In 1512, Leonardo da Vinci set out to clarify the function of a specific, bulbous part of the heart. He injected molten wax into an ox heart to make a cast. This was the second time in medical history that wax casting had been used: the first time was between 1504-1507, when Leonardo came up […]
Domhnall Macauley: A tongue in cheek letter to consultant colleagues
Dear consultant colleague, The standard of consultant letters is very variable so we have decided to introduce a new proforma for consultant letters to GPs. Patients attend many different outpatient departments and we intend to introduce a different proforma for every department in each of the hospitals to whom we refer. […]
Andrew Moscrop: Nutrition and gender in Pakistan
Into the Kuchlak nutrition clinic shuffles a pale blue burqa. From within the sky-coloured folds of fabric, the Pashtu woman pulls a tightly swaddled infant. Her son is eleven months old. Unwrapped, the boy’s ribs stick out, the skin hangs loosely from his limbs and his head seems too big for his body. He weighs […]
Annabel Ferriman: Ann McPherson: the Peoples’ Practitioner?
What was Ann McPherson’s secret? How did she manage to accomplish so much, but still remain a warm hearted person, who remembered birthdays, gave porridge to Jon Snow when he turned up for breakfast time meetings, and offered the keys of her house to friends needing somewhere to stay? […]
David Kerr: Medical underwear
Could the e-bra save the NHS? Recently researchers at the University of Arkansas announced that they had developed a remote monitoring system that could be integrated with an individual’s underwear. The “e-bra” consists of a series of nanostructured, textile sensors integrated into clothing using a wireless module that communicates wirelessly with a smartphone, which then […]
Richard Smith: Teaching is stand-up comedy
Teaching, it seems to me, is much the same as stand-up comedy. One is much scarier than the other, but which is the scariest depends on who you are. I was left thinking about the connection after a recent bad experience of teaching. I do a lot of teaching these days, most of it unpaid and […]
Deborah Cohen 9 May 17h30: Where’s the data, DePuy?
Back in February, the BMJ reported that a whole class of implant—in this case large diameter metal-on-metal total hip replacement—was allowed to enter the global market without any clinical studies to assess their safety and effectiveness. Hundreds of thousands of patients around the world may have been exposed to toxic metal ions released from the […]
Tracey Brown: A defamation bill in the Queen’s speech
If we were asked to design a defamation law that would silence awkward criticism in science and medicine, and protect powerful interests, how would that look? Let’s say we’ve got a company manufacturing a medical product that does not produce the benefits it claims to and there is the awkward matter of a journal paper, […]
Deborah Cohen 8 May 15h30: BMJ/CEBM submission to select committee about medical implants regulation
Over the coming weeks, the House of Commons science and technology committee will take verbal evidence about the regulation of medical implants. The BMJ—together with the Centre of Evidence Based Medicine at Oxford University—has already submitted a report based on research and investigations done over the past few years. Specifically, the committee will look at: Are current legislation […]
Richard Smith: Can Devi Shetty make healthcare affordable across the globe?
It’s impossible not to be impressed by Devi Shetty, heart surgeon and the “the Henry Ford of healthcare.” We can be impressed by his surgical skill and his refusal to turn away the poor. But perhaps even more impressive is his entrepreneurship and his vision of making healthcare affordable for everybody. […]