Dec 15, 2017 | Discoveries & Breakthroughs
I sometimes take antibiotics for granted. As a doctor, I have prescribed thousands of courses of antibiotics throughout my career. I have taken many courses myself also, and they almost certainly saved my life when I perforated my appendix in my mid-20s. Antibiotics...
Nov 13, 2017 | Plagues & Pathogens
Germ warfare is defined as “the use of biological toxins or infectious agents with the intent to kill or incapacitate as an act of war.” These biological agents are quite literally used as deadly living weapons. Germ warfare is by no means a modern concept, and...
Oct 2, 2017 | Surgery & The Knife
War’s only silver lining is to advance medical understanding. During World War 2, eye injuries sustained by pilots led to the subsequent transformation of cataract surgery, ophthalmologist Sir Harold Ridley being so struck by the way that the human eye could tolerate...
Aug 16, 2017 | Medical Pioneers
The Royal College of Physicians is a U.K. based, internationally recognised, professional body that is dedicated to the improvement of medical practice and patient care. It is also the oldest royal medical college in the world. In 2006 I became a member of the Royal...
Jul 28, 2017 | Discoveries & Breakthroughs
The tendon hammer is one of the most historically resilient medical instruments still in use today. It is a simple yet invaluable device that can be used to diagnose a wide variety of nervous system and muscular disorders. Almost 130 years after the invention of the...
