferencesAllcock E, J Cowd...

Carl Wunderlich's seminal 1868 work "The Course of Temperature in Disease" defined the average human body temperature as 37 degrees celsius, a number that is still frequently quoted today. But the question of the average body temperature is far...

Join me on a truly low yield romp through the history of measuring medical equipment, spanning three countries and three centuries.References:Iverson 1987 “J.-F.-B. Charriere: The Man Behind the ‘French’ Gauge’”, The Jour...

Christmas Island, in the Indian Ocean, is remote and difficult to access by sea. The discovery of phosphate in the late 19th century changed its fortunes. In 1899 workers arrived to tame the island. Soon after they arrived, an ancient disease w...

The twisty history of the Rod of Asclepius and the Caduceus as symbols of medicine.References:Wikipedia. Truly so much Wikipedia. Particularly:Asclepius https://en.wikipedia....

By far the most easily remembered cause of pancreatitis is scorpion stings. But how likely are you to see sting induced pancreatitis in Australia?References:Albuquerue et al 2018 "