Tar Water
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Tar Water
Tar-water was a medieval medicine consisting of pine tar and water. As it was foul-tasting, it slowly dropped in popularity, but was revived in the Victorian era. It is used both as a tonic and as a substitute to get rid of "strong spirits". Both these uses were originally advocated by the philosopher George Berkeley (1685–1753), who lauded it in his tract ''Siris: A Chain of Philosophical Reflections and Inquiries, Concerning the Virtues of Tar Water'' (1744). It was regarded by medical experts to be quackery. History The use of tar water is mentioned in the second chapter of Charles Dickens's (1812–1870) '' Great Expectations'' (1861). Young Pip and his brother-in-law, Joe, were often force fed it by Mrs. Joe, Pip's elder sister, whether they were ill or not, as a sort of cruel punishment. The physician Cadwallader Colden (1688–1776) extolled the virtues of pine resin steeped in water. This concoction also was called "tar water". George Berkeley suggested that tar from ...
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Medieval Medicine Of Western Europe
Medieval medicine in Western Europe was composed of a mixture of pseudoscientific ideas from antiquity. In the Early Middle Ages, following the fall of the Western Roman Empire, standard medical knowledge was based chiefly upon surviving Greek and Roman texts, preserved in monasteries and elsewhere. Medieval medicine is widely misunderstood, thought of as a uniform attitude composed of placing hopes in the church and God to heal all sicknesses, while sickness itself exists as a product of destiny, sin, and astral influences as physical causes. On the other hand, medieval medicine, especially in the second half of the medieval period (c. 1100–1500 AD), became a formal body of theoretical knowledge and was institutionalized in the universities. Medieval medicine attributed illnesses, and disease, not to sinful behaviour, but to natural causes, and sin was connected to illness only in a more general sense of the view that disease manifested in humanity as a result of its fallen sta ...
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James Lind
James Lind (4 October 1716 – 13 July 1794) was a Scottish doctor. He was a pioneer of naval hygiene in the Royal Navy. By conducting one of the first ever clinical trials, he developed the theory that citrus fruits cured scurvy. Lind argued for the health benefits of better ventilation aboard naval ships, the improved cleanliness of sailors' bodies, clothing and bedding, and below-deck fumigation with sulphur and arsenic. He also proposed that fresh water could be obtained by distilling sea water. His work advanced the practice of preventive medicine and improved nutrition. Early life Lind was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1716 into a family of merchants, then headed by his father, James Lind. He had an elder sister. He was educated at the High School in Edinburgh. In 1731 he began his medical studies as an apprentice of George Langlands, a fellow of the Incorporation of Surgeons which preceded the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. In 1739, he entered the Navy as ...
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George Calvert Holland
George Calvert Holland (1801–1865) was an English physician, phrenologist, mesmerist and homeopath. In later life he was active in politics and the railway boom. Life Holland was born 28 February 1801 at Pitsmoor, Sheffield; his artisan father apprenticed him to a trade. When about 16 years old he took up writing verses, studied poetry, and learned Latin, French, and Italian. On the completion of his apprenticeship his friends, under the advice of Nathaniel Philipps of the Upper Chapel, Sheffield, placed him with a Unitarian minister with a view to his joining the Unitarian ministry. After a year Holland went to the University of Edinburgh as a medical student, where he graduated M.D. in 1827, and, joining the Hunterian and Royal Physical Societies, became president of both. He spent a year in Paris, taking the degree of bachelor of letters, and after another year in Edinburgh began practice in Manchester. His advocacy of the phrenological theories of Franz Joseph Gall and Joh ...
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Roy Porter
Roy Sydney Porter, FBA (31 December 1946 – 3 March 2002) was a British historian known for his work on the history of medicine. He retired in 2001 from the director of the Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine at University College London (UCL). Life Porter grew up in South London and attended Wilson's School in Camberwell.John Forrester,Obituary: Professor Roy Porter, ''The Independent'', 6 March 2002 (accessed 6 July 2015) He won a scholarship to Christ's College, Cambridge, where he studied under J. H. Plumb.Professor Roy Porter
, ''The Telegraph'', 5 March 2002 (accessed 14 March 2009)
His contemporaries included and Andrew Wheatcroft. He achi ...
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Bishop Of Cloyne
The Bishop of Cloyne is an episcopal title that takes its name after the small town of Cloyne in County Cork, Republic of Ireland. In the Roman Catholic Church, it is a separate title; but, in the Church of Ireland, it has been united with other bishoprics. Pre-Reformation bishops The diocese of Cloyne has its origins in the monastic settlement founded by St Colman in the 6th century. Cloyne was not one of the dioceses established at the Synod of Rathbreasail in 1111, but a bishop of Cloyne was ruling the diocese by 1148, which was recognised at the Synod of Kells in March 1152. In 1326, Pope John XXII issued a papal bull for the union of the dioceses of Cork and Cloyne to be united on the death of the bishop of either see. But on the death of Philip of Slane, Bishop of Cork in 1327, the two dioceses remained separate. Bishop Payn of Cloyne obtained a confirmation of the union of the two dioceses from Pope Martin V on 21 September 1418. However, the union did not take effec ...
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Dropsy
Edema, also spelled oedema, and also known as fluid retention, dropsy, hydropsy and swelling, is the build-up of fluid in the body's tissue. Most commonly, the legs or arms are affected. Symptoms may include skin which feels tight, the area may feel heavy, and joint stiffness. Other symptoms depend on the underlying cause. Causes may include venous insufficiency, heart failure, kidney problems, low protein levels, liver problems, deep vein thrombosis, infections, angioedema, certain medications, and lymphedema. It may also occur after prolonged sitting or standing and during menstruation or pregnancy. The condition is more concerning if it starts suddenly, or pain or shortness of breath is present. Treatment depends on the underlying cause. If the underlying mechanism involves sodium retention, decreased salt intake and a diuretic may be used. Elevating the legs and support stockings may be useful for edema of the legs. Older people are more commonly affected. The word is ...
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Panacea (medicine)
A panacea , named after the Greek goddess of universal remedy Panacea, is any supposed remedy that is claimed (for example) to cure all diseases and prolong life indefinitely. It was in the past sought by alchemists in connection with the elixir of life and the philosopher's stone, a mythical substance that would enable the transmutation of common metals into gold. Through the 18th and 19th centuries, many "patent medicines" were claimed to be panaceas, and they became very big business. The term "panacea" is used in a negative way to describe the overuse of any one solution to solve many different problems, especially in medicine. The word has acquired connotations of snake oil and quackery. A panacea (or ''panaceum'') is also a literary term to represent any solution to solve all problems related to a particular issue. Mythology In Greek mythology, Panacea was one of the daughters of the Greek god of medicine Asclepius, along with her four sisters, each of whom performed one ...
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Henry Fielding
Henry Fielding (22 April 1707 – 8 October 1754) was an English novelist, irony writer, and dramatist known for earthy humour and satire. His comic novel '' Tom Jones'' is still widely appreciated. He and Samuel Richardson are seen as founders of the traditional English novel. He also holds a place in the history of law enforcement, having used his authority as a magistrate to found the Bow Street Runners, London's first intermittently funded, full-time police force. Early life Fielding was born 22 April 1707 at Sharpham, Somerset, and educated at Eton College, where he began a lifelong friendship with William Pitt the Elder. His mother died when he was 11. A suit for custody was brought by his grandmother against his charming but irresponsible father, Lt Gen. Edmund Fielding. The settlement placed Henry in his grandmother's care, but he continued to see his father in London. In 1725, Henry tried to abduct his cousin Sarah Andrews (with whom he was infatuated) while she was on ...
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Mass (liturgy)
Mass is the main Eucharistic liturgical service in many forms of Western Christianity. The term ''Mass'' is commonly used in the Catholic Church, in the Western Rite Orthodox, in Old Catholic, and in Independent Catholic churches. The term is used in some Lutheran churches, as well as in some Anglican churches. The term is also used, on rare occasion, by other Protestant churches. Other Christian denominations may employ terms such as '' Divine Service'' or ''worship service'' (and often just "service"), rather than the word ''Mass''. For the celebration of the Eucharist in Eastern Christianity, including Eastern Catholic Churches, other terms such as ''Divine Liturgy'', '' Holy Qurbana'', ''Holy Qurobo'' and ''Badarak'' (or ''Patarag'') are typically used instead. Etymology The English noun ''mass'' is derived from the Middle Latin . The Latin word was adopted in Old English as (via a Vulgar Latin form ), and was sometimes glossed as ''sendnes'' (i.e. 'a sending, dismiss ...
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Gruels
Gruel is a food consisting of some type of cereal—such as ground oats, wheat, rye, or rice—heated or boiled in water or milk. It is a thinner version of porridge that may be more often drunk rather than eaten. Historically, gruel has been a staple food, staple of the Western diet, especially for peasants. Gruel may be made from millet, Hemp#Food, hemp, barley, or, in hard times, from chestnut flour or even the less bitter acorns of some oaks. Gruel has historically been associated with feeding the patient, sick and recently weaning, weaned children. ''Gruel'' is also a colloquial expression for any watery food of unknown character, e.g., pea soup. Gruel has often been associated with poverty, with negative associations attached to the term in popular culture, as in the Charles Dickens novel ''Oliver Twist''. History Gruel was the staple food of the ancient Greeks, for whom roasted meats were the extraordinary feast that followed sacrifice, even among Greek hero cult, heroes, a ...
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Jalap
Jalap is a cathartic drug, largely obsolete in Western medicine, consisting of the tuberous roots of ''Ipomoea purga'', a convolvulaceous plant growing on the eastern declivities of the Sierra Madre Oriental of Mexico at an elevation of above sea level, more especially about the neighbourhood of Chiconquiaco on the eastern slope of the Cofre de Perote in the state of Veracruz. Jalap has been known in Europe since the beginning of the 17th century, and derives its name from the city of Xalapa in Mexico, near which it grows, but its botanical source was not accurately determined until 1829, when Dr. J. R. Coxe of Philadelphia published a description. The ordinary drug is distinguished in commerce as Vera Cruz jalap, from the name of the port whence it is shipped. Jalap has been cultivated for many years in India, chiefly at Ootacamund, and grows there as easily as a yam, often producing clusters of tubers weighing over 9 lb; but these, as they differ in appearance from the commer ...
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