The Making of Modern Medicine

Narrative history series exploring over 2,000 years of western medicine, with medical historian Andrew Cunningham

Radio 4,30 episodes

Episodes

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Transplant
In 1967, Christiaan Barnard performed the first heart transplant operation.
16 Mar 2007,15 mins
The Crippler
Andrew traces the impact of the great polio epidemics and the ethical dilemmas they posed.
15 Mar 2007,15 mins
Free at the Point of Need
The National Health Service was set up in 1948 to provide free healthcare for everyone.
14 Mar 2007,15 mins
It Looks Like a Miracle
The first antibiotic, penicillin, appeared to be a miracle medicine.
13 Mar 2007,15 mins
You Are What You Eat
How medics discovered that the absence of a vitamin could be the cause of a disease.
12 Mar 2007,15 mins
Near Pavilions
The influence of Florence Nightingale and the sanitarians.
09 Mar 2007,15 mins
Flinging the Tropics Open to Civilisation
What role did European medicine play in spreading European culture across the Empire?
08 Mar 2007,15 mins
The Ministry of Healing
Needing to consult laboratory workers was seen as a threat to physicians' authority.
07 Mar 2007,15 mins
Transforming Plague
When bubonic plague broke out in Hong Kong in 1894, European rivalry continued.
06 Mar 2007,15 mins
Culturing the Germ Theory
How a country doctor from Prussia traced the life cycle of an anthrax bacteria cell.
05 Mar 2007,15 mins
Stopping the Rot
History series exploring over 2,000 years of western medicine. 20: Stopping the Rot:.
02 Mar 2007,15 mins
The Disease is its Own Preventative
The story of Louis Pasteur's development of the anti-rabies vaccine in 1885.
01 Mar 2007,15 mins
A Yankee Dodge
Andrew looks back to the origins of pain relief and how chloroform.
28 Feb 2007,15 mins
Dark Side of Obstetrics
Andrew discusses the work of Ignaz Semmelweis in Vienna.
27 Feb 2007,15 mins
Science Has No Sex
A series exploring over 2,000 years of western medicine, presented by Andrew Cunningham.
26 Feb 2007,15 mins
Sisters of Charity
How the nursing profession was transformed thanks to an enterprising Florence Nightingale.
23 Feb 2007,15 mins
Changing Disease Identity
A side effect of progress in medical thinking is that diseases had identities changed.
22 Feb 2007,15 mins
A Long and Ghastly Kitchen
Napoleonic France witnessed Dr Magendie's experiments on live animals.
21 Feb 2007,15 mins
Making Signs
Systematic post mortems revolutionised the study of disease.
20 Feb 2007,15 mins
Little Reading, Much Seeing and Much Doing
The French Revolution ushered in new ambition and a new scientific clinical approach.
19 Feb 2007,15 mins
Anatomy and the Invisible Hand
How did this period come to be known as 'the perfection of anatomy'?
16 Feb 2007,15 mins
The Coming of the GP
The clash between old guard physicians and a new breed of general practitioners.
15 Feb 2007,15 mins
Learning from the Illiterate
Smallpox was taking between 10-15 per cent of all lives in Europe.
14 Feb 2007,15 mins
Fever
In the 17th Century, fevers were the main concern of physicians.
13 Feb 2007,15 mins
The Early Transfusion Experiments
It wasn't until 1660 that anyone thought of putting blood back into patients.
12 Feb 2007,15 mins
The Anatomical Renaissance
In the 16th century, surgery had been perfected to allow artificial noses, ears and lips.
09 Feb 2007,15 mins
Paracelsus and the People's Medicine
The 16th century witnessed the birth of a new kind of natural philosophy and medicine.
08 Feb 2007,15 mins
The First Sexual Epidemic
A mysterious new disease broke out among the French army in 1492.
07 Feb 2007,15 mins
God's House, the Hospital
The hospital is one of the main innovations made in Christian Medieval times.
06 Feb 2007,15 mins
Hot, Cold, Wet and Dry
Origins of religious and western-learned medicine can be traced to Hippocrates and Galen.
05 Feb 2007,15 mins