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Joined: Dec 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803 |
I goofed and put an "e" after the "d" where it does not belong
The evil that men do lives after them, Dr. Bill; the good is oft interred with their bones.
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
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OP
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858 |
Dear Faldage: I have requested cremation, so that my bones will not be in turd.
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,819
Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,819 |
Didn't they used to use toxic heavy metals to treat syphilis? Was the cadeuceus associated with Hermes or Mercury? Honestly, I don't know what the connection is between medicine and any Roman or Greek god, but I have heard it suggested that the serpent on the staff might derive from the act of removing a guinea worm (Dracunculus medinensis) from a body by means of a stick. This might have been one of the common procedures carried out by early physicians. The worm is also called the "serpent worm," and the connection to the serpent on the cadeuceus seems obvious. LINKS: http://mywebpage.netscape.com/teodorcapraru/images/dractreatlube.jpghttp://drblayney.com/Asclepius.html#hermes Very interesting history of Hermes/Mercury and the cadeuceus vs the Staff of Asclepius. e.g.: In reply to:
The probable medical origin of the single serpent around a rod: In ancient times infection by parasitic worms was common. The filarial worm Dracunculus medinensis aka "the fiery serpent", aka "the dragon of Medina" aka "the guinea worm" crawled around the victim's body, just under the skin. Physicians treated this infection by cutting a slit in the patient's skin, just in front of the worm's path. As the worm crawled out the cut, the physician carefully wound the pest around a stick until the entire animal had been removed. It is believed that because this type of infection was so common, physicians advertised their services by displaying a sign with the worm on a stick.
http://ucdnema.ucdavis.edu/imagemap/nemmap/ent156html/nemas/dracunculusmedinensis
http://www.biosci.ohio-state.edu/~parasite/pictures/dracunculus_3.gif (not for the squeamish)
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
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OP
Carpal Tunnel
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Dear Alex - A very fine post. I did parasitology in Philippines, but have forgotten almost all
of it. The removal of the guinea worm had to be done very carefully. If the worm were broken,
very disaggreable sensitivity reaction ensued.
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Posts: 1,819
Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,819 |
Actually it kind of grosses me out to look at those pictures. It's hard to imagine living in a place where parasitic infections are common. There's something really revolting about parasites -- it seems much more personal than an infection by lower life forms.
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
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OP
Carpal Tunnel
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Posts: 13,858 |
In WwII in the Philippines, in Parasitology Lab the biggest part of our workload was testing
stools of Filipinos who had appled for jobs as food handlers. Three out of every four had
one or more intestinal parasites, and many had three or even four. A black market in
parasite-free stools developed. Some mornings we got specimens that were obviously
one stool cut into four pieces. Despite my being very careful, I acquired a Ascaris infestation
and lost 40 pounds before I was able to get Rx. And I got it only by threatening to go see
Adjustant Gen. rep about penicillin being sold in black market. "Oh, well, if you're going to
be a sorehead!' The excuse was that it was needed for POW kids. They needed it, but so
did I. I could hardly walk up the three flights of twenty steps each going from chow tent to
my work area. At least I didn't get filariasis and beachball size scrotum. (I did assist at post
of a guy who disregarded signs and swam in water loaded with schistosomes.)
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Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511 |
It never quite goes away, does it?
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
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OP
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858 |
Giardia was so common in the absence of symptoms that in those days it was not
considered necessarily a pathogen.
Single-celled protozoan parasite. Pear- or beet-shaped, the cells have
two nuclei and eight flagella, and attach to human intestinal mucous
membrane with a sucking organ. They cause the disease giardiasis.
Generally spread by ingesting traces of human feces containing the
parasite, giardiasis is most common among children in close contact
with other children, but also occurs among adults. Diarrhea, pain, and
distension of the stomach may occur. It is common wherever there is
contamination of surface or domestic water in lakes, rivers, and
reservoirs, and is a major cause of diarrhea worldwide. Beaver feces
are often responsible for giardiasis among campers who take water
from lakes and rivers.
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 328
enthusiast
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enthusiast
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 328 |
Numbers 21 also contains a story about a snake on a pole-- God sent venomous snakes to punish the Israelites for complaining about everything, but relented when they repented. God instructed Moses to make a snake out of bronze and put it up on a pole, and those who were bitten could look at it and live.
Later in the Bible (2 Kings) it is mentioned that the people had saved the snake, named it Nehushtan* and were burning incense to it. King Hezekiah put a stop to that by breaking the snake into pieces.
*according to the footnote, Nehushtan sounds like the Hebrew for bronze and snake and unclean thing.
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Joined: Jan 2001
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Carpal Tunnel
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OP
Carpal Tunnel
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Posts: 13,858 |
Dear Rapunzel: so good to see you posting again. I was afraid you had left us. Bill
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