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Anatomic teaching has long informed surgical knowledge, experience, and skills. One tool for teaching that emerged during the Renaissance was the fugitive anatomic sheet, which used flap layers to reveal different levels of anatomy. In 1538, Vogtherr introduced the first fugitive sheets, which included illustrations of male and female figures with a torso paper flap that, when lifted, revealed the internal organs in a cartoonish style. The popularity of these anatomic fugitive sheets spurred an increase in small print-and-sale workshops. In 1543, Vesalius included fugitive anatomic sheets in his books Fabrica and Epitome , containing large paper flapped models that could be created by cutting out and gluing images of human internal anatomy onto a base layer. Students could tack these manikins up to a nearby wall during dissection. Significant collaboration between Vesalius and his publisher occurred to coordinate the integration of large foldable sheets featuring the cutout models into his works. Vesalius's groundbreaking discoveries, his use of the most advanced printing techniques, and his innovative teaching style are fundamental aspects of the legacy of medical education. This article shows these remarkable fugitive anatomic sheets from the original publications of Fabrica and Epitome together for the first time. It explores the innovative concepts and applications of Vesalius's unique printings., (Copyright © Congress of Neurological Surgeons 2024. All rights reserved.)

In this review, we examine the taxonomies used to classify people, which influenced the development of the modern disciplines of biology and medicine, including dermatology, throughout the world. Early European scientists and physicians were intertwined with the social environment that created classifications and hierarchies of skin-color-based races, which were reinforced by prevailing political systems that supported colonial economic structures and, in many cases, chattel slavery. Even after genomic analysis of diverse human DNA sequences have revealed that systems of skin color-based racial and ethnic classification lacked biological meaning and were socially constructed, these classifications persist and are reinforced by census classifications and frameworks for comparisons in biomedicine in many parts of the world. The bodies of knowledge and practices that were built on these classifications did not reflect the observable biological diversity of people but the dominant cultural institutions and economic systems of their times. We provide actions for our modern institutions to reduce the underpinnings and ramifications of racial and ethnic classifications ultimately to improve biomedical research and medical care for all patients., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Clinical/methodical Issue: The history of stroke dates back to antiquity, where it was first described as "apoplexia" in Hippocratic writings. For centuries, understanding of the pathology was limited, based on Galen's theories and humoral pathology. Significant advances were made by Islamic scholars who expanded the knowledge and addressed existing contradictions. Only with Harvey's 17th-century description of blood circulation did a deeper understanding emerge, followed by the work of Wepfer and Virchow, who uncovered the role of vascular occlusions and embolisms. The discovery of carotid stenosis and the description of specific stroke syndromes by researchers like Chiari and Fisher further advanced modern diagnostics. The development of thrombolysis in the 1930s and advances in imaging paved the way for initial causal therapies. The breakthrough of mechanical thrombectomy, highlighted by the 2015 MR-CLEAN study, marked a turning point in stroke treatment and influenced new guidelines. Subsequent studies such as DAWN and DEFUSE‑3 expanded the therapeutic window. These milestones reflect the evolution from limited pathophysiological understanding to highly specialized, effective treatment approaches., Competing Interests: Einhaltung ethischer Richtlinien. Interessenkonflikt: U. Yilmaz gibt an, dass kein Interessenkonflikt besteht. Für diesen Beitrag wurden von den Autor/-innen keine Studien an Menschen oder Tieren durchgeführt. Für die aufgeführten Studien gelten die jeweils dort angegebenen ethischen Richtlinien., (© 2025. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Medizin Verlag GmbH, ein Teil von Springer Nature.)

The urban development of Rome (Italy) has been intertwined with the dynamics of the Tiber River since its foundation. In this review paper, we analyse more than 2500 years of flood history and urban development to untangle the dynamics of flood risk and assess the resulting socio-hydrological phenomena. Until the 1800s, urban dwellers living in the riparian areas of the Tiber River were accustomed to frequent flooding. From the 1900s, the construction of flood walls reshaped the co-evolution of hydrological, economic, political, technological, and social processes. As a result, while the probability of flooding is currently very low, its potential adverse consequences would be catastrophic. From the analysis of the long-term feedback between urban development of Rome and flood events from ancient times to present days, it emerges the crucial need for an effective flood risk mitigation strategy that combines structural and non-structural measures. In particular, heightened flood risk awareness and preparedness to cope with rare but potentially devastating events is key to alleviate flood risk., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Kashmir's oldest Neolithic settlement dates back to 3000 BC. It stood as the centre of Buddhism and Hinduism for centuries, till the arrival of Islam in thirteenth century. Although Muslims ruled Kashmir under different empires for about four centuries and ever since there has always been a significant Muslim populace in Kashmir with or without Muslim rule, yet the literature about the history of health care in Kashmir and particularly the history about Muslim contributions to healthcare is sparingly limited. This paper aims at a) historical contextualization of healthcare in Kashmir, b) finding Muslim rulers` contributions if any to the healthcare system and c) exploring places of healing 'shafa-khanas' in Kashmir. In order to achieve these objectives, the methods used were data collection through locating key historical resources, by searching local libraries and bookshops and searching online academic databases, thereafter, subjecting the collected data to thematic analysis. Three themes emerged during data analysis, which corresponds to the objectives of this paper, these are a) 'Historical context of healthcare in Kashmir', b) 'Muslim contributions to healthcare in Kashmir' and c) 'Places of healing 'Shafa-khanas' in Kashmir'. The analysis shows that healthcare during Muslim rule was integrative, progressive, robust, indigenous, specialized, and efficient/accommodative. We conclude that though 'shafa-khanas' existed in medieval Kashmir, there is however not much literature available.

This paper attempts to describe and explain the long-term evolution of wage inequality in imperial China, covering over two millennia from the Han dynasty to the Qing dynasty (202 BCE-1912 CE). Based on historical government records of official salaries, commodity prices, and agricultural productivity, we convert various forms of salaries to equivalent rice volumes and comparable salary benchmarks. Wage inequality is measured by salary ratios and (partial) Gini coefficients between official and peasant classes as well as within the official class. The inter-class wage inequality features an "inverted U-u" pattern-first rose before the Tang dynasty and then declined afterwards (the "inverted U" trends) with "inverted u" dynastic cycles. The intra-class wage inequality has a secular decline trend. We propose a unified framework incorporating technological, institutional, political, and social (TIPS) mechanisms to explain both long-term and short-term patterns. It is concluded that the technological mechanism dominated the rise of wage inequality, while the political mechanism (emperor-bureaucracy power tensions) drove the decline., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2025 Wu et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Community displacement and cultural integration influence the use of plants for medicine. This study enhances our understanding of how communities adapt their medical practices in response to environmental changes., Aim of the Study: We investigate how Kurds in SE Iran (Balochi Kurds), displaced between the 16th and 18th centuries from their homeland in NW Iran, retained and adapted their medicinal knowledge., Materials and Methods: Fieldwork was conducted over 12 months across 8 Kurdish municipalities in NW Iran and 3 in SE Iran, using standard ethnobotanical methods. Totally 121 people were interviewed; data were analysed at the level of use reports (UR), classifying therapeutic uses according to ICPC. Comparisons between NW and SE Iran are based on plant genera available in both regions., Results: Medicinal knowledge is maintained by various practitioners, including herbalists, midwives, bonesetters, ritual healers, knowledgeable laypersons, and herb collectors/sellers in both regions. We documented 278 plant species (177 in NW Iran and 142 in SE Iran) and 4722 UR. SE Iran shows a greater variety of preparation methods, such as vaporization and suppositories. Gastrointestinal diseases are the most relevant, followed by musculoskeletal issues in SE Iran, and skin and respiratory diseases at both locations. Commonly used plants in NW Iran include Urtica dioica (75 UR) for female genitourinary infections and Quercus spp. (50 UR) for gastric ulcers. In SE Iran, Haplophyllum canaliculatum (83 UR) is widely used. Pistacia atlantica resin is widely used in both areas. The comparison reveals continuation of uses (e.g., Mentha longifolia), plant substitutions (e.g., Thymus vs. Zataria), new uses (e.g., Capparis spinosa), and the loss of certain plant uses (e.g., Eryngium, Euphorbia) among the Balochi Kurds., Conclusion: The greater medicinal plant diversity in NW Iran reflects its richer biodiversity. In SE Iran, the higher diversity in preparation methods and therapeutic uses is likely due to its less developed healthcare system and more traditional lifestyle. The loss of their native language has not negatively impacted the traditional knowledge of the Balochi Kurds., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

This article examines responses from Lutheran pastors, theologians, and physicians to the arguments given by Johann Weyer in 1563 that those women who confessed to a pact with the devil suffered from melancholy and were thus not responsible for their acts. Weyer's conception of melancholy was a medical one, yet among Lutheran pastors and theologians the concept of a spiritual form of melancholy emerged that came from religious sources. The article clarifies the difference between the concepts of medical and spiritual melancholy within Lutheranism and reviews the respective roles they played in the debates over Weyer's arguments.

Behind the retro auricular groove, hidden by the pinna, on the surface of the mastoid, there is, a bony outgrowth, known by any otorhinolaryngologist worthy of the name, located above and behind the entrance to the external auditory canal in front of the supra meatic fossa: Henle's spine. In this historical note the authors retrace the moment of the dicovery of this primordial relief of otological surgery and the life of its discoverer, the German anatomis Jakob Henle, a true malesrtom which mixes science, art politics, and love., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

The history of science is increasingly directing its attention to the diachronic examination of women's involvement within spaces dedicated to scientific inquiry. While this field of study boasts rich and meticulous historiography, delving into the sixteenth century leaves the impression of encountering either a noticeable absence of women in the realm of natural history or an underexplored period in this regard. Undoubtedly, within the Italian context of the time, the cultural milieu shaped by the Counter-Reformation further heightened the social challenges faced by women.Notwithstanding these challenges, a noteworthy female figure emerges in the latter half of the sixteenth century - Francesca Fontana, the second wife of the natural history scholar Ulisse Aldrovandi (1522-1605). From an overall view of the sources, Fontana seems to assume a pivotal role in the realization of collections and works attributed to the eminent naturalist. This study aims to delineate the role played by Fontana within Aldrovandi's 'officina naturale.' By examining the available documents in a chronological order, my aim is to provide insights into the evolution of her education and her practical and technical skills, harnessed in the pursuit of her husband's enterprises and scholarly contributions.

Objective: We investigated inbreeding effects on longevity and fertility in the House of Habsburg, one of the principal royal dynasties of Europe., Methods: A total number of 124 Habsburg marriages, involving 107 men and 124 women, in the period of approximately 1450-1800 were considered for the analysis. Kinship and inbreeding coefficients were computed from genealogical information, which included more than 8000 individuals., Results: We found a significant negative association between age of death and inbreeding coefficient (F) in those women who had children (regression coefficient b = -1.06, p = 0.0008). This result led us to investigate possible inbreeding effects on maternal mortality in the period of 4 weeks after the childbirth. A strong inbreeding depression on maternal survival was detected through the Kaplan-Meier curve for groups of women with different level of inbreeding (log-rank test p = 0.0001) and the Cox proportional hazards regression analysis (hazard ratio = 2.36, p = 0.0008). Effect on fertility was also found as more inbred women had longer interbirth intervals (b = 154.66, p = 0.022). Effects of male or female inbreeding on the number of children per woman were not detected through zero-inflated regression models suggesting that reproductive compensation might be occurring among the more inbred and less-fecund women., Conclusion: The effect of inbreeding in adulthood in the Habsburg lineage was at least as important as that previously reported on prereproductive survival. To our knowledge, our results are the first evidence of an inbreeding effect on maternal mortality in humans., (© 2024 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Scholars usually consider the Historia anatomica corporis humani , published in 1600 by André du Laurens, as an obsolete defense of Galenic principles against the novelty of Vesalian material. Although du Laurens's book plagiarized many illustrations from Vesalius's De humani corporis fabrica (1543), critics such as Choulant insisted that the Historia 's iconography had "no particular anatomical or artistic value." However, four of the Historia 's engravings appear to be original. One of these, the Tabula hæc veram spinalis medullae et nervorum ab ea prodeuntium effigiem exprimit , is now famous for depicting the intradural spinal nerves as a horsetail, leading to the addition of the term cauda equina to the anatomical lexicon. A less flamboyant figure from the same plate shows small blood vessels coursing over the surface of the cervical spinal cord. This drawing may be the first published depiction of anterior spinal arteries and veins.

Objectives: Describe the history of the use of the term "lupus" as a disease and to point out the inaccuracies of previous lupus historical articles and correct the historical record., Methods: An exhaustive review of Medieval and later texts regarding the use of the term "lupus" as it was used for the name of a disease as well as personal communications with Medieval experts who have studied this topic., Results: There are three possible first uses of "lupus" as a disease: an affidavit written in 963 AD by Eraclius (Bishop of Liège, Belgium), in a 12th century historical account of the Bishop of Liège, falsely ascribed to the 9th century Bishop Herbernus, or in an 1170 AD letter written by Pierre de Blois about the death of archbishop Stephan du Perche. The first use of "lupus" in a medical text was by Rolando da Parma in a 1230 AD surgical treatise. Lupus , Latin for wolf, was not used to describe lesions that looked like wolf bites. Instead, it was first used to describe potentially deadly skin lesions that devoured the affected person's skin and "internal matter." The first described lupus treatment was freshly killed chicken flesh applied to the lesions so they would "wolfishly" eat the chicken rather than the person's flesh. At least 25 modern historical articles, book chapters, and academic theses on the topic contain incorrect dates, story authorship ascriptions, reason for the use of "lupus" and other facts. There is no proof that Hippocrates described lupus. The Basilica of St Martin (Liege, Belgium), was originally built in the 10th century by Eraclius, Bishop of Liege, out of gratitude to St Martin for curing him of "lupus.", Conclusions: The first use of the word "lupus" as a disease originated in either the 10th or 12th centuries. It described a deadly disease affecting the buttocks and legs that "wolfishly" devoured the person's flesh and "internal matter" as well as doctor-prescribed fresh chicken flesh placed on the lesions. Authors of medical history articles should evaluate original historical texts and not simply repeat what other modern articles have written., Competing Interests: Declaration of conflicting interestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Purpose: The preserved head of King Henri IV of France (life 1553-1610, reign 1589-1610) has survived to the present day thanks to high-quality embalming and favorable conservation conditions. The aim of this study was to examine Henry IV's upper resonant cavities and mastoids using an original and innovative forensic three-dimensional segmentation method., Methods: The paranasal sinuses and mastoid cells of King Henri IV of France were studied by cross-referencing available biographical information with clinical and flexible endoscopic examination and computed tomography (CT-scan) imaging. The paranasal sinuses and mastoid cells were delineated and their volumes were assessed using ITK-SNAP 4.0 software (open-source). Graphical representations were created using Fusion 360® (Autodesk Inc., San Rafael, CA, USA) and MeshMixer® (Autodesk Inc., San Rafael, CA, USA)., Results: Paranasal sinus tomodensitometry revealed abnormalities in shape and number. Henri IV of France suffered from sinus aplasia. Neither the left sphenoid nor left frontal sinus contrasted sharply, and a remarkable pneumatization of the right clinoid processes extended throughout the height of the right pterygoid process. The total volumes of Henri IV's mastoid air-cells were estimated at 27 and 26 mL, respectively, for the right and left sides, exceeding the normal mean and the maximum of modern subjects by a wide margin. No sign of chronic ear or sinus condition was found., Conclusions: An innovative method has been developed in forensic medicine to establish hypotheses about the growth and respiratory conditions of the face., (© 2024 American Association of Clinical Anatomists and British Association of Clinical Anatomists.)

Abstract: This historical narrative presents a comprehensive historical journey delving into the diverse facets of gender identity and expression across ancient cultures. It explores these civilizations' perspectives on gender diversity, highlighting instances that challenged conventional gender norms. Transitioning to the modern era, the narrative examines the dynamic landscape of LGBTQ+ and trans movements, spotlighting influential figures whose advocacy has significantly influenced societal perceptions and advanced the rights of gender diverse individuals. Their contributions continue to shape contemporary affirming care practices. Exploring the emergence of gender-affirming surgery, the narrative highlights pioneering surgeons and original techniques employed in these transformative procedures. It shows the courage and innovation of early surgeons who laid the groundwork for contemporary practices. At the core of this historical narrative lies the pivotal role of plastic surgeons in gender-affirming care. It emphasizes the significance of a collaborative multidisciplinary approach among medical professionals to ensure comprehensive and patient-centered care for transgender individuals seeking affirming interventions. However, intertwined with this narrative are legislative barriers that have hindered progress in gender-affirming care. The narrative navigates these obstacles, highlighting their complexities and emphasizing the urgent need for sustained medical advocacy and legislative reforms to foster an inclusive healthcare landscape. Ultimately, this narrative stands as a testament to the ongoing struggle and resilience within the realm of gender-affirming care, shedding light on its profound impact on individuals' lives, emphasizing the ongoing need for compassionate, comprehensive, and inclusive healthcare practices., Competing Interests: Conflicts of interest and sources of funding: none declared., (Copyright © 2024 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

We are all used to drawing straight lines to represent time, and above them, we plot historical events or physical or economic data. What to us is a self-evident convention, is however of an astonishingly recent date: it emerged only in the second half of the eighteenth century. To us, this late date seems paradoxical and cries out for an explanation. How else did earlier periods measure change, if not as a function of time? it will be argued that since Antiquity, time was taken to measure change, and change to occur in space. 'Our' idea of representing time as an independent dimension would have seemed aberrant. But then, a second issue arises. Did not medieval natural philosophers employ timelines, Oresme's diagram of the mean speed theorem being the most famous case? However, as will be shown, our interpretation of his diagram is probably wrong. This insight, in turn, takes care of a third paradox, namely Galileo's initial inability to represent the law of free fall correctly. This article will document that the timeline first emerged in the late sixteenth century in works on chronology, made its first appearance in physics in Galileo's diagrams, and had its general breakthrough in the eighteenth century.

This essay uses the unpublished casebook kept by the Tuscan surgeon Giovanbattista Nardi to examine the provision of urgent medical care in sixteenth-century Italian hospitals. Most major hospitals on the peninsula maintained separate therapeutic spaces known as medicherie for this purpose. Written in the 1580s while Nardi worked as a staff surgeon at a Florentine civic hospital, this rare surgical casebook provides insight into the types of institutional resources devoted to acute medical problems; the clientele seeking immediate assistance and the situations that brought them there; the treatments used to achieve short-term "cures"; and the clinical experiences of hospital surgeons who served as frontline healers. A close analysis of the seventy-nine cases recorded sheds new light on everyday surgical treatments for conditions ranging from serious head injuries requiring trephination to syphilitic lesions and genital trauma. Casebook entries also reveal Nardi's deep engagement with the composition and use of topical remedies as both practitioner and experimenter. Intended as a memory aid for future reference, the casebook shows material traces of the author's shifting occupational identity as he matured from hospital surgeon to university-trained physician. Viewed through multiple lenses, this richly layered source expands our understanding of both the practice and profession of early modern surgery., (© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For commercial re-use, please contact reprints@oup.com for reprints and translation rights for reprints. All other permissions can be obtained through our RightsLink service via the Permissions link on the article page on our site—for further information please contact journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Historical texts on materia medica can be an attractive source of ethnopharmacological information. Various research groups have investigated corresponding resources from Europe and the Mediterranean region, pursuing different objectives. Regardless of the method used, the indexing of textual information and its conversion into data sets useful for further investigations represents a significant challenge., Aim of the Study: First, this study aims to systematically catalogue pharmaco-botanical information in the Receptarium of Burkhard von Hallwyl (RBH) in order to identify candidate plants in a targeted manner. Secondly, the potential of RBH as a resource for pharmacological investigations will be assessed by means of a preliminary in vitro screening., Materials and Methods: We developed a relational database for the systematic recording of parameters composing the medical recipes contained in the historical text. Focusing on dermatological recipes, we explored the mentioned plants and their uses by drawing on specific literature. The botanical identities (candidate species) suggested in the literature for the historical plant names were rated based on their plausibility of being the correct attribution. The historical uses were interpreted by consulting medical-historical and modern clinical literature. For the subsequent in vitro screening, we selected candidate species used in recipes directed at the treatment of inflammatory or infectious skin disorders and wounds. Plants were collected in Switzerland and their hydroethanolic crude extracts tested for possible cytotoxic effects and for their potential to modulate the release of IL-6 and TNF in PS-stimulated whole blood and PBMCs., Results: The historical text analysis points up the challenges associated with the assessment of historical plant names. Often two or more plant species are available as candidates for each of the 161 historical plant names counted in the 200 dermatological recipes in RBH. On the other hand, our method enabled to draw conclusions about the diseases underlying the 56 medical applications mentioned in the text. On this basis, 11 candidate species were selected for in vitro screening, four of which were used in RBH in herbal simple recipes and seven in a herbal compound formulation. None of the extracts tested showed a noteworthy effect on cell viability except for the sample of Sanicula europaea L. Extracts were tested at 50 μg/mL in the whole blood assay, where especially Vincetoxicum hirundinaria Medik. or Solanum nigrum L. showed inhibitory or stimulatory activities. In the PBMC assay, the root of Vincetoxicum hirundinaria revealed a distinct inhibitory effect on IL-6 release (IC 50 of 3.6 μg/mL)., Conclusions: Using the example of RBH, this study illustrates a possible ethnopharmacological path from unlocking the historical text and its subsequent analysis, through the selection and collection of plant candidates to their in vitro investigation. Fully documenting our approach to the analysis of historical texts, we hope to contribute to the discussion on solutions for the digital indexing of premodern information on the use of plants or other natural products., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Loss of facial features can result from a variety of traumatic events. Throughout history, humans have worked to develop materials and methods to repair such defects. Epithesis first appeared in medical literature in the 16th century. In Japan, wooden dentures were used during the first half of the 16th century. This review outlines the history of maxillofacial prosthetics and discusses the possibility of nasal and orbital epithesis creation in Japan until early modern times. Craftsmen in Japan with sophisticated skills specialized in the production of Buddhist statues, Noh masks, and Netsukes, and in the Edo period, they also specialized in the production of artificial noses and eyes. Although evidence in books, flyers, and paintings suggests the insertion of epitheses, no physical trace has been found that were actually used. This lack of physical evidence may be attributed to the deterioration and corrosion of the wooden material, making it undetectable over time. In the future, examination of the orbit, nasal cavity, and oral cavity with extreme care when excavating human bones, traces of such epitheses may be identified., (Copyright 2024 © American Academy of the History of Dentistry.)

While early modern Spain may seem a world away, it is an extremely rich and relevant context for gaining a better understanding of the Rhetoric of Health, specifically the power of metaphor, in the related spheres of policy-making and public debate. It was a time and place in which the urban populace's physical well-being depended upon the fortunes of theatrical performances due to a system of alms for hospitals driven by ticket receipts. Anti-theatricalists argued that the immoral nature of theatrical performances made them spiritually and medically detrimental to society. Pro-theatricalists argued that plays were always a public good on balance because they raised much-needed funds for hospitals. Instead of producing a conflict between morality and public health, each side reinforced their connection until the two topics became nearly inseparable in the sphere of public debate. While pro-theatricalists mainly stayed with their arguments about funding hospitals, anti-theatricalists developed a new strategy of literalising the metaphor of theatre as a "plague of the republic" and arguing that immoral entertainment brought literal disease to the populace as a punishment from God. This exemplifies Stephen Pender's observation of how, in an early modern medical context, "Rhetoric as a way of perceiving probabilities and adjusting one's argument to the audience and circumstance offers a model of ethical action and interaction". This article is organised chronologically to track specific adjustments to a specific public-health debate that rely upon moral metaphors of medicine. Each side wrangled over these metaphors in an effort to break a deadlock in a public-health policy debate with entertainment, finance, and morality at its centre. By the end of the seventeenth century, anti-theatricalists finally found their best rhetorical weapon in the literalisation of the "plague of the republic" metaphor, but it only offered a short-term solution to banning theatre contingent upon the ebb and flow of epidemics. Simultaneously, the finance structure of funding hospitals began to erase the role of hospitals from the longstanding debate about the morality of public theatre. The case of early modern Spain provides valuable lessons about the power of metaphor in the Rhetoric of Healthcare that are still applicable today., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

J. Piaget wanted to study children to find a key to understanding history of mind, culture, science, and philosophy. The new theory program, called the structural-genetic theory program, developed by the author of this article, is an off-spring of Piagetian theory and follows Piaget's main idea concerning the study of parallels between ontogenetic and historical developments. It maintains the full identity of the child's psyche and that of the adult archaic human being concerning traits and features of the preoperational stage and partially the concrete operational stage, thereby evidencing the total sally of the formal operational stage in the minds of archaic people. The identity of the stage structures is not partially given but rather entirely and implies even the smallest details. The article exemplifies this identity concerning several central issues, such as logic, physical understanding, categories such as causality and chance, animism, personification of plants and animals, belief in magic, metamorphosis, ghosts, and understanding of dreams and myths. Accordingly, there is no difference between ontogenetic stages and the psychogenetic development of humankind throughout history. Historically, humankind has gone through the same stages as children do. The new theory program presents the fundamental theory of the human being as he or she existed in history and peopled archaic, ancient, and medieval societies. Consequently, the world history of culture, mind, worldview, politics, law, science, philosophy, morals, religion, and arts must be reconstructed in terms of stages, a task already accomplished by the new program, at least to a certain extent., Competing Interests: Declarations. Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing interests. Conflict of Interest: There are no conflicts concerning this article to report., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Objectives: Between the Irish late medieval (AD 1150-c.1550) (LMP) and post-medieval (AD c.1550-1800) (PMP) periods, colonial practices changed land ownership. Contextualizing these periods within a biocultural political economy framework supports increasing social inequality in the PMP, which we expect to be reflected in different skeletal markers of longevity and stress. Therefore, we hypothesized that widespread exposure to stressors and resource deprivation contributed to lower longevity in the PMP compared to the LMP, and that there would be greater variation between sites in the frequency of linear enamel hypoplasias (LEH) in the PMP., Materials and Methods: We estimated age and counted matched pairs of LEH on 526 adult skeletons from the Irish counties of Dublin, Kildare, Louth, and Meath. Age-at-death was compared through Kaplan-Meier survival functions and non-parametric tests. Linear enamel hypoplasias prevalences were analyzed with Mann-Whitney U tests and Generalized Linear Models., Results: Age-at-death distribution changed between the LMP and PMP for males, with males experiencing an increase in median-age-at-death. The same was untrue for females, who show no changes in median age-at-death. Analysis of LEH frequency per individual showed that variation between sites was significant in the post-medieval period but not in the late medieval period., Conclusion: These results suggest that social organization contributed to embodied health experiences that varied across time periods. Specifically, populations from the PMP appear to have embodied greater social inequality in their more varied susceptibility to stress. Our work demonstrates the strength of pairing historical texts with the analysis of skeletal remains to evaluate the impact of social structures on biological frailty., (© 2024 The Author(s). American Journal of Biological Anthropology published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

This study explores materiality and material cultures of human placenta in Ming China (1368-1644), for it perfectly displays Chinese ambiguous attitudes towards the human body parts between living and non-living. For a long time, the Chinese had widely applied human body parts in medical treatments and ritual healings. Numerous evidences in relation to their collection, production, efficacy and application are widely recorded in medical works, in particular those found in materia medica. In the sixteenth century, the Bencao gangmu (Systemic Materia Medica, 1596) illustrates thirty-five "human body drugs." Of those, the placenta was believed effective for curing illnesses, nourishing the body and prolonging life. The questions to be answered include: how is the placenta perceived in medical and religious discourses? What is its "materiality" and "efficacy" when it becomes a drug? What ethical issues and moral concerns are involved with eating the placenta? Last but not least, how was the placenta ritually buried after childbirth in premodern China? In so doing, this essay aims to provide a better understanding of the placenta situated in both material and cosmological worlds. It helps us rethink the multiple relations of human body part to part, part to whole, and body to body., (© 2024 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

In addition to his versatility in painting and art, Leonardo da Vinci was extremely passionate about medicine, particularly the study of the brain. He investigated the ventricles of the brain in great detail in an attempt to locate the seat of the soul in the brain (senso comune). Pathography on Leonardo da Vinci suggests that his ability to use mirror writing and supposed attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder may have contributed to his extraordinary creativity and tendency to be unable to complete his work. It is presumed that Leonardo da Vinci died of a stroke; however, it is speculated that ulnar or median nerve palsy led to right upper limb paralysis that prevented him from painting in his later years.

Humans and donkeys have had a closely interactive relationship throughout history, despite being two completely different species. How has Chinese society viewed the donkey in its long history? How have donkeys been used? And what kind of boundaries do people place on the donkey? This study has focused on the consumption of donkey in Chinese history from medical, cultural and legal aspects. All in all, considering food, medicine, and legal viewpoints, from the medieval period to the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), the question whether or not one should consume donkey depended on its characteristics, taste, texture, and the side effects, as well as whether the manner of consumption is consistent with social moral standards and its derived legal boundary issues., (© 2024 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

This paper was prompted by some striking similarities between both the ritual and the medical use of placenta in Ming China and in premodern Europe. Contrary to most accounts, which focus either on the rise of chemiatric medicine or on the growing interest in "exotic" substances, the seventeenth century in Europe also reveals a revived interest in substances from animals, including materials from human bodies. The paper will analyse the use of words signifying the placenta, and follow the trace of vernacular knowledge about the placenta and its role in birth-giving, and in medieval medical texts on women's medicine. I will then analyse how the placenta is treated in systems of signatures in the age of alchemy and will try to trace the advent of more complicated preparations in the seventeenth century, and how between the eighteenth and the twenty-first century, the placenta meandered between a token of folk medicine (re)productive material and pharmaceutical resource., (© 2024 The Author(s). Berichte zur Wissenschaftsgeschichte published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

The Flood is the first pictorial scene that Michelangelo Buonarroti painted on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican. On the right side of the fresco a woman with abnormal breast morphology is presented and the nature of her disease is considered using the Guidelines for Iconodiagnosis. A team of experts covering art history, art expertise, medicine, genetics, and pathology undertook the process and concluded that the pathology shown is probably breast cancer, most likely linked to the symbolic significance of an inevitable death as expressed in the Book of Genesis., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Because of the complexity of the brain and its structures, anatomical knowledge is fundamental in neurosurgery. Anatomical dissection, body preservation, and vascular injection remain essential for training, teaching, and refining surgical techniques. This article explores the historical development of these practices and provides the contextual background of modern neurosurgical cadaveric brain models. Body preservation has ancient beginnings, evident in the Chinchorro mummifications and Egyptian embalming. However, brain preservation techniques for education were scarce until the beginning of the Renaissance in Europe. At the University of Bologna in the 13th century, occasional dissections were performed only in winter because of the lack of preservation techniques. Pope Sixtus IV's 1482 papal bull (official decree) formalized and expanded the use of dissection in medical education, leading to an explosion in anatomical studies. This surge brought advances in body preservation, such as soaking bodies in vinegar and distilled liquors. In subsequent centuries, Andreas Vesalius and Charles Bell advanced brain anatomical techniques and knowledge, combining novel illustrations and instruction. To better understand brain vasculature, Richard Lower developed vascular injection techniques using india ink and spirits of wine, leading to the 1664 description of the circle of Willis by Thomas Willis. In 1868, August Hofmann synthesized formaldehyde, markedly improving tissue preservation. Later, William Kruse introduced latex in 1939, and Sidney Sobin introduced silicone in 1965 for vascular studies. These advancements laid the foundation for modern neurosurgical cadaveric studies, many remaining relevant today., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

This special issue presents six research papers that were developed within the Taiwanese-German working group "Materialities of Medical Cultures in/between Europe and East Asia." Our working group uses the concept of "in/between" as an umbrella term to study the cultural history of drugs and the practices of medicine and care. This issue's articles address the question of how drugs and medical knowledge emerged from the various in/between spaces created by encounters between East Asian and European medical cultures. Their focus is on the entanglements of matters and knowledge in the contexts of mission and colonialism, the production of medicinal substances and helminthology, as well as on premodern knowledge cultures concerning childbirth and the preparation and consumption of animals with a medicinal background. The contributions present a comparative perspective on material and knowledge cultures surrounding medical materials from plants, animals, and humans. In this introduction, we summarize the discussions within our Taiwan-German working group as case studies on how scholars of East Asian and European studies can meet under the "in/between" umbrella term as a productive approach to an interdisciplinary and comparative history of knowledge., (© 2024 The Author(s). Berichte zur Wissenschaftsgeschichte published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Occupational medicine has been concerned with work-related pathologies and their prevention since ancient times. It has evolved with scientific discoveries, societal changes, the establishment of health and safety authorities, better observation of working conditions and multidisciplinary organization., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

This research is the first of its kind to assess of the impact of respiratory illnesses and airborne diseases (acronymized as "RIAD" hereafter) on Swiss mortality in the long run, between the 16 th and the 21 st century CE. It reviews historical, demographical, statistical, medical, and bioarchaeological, primary and secondary data originating from archive material or previously published specific analyses into the topic (n = 55). An innovative intersectional and multidisciplinary approach was developed in order to apprehend, collect, organize, and analyze data stemming from several different disciplinary fields. Through this approach, this research endeavors to answer the following questions: 1) what are the social and environmental factors guiding the risk or not of suffering from RIAD, 2) do these factors appear to be constant on a territorial scale and through time, 3) can the evolution of RIAD occurrences be correlated to the local history of a particular region? And 4) does a better understanding of RIAD dynamics in the past allow us to draw any useful lessons for their future sustainable management? Accordingly, collected raw data were converted and normalized into crude mortality, natality, and RIAD mortality rates per thousand individuals and subsequently set within the demographic and epidemiological transition model. This model serves as a relevant reading grid for the understanding of the pathological and demographic evolutions that this study highlights. Indeed, this data compilation effort enabled to reconstruct crude birth and death rates for Switzerland from 1580 CE to the present day and to present the latter in graphical form. This graphical presentation is a breakthrough in the field of RIAD research in Switzerland and further enabled to assess internal data coherence and trend evolutions by means of joinpoint regression analysis. Main results include the confirmation of the considerable impact of industrialization on the respiratory health of peri-alpine populations. They also underline the selective and versatile nature of the pressure exerted by respiratory diseases on specific socio-economic and demographic classes, whose composition has varied through time. This research was impeded by the uneven quality of the available sources. Nonetheless, it still provides a robust outlook on the longue-durée evolution of respiratory health. The obtained results might thus be of interest to a wide array of scholars active in the study of respiratory diseases through time, but also clinicians and health policy makers, as this study highlights particular aspect of the current health situation, and the future worldwide challenges posed notably by global urbanization, with regard to respiratory health issues. Future research could develop similar approaches in neighboring regions, or focus on specific types of RIAD, in order to contrast other local pathological signatures with the one presented in this manuscript.

There are numerous studies dealing with olive oil management from ancient civilizations to the mid last century, but they are limited on the historical value of information. At the same time, much knowledge is widely available and accessible on the contemporaneous production of olive oil, the necessary inputs (water and energy) and outputs (by-products) of the production process. The present study aims to shed light on olive oil extraction management from antiquity to present and to bridge the gap between archaeological and modern agricultural, engineering, and environmental disciplines. For the purposes of this study, Crete, Greece, a well-known and traditional olive oil producing region is investigated. This study is dedicated to unveil practices concerning: (a) the processing of the olives, (b) the various energy aspects per era, (c) the role of water and energy at each stage of the extraction process, and (d) management of by-products per era. The main findings support that: (a) the evolution of the extraction processes was relatively slow and remained almost the same from Minoan times until the middle of the 20th century, (b) the importance of water has been demonstrated from the beginning in the efficient extraction of the maximum amount of olive oil, (c) wastewater was first reported during the Hellenistic-Roman period due to the increased quantities produced, (d) by-product management was only considered in the previous century for environmental purposes, (e) olive oil production has been a human-based process for centuries and was greatly increased by the introduction of animals, and (f) olive oil production was further increased with the utilization of mechanical and electrical energy. It can be therefore clearly concluded that past practices have both similarities and differences with the present ones, which in turn have been optimized in terms of energy sources, water uses, olive mill equipment, and environmental considerations, to result in maximum olive oil production with minimum environmental impacts. Based on this work, important lessons can be drawn that show the historical evolution of extraction and management practices., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Historical data are often overlooked in risk assessments and recovery plans for marine animals, resulting in the "shifting baselines." Historical ecological studies demonstrate the "surprising" extent to which contemporary assumptions misrepresent premodern baselines. The Florida manatee, a subspecies of the West Indian manatee found primarily in Florida, USA, faces several existential threats, but risk assessments and recovery targets for the species are hindered by poor understanding of historical baselines. We conducted systematic and opportunistic reviews of archaeological and historical records of manatee occurrence in Florida, USA. Our data reveal that manatee populations in Florida were very small in the Precolonial and Colonial Periods, possibly representing infrequent in-migration from the Caribbean during favorable climate conditions. Manatees expanded in number and range across the Florida peninsula during the Territorial/Early Statehood and Early Modern Periods, first northward on the Atlantic Coast and later along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. These expansions track increasing human populations, associated anthropogenic landscape alterations, and social and policy changes. Historical ecology is critical for "shaping a better Anthropocene" for humans and manatees in Florida., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Pluckhahn, Thulman. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

While medieval and modern embalming practices in Western Europe are attested to historically and bioarcheologically, especially for famous historical figures, there are few recorded occurrences of this type of corpse preparation for a large number of archaeological individuals from the same lineage. Moreover, evidence of such practices mainly concerns adult individuals, whereas traces of child embalming are extremely rare. In 2017, the discovery of a crypt in the chapel of the Château des Milandes (Castelnaud-la-Chapelle, Dordogne, France) revealed a collective burial of the scattered remains of seven adults and five children of the aristocratic Caumont family, who died in the 16th and 17th centuries and whose skeletons all show marks of embalming practices. In 2021, another excavation in the chapel uncovered the individual grave of an elderly woman whose body was also embalmed. This skeletal sample provides a unique opportunity to examine the modus operandi of medieval embalming through the cutmarks left on the cranium and appendicular skeleton and to compare mortuary protocols for adults and children. Our macroscopic and microscopic investigations revealed a thorough and highly standardized technical treatment that was similar for both adult and very young immature individuals and displays a skillset that was passed down over two centuries., Competing Interests: Declarations Ethics statement The research was conducted in accordance with all French ethical and legal guidelines for the excavation, handling, and analysis of archaeological human remains. The remains were handled with care to minimize disturbance and preserve their integrity for future research, with some remains being partially reburied in situ. Competing interests The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Tuberculosis is an ancient disease that has accompanied humanity for the last three thousand years and is considered the oldest infectious disease that still exists. The Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacillus was spread worldwide due to human migrations, and there is archaeological evidence of spinal tuberculosis cases in Egyptian and Andean mummies, as well as texts that attributed the disease to social factors before suspecting its infectious nature. Throughout its history, humans have dealt with this pathology by developing unusual and ineffective therapies, leading to a significant increase in the disease's mortality. In the past century, the first antibiotics were introduced, bringing hope to eradicate this disease. However, evolutionary pressure has led to the emergence of multi-drug-resistant strains. Today, the development of computational techniques, such as artificial intelligence, has given us new hope for generating drugs and potential immunomodulatory therapies. However, it is essential to remember that those who do not know their history are doomed to repeat it. In this review, we summarize the history of tuberculosis, analyzing theories of its possible origin, its discovery, the creation of the first empirical treatments, vaccines, the emergence of new antibiotics, and how the mycobacterium quickly develops resistance., (Licencia CC 4.0 (BY-NC-ND) © 2024 Revista Médica del Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social.)

Martin Luther (1483-1546) reported attacks of headache and of vertigo in his letters and in his lectures. The symptomatology of his headache attacks fulfilled, at least in part, the diagnostic semiological criteria of migraine. However, because we cannot be sure about the time pattern and the exclusion of other disorders that might explain the headache, the diagnosis of migraine is not final. The vertigo attacks sometimes fulfilled the criteria of Ménière's disease. Vertigo also occurred together with headache attacks fulfilling the International Classification of Headache Disorders, 3rd edition criteria for vestibular migraine; however, we do not know exactly the pattern of attack frequency and duration. In summary, it is possible that Martin Luther suffered from attacks of vestibular migraine and had in addition a comorbidity of migraine and Ménière's disease., (© 2023 The Authors. European Journal of Neurology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of European Academy of Neurology.)

It is little appreciated not only how closely linked are the disciplines of neurology, psychiatry, and anthropology but even more so the degree to which they share a "common ancestry". This paper briefly reviews the definition and historical origins of each area of study to then begin to illustrate how their "genealogies" overlap. This illustration is by way of a sampling of the many key figures who contributed to the rise of not just neurology, psychiatry or anthropology but of all three disciplines. That is, a selective review is undertaken of paragons whose careers bridged medicine, neuropsychiatry, and anthropology. A sampling from among the dozens who have made major contributions to spanning these disciplines illuminates the significant extent of their co-mingled intellectual ancestry. This series is akin to a data table of necessarily concise biographical vignettes - past scholars with some or full medical training who also advanced both anthropology and neuropsychiatry as these disciplines grew into intellectual maturity. Each is, in a sense, a data point that bolsters the overarching thesis that the intellectual history of these disciplines have shared ancestry. Thus, even this preliminary and topical survey of a few past "exemplars" underscores the importance of this unique intellectual siblingship. Moreover, there is now a profusion of living scholars who add fulsomely to what might be deemed this 'trilateral marriage' of anthropology, psychiatry, and neurology. A compilation of more contemporary contributors is well worthy of a future review that expands from this first consideration. This initial work is meant to engender more robust scholarship that better elucidates and, thereby, enriches and enlivens further work while also uncovering new avenues of deeper insight, notably as to the "conceptual and heuristic progression" of evolutionary neurosciences with respect to the normative and pathologic., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: Investigating changes in temporal bone pneumatization (TBP) and paranasal sinus volumes (PSV) across different eras may help understanding not only changes in skull anatomy but also pathophysiology of chronic otitis media and sinusitis, respectively, which are common health problems., Methods: Eight skulls from the second century AD, 20 skulls were from the 10th-11th centuries AD, 20 skulls from the 16th-19th centuries AD, and 60 contemporary skulls were included in this cross-sectional observational study. Using computerized tomography (CT) scans, the PSV were calculated by multiplying the height, width, and antero-posterior distance of the sinuses. TBP was divided into three types. Internal acoustic canal (IAC) length and width, and olfactory cleft (OC) width were measured., Results: No statistically significant differences were found between the paranasal sinus (frontal, maxillary, and sphenoid) volumes between the groups. However, TBP decreased statistically significantly over time on both sides of the skulls (p = 0.001). The contemporary IAC and OC measures were found to be significantly lower on both sides compared to the skulls from the other three eras (p < 0.001 for both)., Conclusions: Although no significant change was observed in PSV, decreases were evident in TBP, OC width and IAC length and width over time. It appears a fair inference that changes in size of OC and IAC might be another indication of the fact that olfaction and hearing were more vital for survival in old eras. Since we do not know incidence of chronic ear problems in old eras, we cannot speculate outcome of increased TBP in terms of developing chronic ear diseases. On the contrary, increased TBP was likely to play a protective role in traumas in old ears. Additionally, the environmental influences may be crucial role in the development of paranasal sinuses., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Under the futuristic vision of anatomical sciences, a strong societal connection is mandatory. The anatomical practice experienced robust societal participation through public human dissection from the 16th century onward. With a perspective to explore the intersection of spirituality with anatomy, the present study analyzed this momentous period. From a spiritual perspective, the study also reflects on two relevant but presently uncoupled entities of public human dissection and societal connection through the prism of current regulations. Strong representation from the general public during public human dissection was primarily driven by spiritual proclivity and an endorsement from religious authorities. To regulate large gatherings and maintain academic sanctity, anatomical theaters emerged as dedicated spaces for such a merger. With time and growing financial support, the theaters transformed from temporary structures to elaborate architectural marvels, further propelling already robust societal connections associated with the practice. Nevertheless, a confluence of multiple factors led to the violation of spiritual principles and a consequent decrease in societal participation from the early 18th century, eventually culminating in the demise of such spectacle. Presently, public human dissection-when done-is mostly conducted for commercial gains and in contravention of ethical norms. It is against the essence of spirituality and harbors a bleak prospect for societal connection. Contrastingly, measures adopted to promote societal participation (mostly related to body donation) were quite effective and followed the principles of spirituality. Societal connections served anatomy in the past and can lead to its advancement if approached through a righteous path., (© 2024 The Authors. Anatomical Sciences Education published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Association for Anatomy.)

Artificial skull deformations were performed in all cultures since Prehistoric times using external devices, to permanently modify the shape of the head of newborns. Two types of deformations are reported: (1) antero-posterior deformations ("flat heads") and (2) circumferential deformations ("long heads"). Deformation devices exert mechanical forces on the forehead and the occiput: forehead shape is thus a major source of information for diagnosis, classification and on the culture significance of artificial skull deformations. France was the major European country for artificial skull deformations, and Toulouse was the epicenter of this practice. Numerous dry skulls and exceptional historical data are available to explore the origins, the mechanisms, the motivations, and the consequences of "Toulouse" artificial skull deformations., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.)

Objectives: The present paper highlights the potential of osteological data for answering demographic questions through the development and application of a Bayesian approach incorporating age estimations of adults., Materials and Methods: The metropolis of London is a rewarding study region for such an approach due to the large number of cemeteries, with thousands of individuals, spanning a period from 1100 AD to the mid-19th century, that have been excavated and published in the past two decades. Furthermore, London has a rich tradition of early written records on mortality that can be used for comparison purposes. In order to gain comparable results from the different source categories, we use a Bayesian framework in which the Gompertz distribution features centrally., Results: Our intensive simulations show that the Bayesian approach performs better than maximum likelihood estimation or ordinary least squares in terms of recovering the original age distribution parameters. They also show how strongly population growth affects mortality patterns. The osteological data suggests that during medieval times and the Early Modern period, the modal age-at-death of the general population of London remained more or less constant and hovered around 30 years, and that only monks showed a higher modal age, of about 45 years. However, from the 17th century onwards, life expectancy of adults increased markedly., Discussion: Our comparison of written sources and osteological data demonstrates their general comparability and highlights the much higher mortality among adults in London than in the rest of England and Wales. We conclude that Bayesian modeling has great potential for recovering true mortality patterns from osteological data., (© 2024 The Author(s). American Journal of Biological Anthropology published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

This essay brings together research in the history of science and soft matter physics to consider how early modern Italian apothecaries organised and communicated their knowledge from the fourteenth to the seventeenth century through an "apothecary taxonomy." This was based on a what we call a "hylocentric" classification scheme (from the Greek hyle  = matter, material, stuff) founded on a tactile understanding of materials. We will investigate how the behaviour of medicines under deformation and flow - their "rheology" - is a previously underestimated organisational principle, and consider the specialist vocabulary these author-practitioners used to describe different liquid and liquid-like formulations. We will also suggest that the rheology of these formulations - which today falls under the domain of "soft matter science" - affected the material culture of apothecary shops, in the arrangement and selection of drug bottles and jars, which presented this knowledge visually to visitors and clients. That soft matter scientists organise the substances they study in similar ways to early modern apothecaries suggests the agency of materials in affecting human categorisations.

The present article reviews the major historical plague epidemics that characterised human history by combining data derived from historical sources and biomedical evidence emerged in recent years thanks to advancements of palaeogenetics and palaeopathology. Notes are offered on the Plague of Athens, the Antonine Plague, the Plague of Cyprian, the Justinian Plague, the Black Death down to more recent centuries and presenting key aspects that continued to be preserved over time and would also partly characterise the recent COVID-19 pandemic., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (©2024 Pacini Editore SRL, Pisa, Italy.)

The disease called cancer was named after the animal known as the crab. According to ancient tradition, cancer was named after the crab because of the aggressivity or obstinacy of the crab or because of the appearance of the crab's tangled legs., (© 2024 The Author(s). Cancer published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Cancer Society.)

Vinegar is a natural product derived from fruits or grains after being subjected to food fermentation processes. Vinegar is a beneficial food additive, preservative, and condiment. It is appreciated across the Islamic world following the Prophetic teaching where Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) recommended its utility, saying: "The best of condiments is vinegar". Modern medicine recognizes the health benefits, especially upon metabolism and circulation, mediated by the bioactive constituents of vinegar, including acetic acid, caffeic acid, ferulic acid, chlorogenic acid, gallic acid, p -coumaric acid, catechin, and epicatechin. Using a variety of search engines, including Google Scholar, Sci-Finder, Wiley publications, Springer Link, Scopus, MDPI, Web of Science, and PubMed, a thorough survey of the literature was carried out. To compile a comprehensive data on the various varieties of vinegar, this review highlights and updates the existing information of different vinegar-related topics including production methods, quality assessment using different quantitative analysis tools, preclinical and clinical studies, structure-activity relationship, consumption, and applications from antiquity to the present.

The discovery of spine anatomy followed a problem/solution pattern; it took almost 1000 years to transition from nihilism to perfectionism. Before the 16th century, the main issue was accessing and opening the spine. The level of knowledge progressed rapidly when the spinal canal was opened longitudinally during the 16th century. The 17th century was an incubation period that allowed the consolidation of the science of anatomy with the help of art, philosophy, and other sciences. In particular, the conservation of the cadaver was improved. Famous spine anatomists were close to Rembrandt, master of the chiaroscuro technique, which helped to improve the anatomical drawings significantly. Descriptions of the pathological anatomy of the spine were first published early in the 17th century, but progress was slow up to the end of the 18th century due to a lack of occasions for clinical-pathological correlations. Normal anatomy became remarkably accurate in the 18th and 19th centuries when soft tissues and connections (e.g., among the intervertebral discs) were studied in detail. The slow compressions due to underlying diseases and then the degenerative processes were subsequently described.

Maroons in Suriname and French Guiana descend from enslaved Africans who escaped the plantations during colonial times. Maroon farmers still cultivate a large diversity of rice, their oldest staple crop. The oral history and written records of Maroons by colonial authorities provide contrasting perspectives on the origins of Maroon rice. Here, we analyzed the genomic ancestry of 136 newly sequenced Maroon rice varieties and found seven genomic groups that differ in their geographical associations. We interpreted these findings in light of ethnobotanical and archival investigations to reconstruct the historical contexts associated with the introduction of rice varieties to the Guianas. We found that two rice groups trace to West Africa, which we propose are linked to the transatlantic slave trade (c. 1526 to 1825). We posit that the Maroon rice stock additionally contains varieties that derive from rice introduced by indentured laborers from Java (1890 onwards), USA rice breeders (1932 onwards), and Hmong refugees who fled the Vietnam War (1991). Furthermore, on the Maroon fields, we found rice types never documented before that were derived from crosses. Overall, our results demonstrate that the Maroon farmers prioritize maintenance of a high stock diversity, which we posit reflects the expertise they inherited from their (African) ancestors. Ignored by agricultural modernization initiatives, Maroon farmers today are custodians of a unique cultural heritage. Notably, the genomic findings underline many Maroon stories about their past. We anticipate that a similar study approach can be applied to other heirloom crops of (Indigenous) communities that may have preserved their history on their farms to reconstruct, acknowledge, and honor the past., Competing Interests: Conflict of Interest The authors declare no competing interests., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution.)

The current research aimed to analyze the history of bioterrorism in antiquity and to adapt the data to modern medical knowledge. To this end, a thorough evaluation of the literature related to the ancient history of bioterrorism and modern data was done using the Web of Sciences, Science Direct, Scopus, PubMed, and Google Scholar. Results showed that knowledge of bioterrorism has existed since antiquity in different civilizations. Biological and toxicological agents were used as an instrument of legal execution, as a warfare tool in battles, or to eliminate political rivals across nations. Ancient people researched bioterrorism to apply it against enemies and at the same time provide countermeasures in favor of themselves and allies. Despite the existence of the principles of bioterrorism since ancient times, adaptation of the data to modern research can assist in planning countermeasure efforts, preventive actions, and treatments in the framework of modern counterterrorism medicine., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Austria, ein Teil von Springer Nature.)