By The anonymously authored Aristotle’s Book of Problems (1710) presented its readers with a series of questions and answers about the body and the natural world.1Some of these questions are very familiar, ‘why have some men curled hair, and some smooth?’, others are perhaps less familiar ‘why have men more teeth than women?’ why are ‘Eunuchs for the most
Like a hole in the head
In this latest edition of our therapies series I will be discussing the early modern history of the rather gory practice of the trepan – drilling or scraping a hole into the human skull. This technique is one of the oldest surgical procedures having been used for thousands of years, even though
Fakes and Frauds
For those readers living in Britain stories of men and women faking illness or disability in order to receive benefits from the state welfare system will be familiar, recited in the tabloid newspapers and even on television. These stories often provoke anger and disgust as people rail against the unfairness of
Menstruation and the Female Body in Early Modern England
Regular Contributor Sara Read‘s new book on menstruation and the female body is now available from Palgrave. If you would like to read some of Sara’s posts then please click on the links below: The Blundells and Bloodletting – part of the therapies series. Curious Cupping: What was cupping used