Medical Mysteries - Old and New
Medical Mysteries - Old and New
In Part One of each episode, Dr Frank will talk about a famous figure from history who suffered from an illness or had a disability. At that time, no-one knew or understood what may have caused the problem, or how to treat it - It was a mystery at the time. In Part Two of the episode, Dr Frank will discuss that same or similar illness or ailment in a modern-day context, and many times it has remai…Social links:
Follow the podcast:
Nicola Tesla, and lipoedema
He has been described as a "futurist" and definitely one of the greatest inventors, Tesla has also given Dr Frank plenty to think about. Some of Tesla's peculiarities provide us with lots of questions, including several medical issues. Tesla is a name that we instantly recognise these days, but our…
12:37
Thomas Jefferson, and prostate cancer.
The 3rd President of the United States, and a man of many talents, but later in life had some chronic medical problems. Jefferson's ailments leads Dr Frank to question, and explore, the condition of prostate cancer that has continued to affect men to this day.
14:05
Juan Ponce de Leon, and grief
This Spanish explorer accompanied Christopher Columbus on his famous voyage, but he also came to search for a mysterious legend. This leads us to try to express grief in medical terms that even Dr Frank finds difficult to explain.
11:53
Wilhelm Rontgen, and pacemakers
The inventor of x-rays gives Dr Frank a wealth of mystery to research, but he then turns our attention to that little piece of electronics that's functioning in a lot of people's chests today.
13:01
Vincent van Gogh, and left handedness
Vincent has been such a fascinating artist with both his artwork and private life, but he was also left-handed, which brings us to another very common phenomenon in our population.
10:39
Emily Dickinson, and idiopathic intracranial hypertension
One of America's greatest poets has an interesting story and family history. Which then leads Dr Frank on to an ailment with a long name and mysterious origin.
11:18
Sigmund Freud, and sleep
Freud continues to court controversy many years after his pioneering work, and Dr Frank has some questions. And there's perhaps the most commonest of all modern mysteries - we do it every day - what happens when we sleep?
11:03
Strange remedies, and The Placebo Effect
There have been some very strange fixes for illness over the centuries, and some have intrigued Dr Frank enough to research them more thoroughly. And then there's the Placebo Effect - what's going on with that strange phenomenon.
12:22
Road fatalities, and the road toll
Dr Frank has researched the very first casualties that were caused by the motor car. There were very few in the early days, because there were not many cars. Now, it's a very serious problem.
12:33
Beethoven (again) and Padgett's disease
We talked about Beethoven way back in Series One, but Dr Frank must re-visit the great composer as medical knowledge has brought us new revelations of medical history.
12:18