The clinical hallmark of paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) is episodic hemoglobinuria, and it was this feature that captured the attention of European physicians in the latter half of the 19th century, resulting in careful observational studies that established PNH as an entity distinct from paroxysmal cold hemoglobinuria and march hemoglobinuria. Curiosity about the etiology of the noc...

The two theories of abiogenic formation of hydrocarbons, the Russian-Ukrainian theory of deep, abiotic petroleum origins and Thomas Gold's deep gas theory, have been considered in some detail. Whilst the Russian-Ukrainian theory was portrayed as being scientifically rigorous in contrast to the biogenic theory which was thought to be littered with invalid assumptions, this applies only to the fo...

This chapter gives an overview of the history of formal argumentation in terms of a distinction between argumentation-based inference and argumentation-based dialogue. Systems for argumentationbased inference are about which conclusions can be drawn from a given body of possibly incomplete, inconsistent of uncertain information. They ultimately define a nonmonotonic notion of logical consequenc...

Historically most topical drug classes seem to have been originally developed following the pragmatic principle that, “if an existing drug with an interesting pharmacology is effective orally/systemically, and the target is in the skin, it could well work topically without giving side effects and, therefore, would deserve to be tried topically”. The next paragraphs review the development of the...

Following a clinical trial in which the Halsted mastectomy was compared to the less invasive quadrantectomy, no differences were reported in terms of local recurrence, disease-free or overall survival between the two. As a result, Umberto Veronesi was the first in the world to state that the radical mastectomy appeared to involve unnecessary mutilation in patients with breast cancer of less tha...

AMERICAN PUBLIC LIBRARIES and labor unions began their institutional development during the nineteenth century as communities developed and prospered across the nation. Both institutions had strong democratic ideals and a firm commitment to free, quality education for all Americans, and so the historical roots of these institutions intertwined. Public libraries strive to serve the special needs...

The development of scales for assessing hypnotic suggestibility is reviewed. Nineteenth century origins are discussed along with examples of scales. Next, research measures developed and published in the first half of the 20th century are reviewed, followed by an overview of scales in current use. This overview attempts to show how past conceptions and scales have influenced current measurement...

These prophetic words, written by Reverend Edward Stone in a 1763 letter to George Parker, the second Earl of Macclesfield, describe the results of the first clinical trial recorded in medical history.1 Stone’s report on the rediscovery of the medicinal value of willow bark among subjects suffering from malarial symptoms is considered a significant milestone in the development of aspirin. Altho...