18 strange old medical photos that can make medical students say “no”

Made by John H. Emerson in 1931, respirator Emerson, or iron -lung, is a large mechanical ventilator that helps polyo patients suffering from breathing paralysis. A patient is placed in a respirator with the head sticking out while the air pressure changes in the space in the breathing simulation. More affordable and efficient than similar models of its type, respirators Emerson saved many lives during the 1940s and 1950s.

During the late 1950s and early 1960s, Thalidomide was marketed as a treatment for anxiety, insomnia, tension, and nausea in the morning during pregnancy. Although initially considered safe, the drug caused thousands of miscarriages and more than 10,000 children were born with defective limbs. Considered as the cause of the largest man -made medical disaster in history, this drug was taken from the market in 1961.

Electoretinogram (ERG) is a test developed in the late 19th century to measure the retinal response to light. The first electroretinograph engine from the 1870s needed cables and electrodes to be placed directly in the patient’s eyes, giving them appearance like a frightening cyborg. This test becomes clinically useful in the middle of the 20th century and utilizes better devices and is less intimidating to diagnose retina.

Spinal equipment created by Dr. Clark at the end of the 19th century is intended to treat scoliosis. It is designed to become a supporting wooden frame that will allow patients with upright disease. Allegedly, it was very heavy that the patient could barely move in it, quite a lot of making it ineffective treatment.

During the 1950s polio epidemic, stainless steel hydrotherapy tanks, known as hubbard tanks, are used as a form of rehabilitation for children who are paralyzed by this disease. Called to increase circulation and build muscle strength, treatment involves immersing patients in warm water into their necks. The combination of water jet, buoyancy, and heat helps them move weaker or paralyzed more easily and with less pain. When the polio level decreases and the rehabilitation method is only emerged, the use of hydrotherapy tanks gradually tapered after the 1950s.

This device was built by scientists in the Brookhaven Laboratory in 1961. Its main function is to detect brain tumors using positron emissions. Initially, the headgear will only show the location of the tumor as raw data, but one decade later, the researchers found a way to convert the data into the actual brain image. In 1980, doctors can now observe brain function using a modern pet machine that is developed through extensive research conducted on the pre-pet headgear.

While vibration therapy is a real treatment from the 1800s, it is suspected that a photo of a man who took a hammer to another man’s head was none other than a trick. According to a book about vibration therapy from 1883, the actual treatment involves moving the brush lightly on the scalp in an orderly manner.

In the early 1800s, William Hallan found a swing circulating. It is a chair or bed suspended from a frame that can be rotated quickly using crank. Patients are bound and usually rotate at speeds of up to 100 revolutions per minute, often encouraging effects such as vomiting, dizziness, or unconsciousness. While some doctors believe that they become therapeutic, swings are not used in the middle of the 19th century, considered savage and ineffective.

The higher-sheffield equipment, also known as the “Human grilled oven is a 19th century hot air medical tool used to treat pain. Patients will be located in a large metal cylinder with only their heads exposed, while the cylinder is heated with very high temperatures. This” baking “treatment resembles a sauna and most of the symptoms.

In early 1500 BC, before the modern laboratory testing was possible, doctors used their tastes to diagnose the disease. Reportedly, the doctor can determine whether a patient has diabetes or not with how sweet their urine is felt. At the end of the 19th century, this test method was replaced by a more sophisticated blood glucose test.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the power cabinet was a device that uses electric or steam tubers to increase body temperature. As a modern sauna precursor and diatermia, they are used to induce artificial fever and sweat for conditions such as arthritis. While they were common in spas and clinics throughout the 1930s, the power cabinet faded from the use when modern drugs advanced.

Returning hundreds of years, mummies of powder are popular drugs used to treat various diseases. Many doctors between the 12th and 18th centuries believe the bones that are grown and the remnants of ancient mummies have healing properties. Mummy powder can be digested for pain or applied as a topical drug for wounds and many other diseases. However, from the beginning of the 20th century, the use of powder became a controversial practice, with the most uncomfortable.

Introduced in 1927 by Dr. Manfred sake, insulin shock therapy, also known as insulin coma therapy, is a treatment for schizophrenia and other mental diseases. This involves injecting patients with large doses of insulin to cause daily coma for several weeks. While some patients experienced an increase in their symptoms, insulin shock therapy is risky, producing prolonged coma or even death. In the 1960s, this therapy was abandoned for the sake of new antipsychotic drugs.

The controversial medical device from the beginning of the 20th century was used to provide electroconvulsive therapy for psychiatric patients. Equipment allows them to sit in it as they will become lying chairs and then receive shock treatment from the machine. The current that travels through the cable and into the body is said to cause seizures, which should be therapeutic for patients.

The possibility of a modern sunbathing chair pioneer, an electric bathtub is a 20th century light therapy tool. Patients are placed in a cabinet containing ultraviolet lamps that provide artificial sunlight doses for the skin. Considered as the latest therapy at that time, this device was believed to promote many health benefits, including increasing circulation, reducing joint pain, treating skin conditions, and more.

At present, the term “snake oil” is used to describe something fake or dishonest, but in the 19th century, it refers to the actual oil of water snakes used in traditional Chinese medicine. The oil is seen as a healing drug with excellent anti-inflammatory properties. In the US, from the early 1900s, many brands began to market placebo and bad substances as snake oil, which is how oil becomes a symbol of all fake things.

From the beginning of the 16th century, Mercury was used as a treatment for syphilis although it was very toxic to the human body. Many patients experience severe side effects such as nerve damage, organ failure, and even death after undergoing mercury treatment. The injection remained popular until the beginning of the 20th century when penicillin, a much more effective treatment, was finally found.

Schnee Baths is a type of electric shrinkage to treat reumatism and joint pain. Popular in hospitals and spas from the late 1800s to 1930s, patients will sit with each limb that is submerged in his own galvanized basin. A mild current is passed through water, making this bath without pain and is free from shock or uncomfortable. However, in the early 20th century, Schnee Baths was dismissed as a shamanism and was abandoned by the medical community.