Secondary Source

This site covers

1. Archaic medical terminology
2. Terms that can be difficult to understand from a brief entry in a modern dictionary
3. Descriptions of the more common causes of death in the past
4. A few terms that I thought would be easy to find a definition for, but someone sent a query, so maybe they are difficult after all?
5. Some folk and slang terms
6. Symbols, Abbreviations & Qualifications
7. Some terms that have become everyday language, but have a different meaning or slant when used by doctors or had a different meaning in the past
e.g. Abortion, which has come to mean induced termination of pregnancy, but doctors retain the meaning of a natural but premature ending to pregnancy (miscarriage)
8. Some terms in common use, that many non-medical people do not understand precisely what they mean e.g. Heart Attack, prognosis
9. Terms I have been unable to define, in the hope that someone out there does know
10. I could include eponymous conditions, e.g. if you want a potted biography of Alzheimer then contact me
11. Text in square brackets and bold red type e.g. [ty'sis] is a guide to pronunciation

On November 29, 1944, a small, frail child was wheeled into an operating room at the Johns Hopkins Hospital for the first attempt to treat tetralogy of Fallot, a congenital heart malformation that robs the blood of oxygen. This life-threatening condition is often signaled by a bluish or "cyanotic" cast to the skin, hence the term, blue baby. The procedure joined an artery leaving the heart to an artery leading to the lungs, in an attempt to give the blood a second chance at oxygenation. It was the first blue baby operation and came to be known as the Blalock-Taussig Shunt.

The Smithcors Collection of Veterinary History was formed over a period of 35 years by J.F. Smithcors, DVM, PhD, who developed the first course in veterinary history (1955) to be taught at any school or college of veterinary medicine in the United States (Michigan State University). The author of three major works in the field of veterinary history—Evolution of the veterinary art, 1957; The American veterinary profession, 1963; and The veterinarian in America, 1625-1975, 1975, and more than 150 journal articles, papers, and book chapters—he is regarded by his peers as the "dean of American veterinary historians."

The Galileo Project is a source of information on the life and work of Galileo Galilei (1564-1642). Our aim is to provide hypertextual information about Galileo and the science of his time to viewers of all ages and levels of expertise. What you read and see here is a beginning -- we will continue to add and update information as it becomes available. We solicit contributions from our colleagues in the history of science and comments on how we can improve the project from everyone, particularly suggestions on how to make this tool more useful in primary and secondary education.

This project is currently supported by the Office of the Vice President of Computing of Rice University. The initial stages of the project were made possible by a grant from the Council on Library Resources to Fondren Library.

Utilizing over 800 scanned documents, photographs, audio clips and video excerpts, this website narrates the incredible achievement of Linus Pauling and others in the discovery of the nature of the chemical bond. Scattered throughout the project are images of a number of very important and extremely rare items, most of which are held within The Valley Library's Ava Helen and Linus Pauling Papers, and many of which have not been previously displayed. It is expected that this website will serve as a primary reference point for individuals interested in the history of chemical bond.

The history of homeopathy combines the high drama and intrigue commonly found in the best efforts of the silver screen. Although a movie has not yet been made about homeopathy, it is a film waiting to happen.

Homeopathy became spectacularly popular in the United States and Europe in the 1800s and its strongest advocates included European royalty, American entrepreneurs, literary giants, and religious leaders. But at the time that it was gaining widespread popularity, it became the object of deep-seated animosity and vigilant opposition from establishment medicine. The conflict between homeopathy and orthodox medicine was protracted and bitter. We know who won the first round of this conflict. We await the results of the second round. Hopefully, we will soon discover that a "fight" over healing is inappropriate and that various approaches to healing are all necessary to build a comprehensive and effective health care system.

Since the invention of the wheel, mechanical innovation has critically influenced the development of civilization and industry as well as public welfare, safety and comfort. Through its History and Heritage program, ASME encourages public understanding of mechanical engineering, fosters the preservation of this heritage, and helps engineers become more involved in all aspects of history.

This archive combines a series of New York Times archival articles outlining the evolution of manufacturing with an overview of Peoplesoft's role in continuing progress in the manufacturing field.

The United Nations has declared 2001 INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF DIALOGUE AMONG CIVILIZATIONS.

This site is dedicated to increasing awareness of the way modern science grew through the dialogue of civilizations, and the contribution dialogue can make to promoting the growth of science in the future.

Although the dominant view in the past has been that the historical roots of modern science only lie within Europe increasing evidence accumulated over the last fifty years reveals the need for a more dialogical approach to the history of science. Understanding the role played by civilizational dialogue in the growth of modern science would also enable us to take more seriously the emerging realization among many leading thinkers that premodern traditions of science contain reservoirs of knowledge urgently needed to deal with serious problems - like environmental and health concerns -that confront the global community.

The United States Coast Guard, one of the country's five armed services, is also one of the most unique agencies of the federal government. We trace our history back to 4 August 1790, when the first Congress authorized the construction of ten vessels to enforce tariff and trade laws, prevent smuggling, and protect the collection of the federal revenue. Known variously as the Revenue Marine and the Revenue Cutter Service, we expanded in size and responsibilities as the nation grew.

These added responsibilities included humanitarian duties such as aiding mariners in distress. Our law enforcement functions also continued to expand. Congress tasked us with enforcing laws against slavery, piracy, and enlarged our responsibilities to prevent smuggling. We were also given the responsibility to protect the marine environment, explore and police Alaska, and chart the growing nation's coastlines, all well before the turn of the twentieth century.