The Quack Doctor

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Perkins' Tractors: a fashionable remedy put to the test
A medical device called Perkins' Metallic Tractors was investigated by Dr John Haygarth in 18th-century Bath.
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Caroline Rance
Thankful Taylor and the serpent within
In 1870s Tennessee, a young woman was reportedly afflicted by a snake in her stomach
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Caroline Rance
The anatomist next door
Victorian London's only private anatomy school was popular with medical students - but not with the neighbours
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Caroline Rance
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Tales of the medical macabre
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4
Scattering diamonds: mercury and the pox
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'A sinister parasite on the community': Dr S R Chamley (part 1)
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A distinguished bloodline: the medicinal leech
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'Greater depths of depravity': Dr S R Chamley (part 2)
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Expelling the enemies of nature: antimonial cups
In the 17th century, antimonial cups allowed sufferers to purge themselves - sometimes violently - of disease
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Caroline Rance
2
The wonder-worker Madame Enault
In 1879, a medicine show featuring dentistry and music created hype in the north of England
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Caroline Rance
Tales of the medical macabre
A Halloween collection of spooky stories from the world of Victorian medicine.
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Caroline Rance
4
Healers' wheels: Victorian doctors and their bicycles
Towards the end of the 19th century, British country doctors adopted the bicycle as a handy mode of transport
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Caroline Rance
'Greater depths of depravity': Dr S R Chamley (part 2)
The continued story of fraudster Samuel Ricket Chamley, whose home life was as dramatic as his business schemes
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Caroline Rance
'A sinister parasite on the community': Dr S R Chamley (part 1)
An audacious early-20thC 'cancer quack' scammed thousands of dollars from vulnerable patients
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Caroline Rance
Petticoat physic: the opposition to Lady Doctors
The reasons why some 19th-century commentators objected to women's medical education.
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Caroline Rance
The Quack Doctor
The Quack Doctor
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