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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

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

Index Home Blood is red, as it has billions of red blood cells. When we put a tiny drop of blood under a microscope, these red cells are nothing but hollow circles. While other cells in blood are more colourful and big, these circular red cells are rather sober, smaller yet numerous. It is an irony,… Continue reading As circular cells become curved and clog our capillaries

Index Home We do not want to age, yet all of us will. We also want to live long, and defy both age and death. However, this wish gets fulfilled in mythology, and for a selected few. Hindu mythology identifies seven ‘immortals’ or ‘chiranjeevis‘. Six of these were blessed (Hanuman, Parashuram, Vibhishan, Mahabali, Kripacharya, and Ved… Continue reading Caring for age and to cherish our lives

Index Home Between 1988 and 2022, China post issued nine sets of postage in a series with a title “Scientists of modern China“. This series has a total of 38 postage stamps, three of them related to medical science. Most others are physicists, chemists, mathematicians and architects. Three medical scientists in the series Tang Feifan, Zhang… Continue reading Persecution, Politics and Science in China

Index Home The other day, I was browsing through my cachet of health postage stamps. I came across a peculiar injection device in use in some stamps. This device was invented in 1960s, and was extensively used for mass-vaccinations. This device called jet-inject, could deliver injections, without a needle. However, more serious concerns in early 1980s… Continue reading The rise and fall of needle less injections: jet-inject

Index Home The name ‘Paracelsus’ itself is a mystery. A Swiss-German chemist, born in 1493 had an unusually long name-Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim. In 1507, he embarked on a journey to become a physician and in this process he rejected all the then available medical texts. By 1526, he had travelled across most parts… Continue reading How “Paracelsus” changed the course of medicine ?

Index Home I had never heard about Transkei till I stumbled on its postage stamps. This country does not exist today. When it did, except one, none recognised it. Transkei was not alone, there were four that swam and sank together. Together these were TVBC – Transkei, Venda, Bophuthatswana and Ciskei – the four so-called homelands… Continue reading Transkei and its series on heroes of medicine

Index Home Till the end of the second world war, Tuberculosis (TB) had no cure. Bed-rest, sunlight, and some fresh air were standard TB treatments. While some self-healed themselves, most would die after a long wait. Even Penicllin, famous and marvellous first antibiotic, did not make a dent. First useful medicine against TB, was following footsteps… Continue reading Bug of the soil to treat Tuberculosis