Index Home A desire, that we could replace a failed organ, is age-old. Hindu God Ganesha, had his head replaced by one of an elephant. So are numerous chimeric Greek gods, that have fused body parts from more than one animal. Cosmas and Damian patron saints in medieval Rome, transplanted a diseased leg with a healthy… Continue reading Donate a healthy organ to mend another’s failed one
Author: rjoshimgims
A familiar orthoses from the past: Leather and metal polio-brace
Index Home Orthoses are external supports attached to a limb or a body part. Today such devices are made of lighter materials, and are used to support knee, ankle, elbow or hand. We use more elaborate ones to straighten or support our spines. Till a few decades ago, heavier Leather and steel lower limb orthoses were… Continue reading A familiar orthoses from the past: Leather and metal polio-brace
Bone and Joints: Keeping ’em close, yet a little apart
Index Home A few structures in our body, set us apart from our closest primates. Most animals need all fours, but we can balance, walk and run on our twos. This makes our hands free, and allow us to manage many fine movements. Our rigid bones make these actions sturdy, and our joints keep our bones… Continue reading Bone and Joints: Keeping ’em close, yet a little apart
Bandage: A cloth cover to wrap, hold or press
Bandage is synonymous with healing and care. The word comes from “bind” or to hold together. It is a symbol of empathy and care. Some recent postage stamps designed to convey care, are shaped like bandages. These are a more modern version of bandage- small and sticky. However, bandages are not always small. When wounds… Continue reading Bandage: A cloth cover to wrap, hold or press
Anyone can drown, no one should
Index Home On 25th July every year, World Health Organisation (WHO) observes world drowning prevention day. Tag-line of this day is – anyone can drown, no one should. While, death by drowning is not a recent occurrence, its prevention-day is just three years old. In 2021 United Nations added it to the list of annual… Continue reading Anyone can drown, no one should
Basic Life Support (BLS) makes dead alive again
Index Home Basic Life Support or BLS is a sequence of actions, that attempt to bring life back, after it has seemingly ceased. When heart stops, or lungs fail to breathe, we have moved closer to death. However, all is still not over. We still have a few more minutes to make heart to beat… Continue reading Basic Life Support (BLS) makes dead alive again
Stretcher and its bearers over the years
Index Home Stretcher is an unassuming medical transportation device. It is unassuming, as it lays hidden between the patient and the stretcher-bearer. Stretcher bearers also are often unsung. Yet stretchers and bearers come to rescue when we need to transport sick or injured. Stretchers have evolved, and so have its bearers. Postage stamps are a testimony… Continue reading Stretcher and its bearers over the years
Babywearing: A new name for an old tradition
Index Home Words have a history, and so has “babywearing”. As per Webster’s dictionary, we used this word for the first time in the year 1989. It is the practice of carrying babies, or small children in a sling, or another form of carrier. Practically any parent, usually mothers can wear their babies, keeping both hands… Continue reading Babywearing: A new name for an old tradition
Cardiac surgery: putting heart under a knife
Index Home In 1896 a textbook of surgery had noted that operating on a heart is impossible. Muscles of the heart are always in motion, and its chambers are always churning blood. Heart is enclosed in a thick cover. We know this cover as pericardium. While, in 1893 an American surgeon Daniel Hale Williams had stitched… Continue reading Cardiac surgery: putting heart under a knife
Wavy ECG gestures that make our heart to beat
Index Home We all live, without skipping a heart-beat. These are more than 25 billion beats over a life-time. Each of these beats means that our heart muscles have had a powerful squeeze, pours blood to all our nooks and corners. But what makes our heart beat ? This enigma was settled in early 1900s, when… Continue reading Wavy ECG gestures that make our heart to beat