Introduction. Medical case histories as genre: new approaches

Topic cluster: Medical Case Histories as Genre, Literature and Medicine vol. 32.1 (2014), 2014

This series of articles brings together a number of new approaches in the history of medicine and medical humanities to the study of medical case histories from a genre-theoretical vantage point. These essays highlight the diversity of writings that can be subsumed under the designation 'medical case history' from antiquity until the 19th century, analyse the epistemic values of medical observations and emphasise the historical importance of doctor-patient interaction.

Late Modern English Medical Texts, 2019

The eighteenth century presents as a transition period towards more modern practices in medical history. In this chapter we probe into these developments as reflected in medical writing and provide a sociohistorical overview of background for the corpus. When compared to the earlier phases of medical writing in England, the sheer number of texts in the vernacular grew enormously while readerships with the ability to read and learn about medical issues widened, making it possible for medical knowledge to reach new layers of society. The ways of writing science were also changing: the beginning of the Royal Society period had been a period of innovation in cutting-edge science in communicating new discoveries. These practices continue in the learned circles, but polite society favoured more rhetorical styles, and the scholastic tradition was also present. Our approach is sociopragmatic as we focus on variation in texts to different audiences, and all observations are contextualized with qualitative discourse analysis. Significant changes were taking place both in the underlying philosophy of science and its applications, e.g. statistical assessments emerged, paving the way to evidence-based medicine.

Revista de Lenguas para Fines Específicos, 17 (2011)

This article continues a series of studies connected with the Scientific Thought-styles project (1995-), and discusses the formation of genre conventions of vernacular medical case reports in a long diachronic perspective. The theoretical background is explained first, with accompanying material from medical history and the philosophy of science. The epistemological status of the genre is on the practical side: besides theories, experience is valued, and relating what happened in a typical case of illness is the core function of the genre. In addition, the function of enhancing the efficacy of the cure grows prominent in some texts. Case studies are narratives of illness and endangered human life, and the model of natural narratives (Labov & Waletzky, 1967) can be identified in these stories. The method of analysis is qualitative and relies on illuminative examples from two electronic corpora Middle English Medical Texts (2005) and Early Modern Medical Texts (2010). The article finishes with a modern example that shows a shift to non-human technical facts.

2008

Medical History, 2004

The use of Latin and Greek terms in medical sciences has a long tradition – as long as the Western medicine itself. For practical reasons, particularly because of its accuracy and internationality, the use of Latin-Greek medical terminology has survived to this day, but the current state of medical terminology and its status in ancient times differ significantly – despite their apparent continuity. Until now, medical terminology has been based on two roots: Latin, which most anatomical terms originate in, and Greek, which is mostly used in the clinical pathological field. In the work of Caelius Aurelianus De morbis acutis et chro-nicis libri VIII, we can find both roots of modern medical terminology. This text is namely a translation of the now lost Greek " medical textbook " on diseases by Soran: Περὶ ὀξέων καὶ χρονίων παθῶν (On Acute and Chronic Diseases). The terms from the field of pathology occupy the central position in the work of Caelius Aurelianus and appear almost always along with their Greek synonyms, and thus the index of pathological terms in this work provides a very good basis for the research of medical terminology development. The contemporary Latin medical terminology, as well as the modern western medicine itself is built on the foundations of the medical arts in Antiquity. The Greek and Latin terms are currently used in medical research by scientists as well as in hospitals by medical practitioners, not only out of respect for the cultural roots of medicine, but especially because of their internationality and exactness. They are the key-stones of communication among professionals in the medical field for whom it is essential to know exactly what each of the terms represents in today's medical reality. Medical terminology as a system is a tool used by doctors as a means of communicating vital information and making the communication clear and precise. The main task of a classical philologist in the service of medi

Medical History, 2004

Medical History

Yet, even as these modern epidemics were marked by heightened fears of foreigners, sharpened social divisions, and racialised policies of border control and quarantine, they could also be sources of solidarity, bringing together working classes, ethnic minorities, colonial subjects and others against state, medical or colonial authorities. While cholera, smallpox and plague are used to exemplify how epidemics could bond one group against another within society, other epidemics are shown to bond together society as a whole. In a chapter on American reactions to yellow fever, Cohn argues that the 1853 epidemic bred new forms of tolerance across class and racial lines, particularly in the American south. However, the outstanding example of unity-in-the-face-of-adversity emerges from the 1918-19 influenza pandemic. Cohn dedicates five chapters to the pandemic, tracing reactions in the United States, Canada, Britain, continental Europe and India. While epidemiologically catastrophic, Cohn's extensive newspaper analysis shows that, above all else, in every country surveyed, collective responses were characterised by 'compassion, volunteerism, and martyrdom' (p. 413), rather than blame or violence. This book exemplifies the great potential of new digital resources for disease history, but also some of the pitfalls. The sheer volume of reactions catalogued and compared is impressive and clearly demonstrates Cohn's central claim that responses within and between epidemics varied extensively. But there is comparatively less in the way of explanation for why such variation existed. A mixture of biological and cultural factors is identified. On the one hand, it is suggested that reactions could stem from the particular etiological, clinical or epidemiological characteristics of a disease; on the other hand, they could stem from particular meanings signified by a disease, the types of people associated with it, the preventive measures employed or the authorities tasked with their implementation. The conclusion that there are 'no easy answers' (p. 539) rings true, but this this not altogether satisfying. Historians of medicine and disease have developed fine-grained contextual analyses of why epidemics became culturally, ideologically and politically charged when and where they did. At turns, Epidemics delivers such analysis, but it is overshadowed by an approach that seeks to broadly delineate epidemics according to those that did or did not spark blame (or compassion). While this approach makes it possible to sift through and organise a vast array of material, the reader is left searching for why, as Cohn suggests, the diseased were generally not attacked in the ancient world, why they were in medieval (plague) and early modern (syphilis) worlds, and why some were (cholera) and were not (influenza) in the modern world. The tension within Epidemics between its breath-taking synthesis of digital sources and its narrow analytical framework makes it difficult to judge what its overall impact will be on the historiography of epidemics. It is, without question, an immensely valuable resource. I have found it especially helpful for teaching students about how online newspapers can be used to systematically reconstruct the multiple perceptions, responses and lived experiences of modern infectious diseases. But by far its most important contribution is to challenge historians to look more closely at the complex ways in which epidemics past have brought people together. This is a critical message for the moment in which we are now living and, if not already, it should be a critical part of our teaching, research and policy agendas.