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
Author: rjoshimgims
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
The history of hysteria, our frenzy of womb or mind
Index Home Hysteria is a state of emotional extreme. Today we know it as an uncontrolled frenzy or excitement, that may stem from intense happiness, spirituality or even grief. Attendees of a pop-concert often become hysterical, and this emotion often consumes spiritual congregations. The range of emotions is wide, from a hysterical laugh to a cry.… Continue reading The history of hysteria, our frenzy of womb or mind
Why did doctors shed their facial hair
Index Home Our previous blog was a gallery of medical personnel with flowing beards. These flowing beards, a sign of wisdom till late 19th century, slowly faded away. Yet, facial hair did not disappear all of a sudden. In keeping with the times, doctors did wear various moustache and beard styles, before becoming clean-shaven in mid… Continue reading Why did doctors shed their facial hair
About flowing beards, wisdom and medical men
Index Home One of my postage stamp albums is about personalities. Quite like a ‘Guess-who‘ game, you can never miss the flowing beards of many famous personalities, especially those who lived more than a 100 years ago. Probably a flowing beard was a sign of intellect, before it was trimmed, shortened and eventually disappeared. It seems… Continue reading About flowing beards, wisdom and medical men
Bekhterev: A top Russian neurologist who had a mysterious end
Index Home The Lancet, a leading medical Journal in an article in its 2017 issue describes Vladimir Mikhailovich Bekhterev as the most productive Russian scientist of his time. He published more than scientific 1700 papers. There are about twenty clinical signs, structures, diseases and phenomenon that carry his name. Most famous of these is Bekhterev’s disease, we… Continue reading Bekhterev: A top Russian neurologist who had a mysterious end
A doctor who was slaughtered with his 200 children
Index Home Each postage stamp is a window, not only to its glorious but also to its gory past. I came across one such 1978 postage stamp from Germany, on 100 years of Janusz Korczak, a doctor from Warsaw, Poland. Janusz was born in 1878 as Henryk Goldszmit. Twenty years later, he chose Janusz Korczak as… Continue reading A doctor who was slaughtered with his 200 children
Yoga: An Indian cultural export to the world
Index Home Yoga is a centuries-old practice that combines physical, mental, and spiritual elements to promote overall well-being and harmony. The word means – “to join”. It joins mind and the body. Rooted in ancient Indian philosophy, yoga has gained immense popularity worldwide as a holistic approach to health and self-discovery. Yoga describes a series of… Continue reading Yoga: An Indian cultural export to the world
Round blood cells get curved to clog our vessels
Index Home Our red blood cells are spherical, slightly flattened on the top and the bottom. This shape allows them to squeeze through tiny blood vessels. A genetic disease that goes by the name sickle cell disease (SCD) makes these cells curved or sickle in shape. Since this is a genetic condition, limited in its geography… Continue reading Round blood cells get curved to clog our vessels