Biomedical Ephemera, or: A Frog for Your Boils

Osteosarcoma, before and after operation

Osteosarcoma are cancerous bone tumors found in immature bone, most often in those over 10 and under 25 years old. This particular case is in a man named Robert Penman, who was twenty-four. 

These days, in those whose tumor is non-malignant (has not spread beyond its original tumor site), the five-year survival rate is about 75%. Back in 1839, I cant imagine this lad was quite as lucky, but it appears that at least the primary tumor was removed for a time.

Case of Osteo-sarcoma of the lower jaw, as operated upon Robert Penman, aged twenty-four years. 1839.

Bones and muscles of the thigh and leg

For decades, the illustrations of “Clorion” had no definitive artist. Many accomplished medical artists had resided in New Harmony/Harmonie, Indiana, during the period where the illustrations were made, but it was unclear who had truly authored them.

However, after more than 1.5 centuries, we may know the answer to the mystery.

[Anatomical Illustrations taken from The Domestic Physician]. Clorion, 1830. Via Historical Anatomies on the Web.

Principal external muscles of the body (Labels modernised)

1. Triceps brachii 2. Deltoid 3. Rotundus major 4. Latissimus dorsi 5. Pectoralis major 6. External oblique 7. Rectus abdominus 8. Sartorius 9. Rector femoris 10. Vastus lateralis 11. Vastus medialis 12. Gastrocnemius 13. Soleus

[Anatomical Illustrations taken from The Domestic Physician]. Clorion, 1830. Via Historical Anatomies on the Web.

I AM NOT HAVING A GOOD DAY.

1. The Nodose Bandage for the Head 2. The Napkin and Scapulary 3. The Fillet applied previously to Venesection 4. The Fillet applied after Venesection 5. The single Spica Bandage for the Groin

Nodose (from nodus - a knot) bandages were tightly tied, with the knot itself providing the pressure that was necessary to stop bleeding on a flat surface. Here it is demonstrated on the temple.

In this context, fillet (from Latin filum - thread, thin filament) refers to the narrow bandage used to bind the wound. Here it was used after bloodletting (venesection). 

An Atlas of Surgical Apparatus. Henry Thomas Chapman, 1832.

Superficial (Fig 1) and deep (Fig 2) anatomy of the neck

As you can see in the illustrations, unlike most of the body, the head and neck have a LOT of blood and lymphatic vessels near the surface, in addition to beneath the muscles and fascia. This is one of the many reasons it’s so easy to cut an artery in the neck, or cause serious damage by blunt trauma to the region.

It’s also why the scalp and face bleed so much when cut - there are more surface blood vessels there than the rest of the body.

An Atlas of Surgical Apparatus. Henry Thomas Chapman, 1832.

Fig 1. Anterior Aspect of the Fingers - Veins, tendons, nerves, and aponeuroses Fig 2. Posterior Aspect of the Fingers - Exterior surface, skeletal articulation, vessels and nerves, and fibrous membranes of the extensor tendons Fig 3. Perpendicular and Longitudinal Section of the Last Phalanx - Showing the composition of the nail and distal end of the thumb Fig 4. Exterior Side View of the Finger - Bent at different articulations to show the angle of articulation

The palm of the hand is glabrous (hairless), and has nearly 1600-3000 sweat glands per square inch in most people. For comparison, the armpits have about 600-1500 sweat glands per square inch, on average.

An Atlas of Surgical Apparatus. Henry Thomas Chapman, 1832.

Crested Serpent Eagle - Haematornis undulatus (now Spilornis cheela)

The crested serpent eagle is a medium-sized bird of prey from the tropical regions of Asia. Its genus, Spilornis, is a member of the Circaetinae subfamily, which comprises all of the snake-eagles. As their name suggests, these birds subsist mostly upon snakes and reptiles, and as such most of them live in warmer climates, where serpents are plentiful.

A Century of Birds from the Himalaya Mountains. John Gould (illustration Elizabeth Gould), 1831.

Gar or Garpikes (family Lepisosteidae)

Not to be confused with the garfish, a marine “sea needle” species.

The gars are a family of freshwater fish found in North America, and are most well-known for their sharp, bony scales. These are known as ganoid scales, and are one of four primary fish scale types.

In addition to their vicious scales, gars also have a dual row of sharp teeth, making them a top predator of bayous and swampy areas.

However, because bayous are so poorly-oxygenated, gills alone are not enough to provide for these large (often 1+ meters long) fish. Their vascularized swim bladders make up for the deficit in the water, and regular gulps of surface air provide the gars with the additional oxygen they need to stay in peak form.

Images: Le Règne Animal. Georges Cuvier, 1838. Alligator Gar Head Gar Scales

Dugong (Dugong dugon) Mouth

Dugongs are one of the four extant species of the order Sirenia. The other three Sirenia are the manatees. They’re native to the Indo-Pacific coastlines, and unlike manatees, do not come inland to freshwater estuaries. They do, however, come very close to shore, especially when birthing. Dugongs are much more wary of humans than manatees are, and do not approach them in the wild.

All sirens are completely herbivorous. The gum pads in their mouths allow them to pluck seagrass - root and all - from the sea beds, and the bristles inside their mouth keep it from slipping out as they slurp it down. For reasons unknown, dugongs don’t like to eat seagrass from lush grass beds. They prefer sparse growth beds, instead.

Voyage au pole sud et dans l'Océanie sur les corvettes l'Astrolabe et la Zélée. Dumont d’Urville, 1837-1840.

Banana Fruit and Plant - Musa acuminata

Did you know that bananas don't grow on trees? Rather, their tall, tree-like stalks are actually giant pseudostems ("false stem"), more similar to herbs than fruit trees. Wild bananas are starchy and seed-filled, and cultivars that maintain that starchiness are often referred to as plantains.

Botanically, bananas are "leathery berries", with a thick outer skin, and numerous strings between the flesh and the skin, formed from the phoelem. They're native to South-East Asia and have been cultivated since at least 5000 years ago (possibly as long as 10,000 years ago), making them one of the earliest domesticated plants.

Bananas found in the supermarket today are a world away from their wild cousins, and even from the bananas of the 1950s. Originally developed in the 1800s, the Gros Michel was, for many decades, the only banana cultivar sold commercially in the United States. After WWII and into the 1950s, however, a blight called Panama disease overtook all of the large banana plantations, bankrupting fruit companies reliant solely on bananas.

After the Gros Michel was deemed commercially unviable, the Cavendish and Grand Nain ("Chiquita") cultivars, which are resistant to Panama disease, became the bananas distributed within the US. However, there are several other banana blights that, if not contained or defended against, could easily wipe out the entire supply of cheap bananas. It doesn't help that since the seeds of modern commercial bananas are so reduced as to be useless (they're those little black dots in the banana), all commercial bananas are clones of just a few original plants.

Flore médicale. F. P. Chaumeton, 1833.

Blue-rumped Parrot (Psittinus cyanurus)

The Miscellany of Natural History. 1833.

"Perroquets"

1. Perruche d'Alexandre - Princess Parakeet - Polytelis alexandrae (a. Male, b. Female) 2. Perruche à longs brins - Long-Tailed Parakeet -Psittacula longicauda (a. Male, b. Female)

Dictionnaire pittoresque d'histoire naturelle. M. F. Guerin, 1838.

Twenty-three year old Viennese woman, before and after contracting cholera

One mid-19th century report describes cholera victims who were "one minute warm, palpitating, human organisms - the next a sort of galvanized corpse, with icy breath, stopped pulse and blood congealed - blue, shrivelled up, convulsed". Cholera causes profuse vomiting and diarrhoea, dehydrating the body so rapidly and severely that the blood thickens and the skin becomes deathlike and blue.

Image from the Wellcome Archives

Bolivian (Southern) Vizcacha - Lagidium viscacia

The vizcachas (viscachas) are the closest relatives of the Chinchillinae genus, and the five vizcacha species combined with the two chinchilla species form the Chinchillidae family.

All members of this family (aside from the Plains vizcacha) live in rocky, mountainous habitats, and are largely herbivorous. The mountains vizcachas (including the Bolivian vizcacha, also known as the "mountain chinchillas") are able to subsist off of lichens and mosses, during months where other vegetation is sparse.

While vizcacha fur is almost as thick and soft as chinchilla fur, they're larger animals, and live higher on mountains than chinchillas, and so have not been raised commercially until recently. Wild vizcachas are also hunted for their pelts, as well, but despite this, the genus Lagidum still seems to be doing fairly well for itself. None are anywhere near as endangered as chinchillas, and most are considered "Least Concern" by the IUCN.

Mountain vizcachas form the majority of the diet of the endangered Andean mountain cat (Leopardis jacobita), so despite their stable population, they are still monitored, as any dip for the species can result in serious consequences for the mountain cat.

Transactions of the Scientific Meetings of the Zoological Society of London, 1835.

Long-tailed Chinchilla - Chinchilla lanigera

Chinchillas ("Little Chincha" - named after the Chincha people native to their habitat) are crepuscular (active at dawn and dusk) rodents found in the mountainous regions of Chile, in South America. They live in cool, rocky areas, and get by with very little water. In fact, the adaptation to the cold, dry climate means that their thick, soft coats are very ill-equipped to deal with water. Chinchillas clean themselves by "bathing" in volcanic dust.

There are two species of chinchilla - the Long-Tailed (Chinchilla lanigera) and Short-Tailed (Chinchilla chinchilla), both of which are critically endangered in the wild. The largest wild chinchilla population lives around Las Chinchillas National Reserve, in central Chile.

Despite being critically endangered in the wild, domestic pet chinchillas (believed to have descended from the long-tailed chinchilla) are, for the first time, more common than "fur farm" chinchillas (their soft coats are coveted for fur jackets, despite their small size), at least in the United States and Europe.

These creatures require a fair amount of specialized care to keep their coats and teeth healthy, but are not considered difficult keepers, assuming the owner is willing to deal with very little daytime activity and will provide ample exercise and dust-bath time. Unlike many pet rodents, they do not easily adjust their sleep cycles, and will likely remain crepuscular for their entire lives - which, also unlike many pet rodents, can be between 12 to 20 years, barring infection or poor genetics.

Transactions of the Scientific Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, 1835.