Library Blog
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27Sep2024
The many forms of sea sickness
The different illnesses and ailments suffered on ships, how they were combatted, and the brilliance of an unassuming medical guide kept onboard.Maria Hunt
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6Sep2024
Diana Beck FRCS, pioneer neurosurgeon
This year, English Heritage’s London Blue Plaques Scheme will unveil a very special plaque celebrating the life and work of one of the first female neurosurgeons in the UK. This is just one of the many achievements of Diana Beck (1902–1956), pioneer neurosurgeon and fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of England. Her story is that of a remarkable individual who made significant contributions both to her field and the overall cause of women in medicine while striving for recognition and leadership in a male-dominated arena.Maria Christodoulou, Corinne Hogan & Susan Isaac
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9Aug2024
Howard Somervell - the Olympian mountaineer
In a series of three blog posts published on successive Fridays during the Paris games, we chart the achievements of surgeons who have participated in the Olympics. This week: Howard Somervell (1890-1975) The Olympian Mountaineer.Sarah Gillam
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2Aug2024
Henry Stallard – the Olympian ophthalmologist
In a series of three blog posts published on successive Fridays during the Paris games, we chart the achievements of surgeons who have participated in the Olympics. This week: Henry Stallard (1901-1973) The Olympian Ophthalmologist.Sarah Gillam
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26Jul2024
Arthur Porritt - an Olympian president
In a series of three blog posts published on successive Fridays during the Paris games, we chart the achievements of surgeons who have participated in the Olympics. First up: Arthur Porritt (1900-1994) An Olympian President.Fahema Begum
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26Jun2024
Poisons and the development of Toxicology in the 19th century
A cursory look into 19th century’s fascination with poison and poisonings, alongside the contemporary developments in toxicology and forensic science.Maria Christodoulou
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4Jun2024
Nineteenth and Earlier Twentieth-century Health Resorts
Learn how health resorts were used in medical treatment in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and how people could find out which resort was best for them.Maria Hunt
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3May2024
Searching Medical Literature: Optimizing the PICO Approach for Surgeons
The advantages and limitations of using PICO for surgical research.Ivona Coghlan
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16Apr2024
No common appearance - A pathologist of note
Pioneering pathologist Dr Joan M. Ross won the John Hunter medal for her outstanding contributions to pathological anatomy in 1946, Learn more about this "staunch friend and wise teacher", a true individual who, despite having written a standard textbook in the subject, has thus far not received the same acclaim as other early women pathologists.Corinne Hogan
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20Feb2024
Stories from Lincoln’s Inn Fields: Sir D’Arcy Power
Maria Christodoulou
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15Jan2024
The mysteries behind a mediaeval manuscript of "women's ills"
Our Henry Lumley Collections Engagement researcher, Wendy Suffield, contemplates the authorship and other questions raised by an item from the College Archives, namely MS0175 Translation of Gilbertus Anglicus "The Sekenesse of Wymmen" [formerly identified as the "Liber Trotularis"].Wendy Suffield
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5Jan2024
Voices of Surgery: Oral History at the Royal College of Surgeons of England
A survey of the Library's Voices of Surgery oral history project, and the plans for its future.Susan Isaac
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18Oct2023
Stories from Lincoln’s Inn Fields: The Flower Family
Sir William and Lady Flower and their connections to the College and Lincoln's Inn Fields.Maria Christodoulou
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7Sep2023
Sanitary Ramblings: being sketches and illustrations, of Bethnal Green, a type of the condition of the Metropolis and other large towns by Hector Gavin, 1848
Find out about Hector Gavin's 1848 survey of the living conditions of residents of Bethnal Green, and the effects on their health and lifespans.Susan Isaac
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18Jul2023
The Evolution debate through the RCS England Library
The RCS England Library holds various published materials that bear witness to the evolution debate of the second half of the 19th century. Some of the protagonists of this mental and moral battle were fellows, while the college constituted a focal point for scientific and intellectual circles.Maria Christodoulou
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30May2023
Online library services 2022: how has using Library resources and services helped you?
At the end of 2022 we ran a survey asking members to tell us about their experience of using our online resources and services. Find out what others have said, and how we can help you.Susan Isaac
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19May2023
Creating the first Henry Lumley Collections Engagement Grant: What it’s all about, our ultimate goals for the research and how you can get involved
Find out about our new research grant aimed at provoking new and exciting research outputs and building a community of researchers around our fantastic Library and Archives Collections. To find out more about eligibility and apply please read the following blog and visit the grant webpage.Corinne Hogan
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31Mar2023
Dissecting the literature: the importance of critical appraisal
How to critically appraise your literature.Janet Clapton and Judit Sami
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16Dec2022
Twelve information gifts for members: getting the most from library resources
As the year ends we remind you of some of the new and established information resources and services provided for members. There’re e-journals, e-books, 3-d anatomy tools and clinical databases aplenty!Corinne Hogan
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7Dec2022
A brief study of Anne Hunter and her collaboration with Joseph Haydn
Read a brief history of the poet and wife of John Hunter, Anne, and her extraordinary collaboration with the composer Joseph Haydn.Emily Blakey
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24Oct2022
History Day 2022: The Birth of Mankind: Putting the text in context
History Day 2022: The Birth of Mankind was the first book published in English on the subject of pregnancy and birth. The book had multiple editions and was in print for over 100 years. Connecting the experience of birthing mothers and midwives to ancient and new medical scholarship, it brought important information on dealing with difficult birth presentations to a large audience who wouldn't previously have had it. The illustrations, called Birth Figures, showed these differing possible positions of the foetus at the time of birth and were considered revolutionary.Corinne Hogan
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24Oct2022
History Day 2022: Cholera to Covid - Navigating the Royal College of Surgeons of England catalogue
History Day 2022: Cholera to Covid looks at how we record and preserve responses to public health emergencies and using keywords and subject headings to search our catalogues.Susan Isaac
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24Oct2022
History Day 2022: Dental Surgical Collections from the First World War
History Day 2022: The patient case notes and files of dental surgeons enlisted by the British Army during the First World War (1914-1918) records the work of dental surgeons treating soldiers with severe facial and jaw wounds.Ruth Ilott
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24Oct2022
History Day 2022: Dissection and the resurrectionists in the archives of the Royal College of Surgeons of England
History Day 2022: Read about records relating to dissection and body-snatching held in the Archives of the Royal College of Surgeons of England.Saffron Mackay
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7Oct2022
Hospital History: Women’s Hospitals; training the first women surgeons
Elizabeth Garret Anderson was the first woman to qualify in Britain as a physician and surgeon. Read about the extraordinary impact she had on women in surgery in the UK and around the world.Jo Clarke
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30Sep2022
New to the Library, part 2: databases and evidence collections
A tour of the new database and evidence resources acquired by the Library.Corinne Hogan
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5Aug2022
New to the Library, part 1: ejournals and ebooks
A tour of some of the new online resources available to members from the RCS England Library.Corinne Hogan
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2Apr2022
Steven Hughes – a Falklands War doctor remembered
During the Falklands War, Captain Steven Hughes served at the frontline of two major land battles. Mentioned in despatches for bravery, he later worked as an orthopaedic surgeon. Read about his experiences.Sarah Gillam
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22Mar2022
Make the most of your membership: ClinicalKey
A guide to getting started with ClinicalKey, one of our top resources, guiding our members to the resources they need to enhance their clinical practice.Corinne Hogan
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8Mar2022
Break the bias: Constance Fozzard
On International Women's Day we celebrate Constance Fozzard, a top consultant gynaecologist. She achieved her FRCS in 1967 when few women trained in surgery.Sarah Gillam
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11Feb2022
Patrick Trevor-Roper and the decriminalisation of homosexuality
We are celebrating LGBTQ+ History Month with a blog on Patrick Trevor-Roper (1916-2004), a successful eye surgeon whose appearance in front of the Wolfenden Committee helped decriminalise homosexuality.Sarah Gillam
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8Nov2021
Natural history archive collections at The Royal College of Surgeons of England
History Day 2021: natural history items in the archive collections.Victoria Rea
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7Nov2021
Medical history archive collections at The Royal College of Surgeons of England
History Day 2021: medical history items in the archive collections.Victoria Rea
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6Nov2021
Tracts: A truly complementary research resource
History Day 2021: notable items in the Library's medical tracts collection.Corinne Hogan
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13Oct2021
Pamela Ball: the first woman from Jamaica to gain an FRCS
Pamela Ball, a surgeon in Kidderminster and Wordsley in the Midlands, was the first woman from Jamaica to gain the fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons of England. From Plarr's Lives of the Fellows.Sarah Gillam
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1Oct2021
10,000 biographies published: Plarr’s Lives of the Fellows milestone
Irene Irving recently became the 10,000th fellow to be added to Plarr’s Lives, the College’s online collection of biographies, which records the lives of surgeons going back to the beginning of the fellowship in 1843.Sarah Gillam
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2Jul2021
Depicting Anatomy: The hunt for unalloyed reality
A guide to the Library's second online exhibition, 'Depicting Anatomy: The hunt for unalloyed reality'.Corinne Hogan
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5Mar2021
Catherine Hamlin: pioneered the treatment of obstetric fistula in Ethiopia
The Australian obstetrician and gynaecologist Catherine Hamlin was twice nominated for the Nobel Peace prize for her and her husband's work in treating fistulae in women in Ethiopia.Sarah Gillam
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27Jan2021
Holocaust Memorial Day 2021: The London medical students who helped the survivors of Belsen
A remarkable group of London medical students provided life-saving treatment to survivors of the liberated concentration camp Bergen-Belsen in 1945. Read the story of these compassionate young medics who did so much to help those in need.Sarah Gillam
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3Nov2020
“More ruthless than the Destroying Angel.” The London Lock Hospital and Rescue Home collection at the Royal College of Surgeons of England.
The records of the London Lock Hospital held in the Archives of the Royal College of Surgeons of England.Saffron Mackay
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2Nov2020
Sir Harold Gillies’ Patient Case Files, 1915-1925. (RCSEng Archives Ref. MS0513)
The work of Sir Harold Gillies, a pioneer of facial plastic surgery.Victoria Rea
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16Aug2020
VJ Day: Colonel Julian Taylor (1889-1961): a remarkable surgeon and Japanese POW
Surgeon Julian Taylor served in two World Wars. As a Japanese POW in Changi Prison Camp, he dedicated himself to the welfare of his patients. This included designing individual artificial limbs from scrap material. Read his story.Jo Clarke
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15Aug2020
VJ Day: Major Kennedy Byron Burnside (1913-1983): Changi POW with a hidden camera
Read the story of Kennedy Burnside, an Australian surgeon and diarist who used a secret camera to record Japanese POWs in Changi Prison, Singapore.Jo Clarke
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14Aug2020
VJ Day: Doris Barbara Wallace (1906-1972): the Delhi surgeon who registered as a man during the Second World War
Dorris Wallace, surgeon and trained jungle warrior ran the Lady Hardinge Hospital in India during World War Two, met her husband (escaping POW) after she operated on his wounds. Read her amazing story.Jo Clarke & Sarah Gillam
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2Apr2020
An allegorical frontispiece: pharmacopée royale by Moyse Charas
Born on this day (2 April) in 1619, Moyse Charas was an apothecary in France during the reign of Louis XIV. Find out about the frontispiece to his Pharmacopée royale, galénique et chymique of 1676.Corinne Hogan
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4Mar2020
Phyllis Knocker: first female president of the College of Medicine of South Africa
Phyllis Knocker was the first medically qualified woman to become an honorary fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons.Sarah Gillam
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16Jan2020
Hortus Malabaricus: the Garden of Malabar
The oldest comprehensive printed book on the natural plant wealth of Asia and of the tropics is Hortus Malabaricus (meaning ‘Garden of Malabar’), published from 1678-1693, regarding the medicinal properties of plants in Kerala, Karnataka and Goa.Corinne Hogan
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29Nov2019
Spotlight on Visible Body – why use our comprehensive 3D atlas of the human body?
Why use our latest 3-D visualisation and learning tool Visible Body? Answers from those in the know...Corinne Hogan
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8Nov2019
The restoration of a lost nose by operation: exemplified in a series of cases – John Hamilton (1809-1875)
In 1864, surgeon John Hamilton published Restoration of a Lost Nose by Operation, sharing his patients’ case histories after his early Indian rhinoplasty operations at the Richmond Hospital in Dublin, Ireland. Read their stories here.Susan Isaac
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25Oct2019
Under your skin anatomical flap books
Anatomical flap books were being used to show what’s hidden under our skin as early as the 1500s, taking their name from the layers of movable paper flaps that are lifted to reveal the layers below making the viewer an active participant who ‘dissects’ the body by opening the flaps. These are some examples from our collection.Susan Isaac
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11Oct2019
Collections on the move: Visiting the British Library at Boston Spa
In 2017, we moved 5 km of books and journals to the British Library in Yorkshire. Read about Jo’s visit to their robot store and discover how much work goes into a journal binding project.Jo Clarke
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20Sep2019
Keats’ medical notebook
In 1815, the future poet John Keats briefly studied medicine, with the apparent intention of ultimately becoming a surgeon. But was he ever serious about this?Sarah Gillam
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6Sep2019
Venomous snakes and the Indian Medical Service: Sir Joseph Fayrer’s Thanatophidia of India 1872
An action-packed life and beautiful images of snakes from Sir Joseph Fayrer’s Thanatophidia of India 1872, a classic book on venomous snakes.Susan Isaac
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23Aug2019
Daniel Defoe - The history of the Devil: ancient and modern in two parts with a description of the devil's dwelling (1793)
"The only things certain in life are death and taxes". Benjamin Franklin's famous quote was derived from Daniel Defoe's work, "The political history of the Devil". Here we take a look at the Library's copy and the life of its author.Susan Isaac
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10Aug2019
John Thomas Quekett (1815-1861)
John Thomas Quekett, British physician, pioneering microscopist & histologist, born on this day in 1815.Geraldine O’Driscoll
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26Jul2019
Co-creating value using Library e-resources: measuring impact by sharing your stories
How your impact stories can help the Library improve its services.Susan Isaac and Corinne Hogan
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19Jul2019
Mark Catesby (1683-1749): The natural history of Carolina, Florida and The Bahama Islands (1754)
Mark Catesby was the first naturalist to draw indigenous plants as backgrounds for the birds and animals published in his beautiful, ground-breaking book ‘The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands' between 1729 and 1747. Approximately one-half of the 220 hand-coloured illustrations are of birds and, Catesby has been called the “founder of American ornithology” .Bulletin of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, Steffi Sams
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28Jun2019
Library e-resources: focusing on dentistry
Love the library but live on the web? Find out more about the online resources covering dental surgery you can access though the Library webpages.Corinne Hogan and Susan Isaac
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17Jun2019
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31May2019
#NoTobacco: Some historic perspectives on the use of tobacco
The 31st May 2019 marks the 32nd World No Tobacco Day (WNTD), so let's explore the history of the use of tobacco and attitudes towards its consumption, using the RCS Library collections.Saffron Mackay
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17May2019
A rigorous medico-legal expert: Alfred Swaine Taylor
Alfred Swaine Taylor wrote significant works on forensic evidence at a time when Victorians were gripped by fear about poisoning. Meet a hero of the 19th courtroom.Corinne Hogan
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26Apr2019
The Tooth-brush Drill: children’s dental health past and present
78% of the children Dental Surgeon Richard Denison Pedley examined in 1893 needed some teeth removed or filled. Dental decay is avoidable but have things changed today?Susan Isaac
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12Apr2019
Murder in the medical school: the Parkman-Webster case, Boston 1849-50
The trial of John White Webster for the murder of George Parkman at Harvard Medical School in 1849, marks one of the earliest uses of scientific (and especially dental) evidence at a US criminal trial.Corinne Hogan
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29Mar2019
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18Mar2019
Manuel de la boxe française et anglaise: méthode Leboucher (1882)
From the back streets of Paris to the official fighting art of France, "Manuel de la boxe française et anglaise: méthode Leboucher" (1882) explains the art and history of French boxing, or savate. versus the English style, the sport of kings. It is fully illustrated with drawings of manly opponents with very fine moustaches to demonstrate the different moves.Susan Isaac
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1Mar2019
Martin Van Butchell: the eccentric dentist who embalmed his wife
Martin Van Butchell was one of the more colourful characters in Georgian London. The story of his life and unusual habits can be read in 'Life and character of the celebrated Mr. Martin Van Butchell, surgeon dentist and fistula curer, of Mount-street, Berkeley-square', a gossipy pamphlet held in the RCS Library.Susan Isaac
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15Feb2019
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1Feb2019
Zoobiquity
How, the intersection between human and animal medicine (‘zoobiquity’) can lead to new treatments.Corinne Hogan
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18Jan2019
Online library services 2018: how has using our e-resources helped you?
The results of the Library's Online Services survey, 2018.Susan Isaac
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7Dec2018
Twelve information gifts for members: getting the most from library resources
As we start putting the Library blog to bed before a new informative, entertaining and, we hope inspiring, year dawns, we thought we’d review of some of the information we’ve shared with you this year.The Library and Archives Team
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30Nov2018
Sake Dean Mahomed and the Benefits of Shampooing
The story of SD Mahomed, the Indian surgeon who brought shampoo to Georgian England.Susan Isaac
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23Nov2018
William Price: a very singular man
The "wonderfully eccentric, romantic revolutionary, crusader of reform" William Price achieved RCS member status when he was 21. Read about his remarkable life.Corinne Hogan
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16Nov2018
An Architectural History of The Royal College of Surgeons
The home of the Royal College of Surgeons is currently being rebuilt, but this is just the latest in a series of reconstructions over the last couple of centuries.Greg Ayre
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2Nov2018
Aclands Video Atlas of Human Anatomy
An introduction to Acland's Video Atlas of Human Anatomy.Susan Isaac
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26Oct2018
Haunted London: Lincoln’s Inn Fields
The evenings are getting darker and Halloween is coming. Writing in "The Leisure Hour", the author of "Haunted London: Lincoln’s Inn Fields" is haunted by ghosts of history, painting an atmospheric picture of London as he walks up a grimy Chancery Lane, across Lincoln’s Inn Court and into Lincoln’s Inn Fields. Be haunted by the ghosts of Lincoln’s Inn Fields.Susan Isaac
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19Oct2018
Protecting the Library during redevelopment
John O’Riordan talks about how our historic library is being protected during the construction phase of the Lincoln’s Inn Fields redevelopment project.John O'Riordan
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12Oct2018
Arsenic: a domestic poison
Victorian homes were full of arsenic – your wallpaper could kill you and your fashionable green socks caused ulcers...Susan Isaac
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28Sep2018
“Phossy jaw” and the matchgirls: a nineteenth-century industrial disease
Phossy jaw was a horrific industrial disease of Victorian match makers. Victims suffered toothache, abscesses & swollen gums as their jaws decayed, glowing in the dark. Read about surgery to remove the lower jaw bone of one match girl in New York.Susan Isaac
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21Sep2018
Benjamin Bynoe - surgeon on board the Beagle
Benjamin Bynoe served as ship’s surgeon on board HMS Beagle during Charles Darwin’s epic five-year voyage, helped survey areas of South America and Australia, and collected important scientific specimens, but his name has been largely forgotten, including in Plarr's Lives of the Fellows where he got just 2 sentences. A recent enquiry prompted further research and a much-expanded entry.Sarah Gillam
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14Sep2018
ClinicalKey Patient Education
An introduction to the Patient Information feature on ClinicalKey.Susan Isaac
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7Sep2018
Eleanor Davies-Colley (1874–1934) and the South London Hospital for Women (1912-1984)
The story of Eleanor Davies-Colley's involvement with the South London Hospital for Women.Corinne Hogan
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31Aug2018
Eleanor Davies-Colley (1874-1934) and the Invalid Children’s Aid Association (est.1888)
The story of Eleanor Davies-Colley, the first female MRCS, and her work with the Invalid Children's Aid Association.Corinne Hogan
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17Aug2018
Gray’s Anatomy Descriptive and Applied: the greatest account of anatomical understanding available
Completing the Library's collection of Gray's Anatomy.Corinne Hogan
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3Aug2018
Conserve our Collections Event, 2018
The College's annual Conserve Our Collections event, held at the London Metropolitan Archives in 2018.Nicola Extance-Vaughan
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27Jul2018
Making the most of our e-books collection
A brief guide to the e-books available via the Library's ClinicalKey resource.Corinne Hogan
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20Jul2018
Sailing the seven seas and other tales of Navy medicine from the UK-MHL
More UK Medical Heritage Library contributions, this time regarding naval healthcare.Susan Isaac
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6Jul2018
Making ‘appropriate stumps’ and other tales of Army medicine from the UKMHL
An exploration of the Library's contribution to the UK Medical Heritage Library project, concentrating on contagious diseases and army medicine.Susan Isaac
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29Jun2018
Orthopaedic surgeon and war hero: Sir Robert Jones (1857-1933)
Sir Robert Jones was the father of modern orthopaedic surgery. We celebrate his life during the British Orthopaedic Association's centenary year.Susan Isaac
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22Jun2018
Images for Academic Presentations: Using ClinicalKey
Giving a presentation as part of a teaching role or to share your knowledge on the latest evidence in your specialty? The RCS Library can help!Sophie Gibbs
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15Jun2018
Giving blood
On World Blood Donor Day, we celebrate Percy Lane Oliver and the history of the blood transfusion service.Susan Isaac
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8Jun2018
Why you should love a leech: blood letting to microsurgery
Why you should love a leech: blood letting to microsurgery. Find out why medical leeches are back.Susan Isaac
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31May2018
Botany in the age of Empire
John Ellis (1710–1776) was a naturalist and London business man with an interest in science. He became the most successful plant transporter of the eighteenth century. This post explores his publications with their beautiful illustrations, learning more about the practical history of eighteenth-century colonial life.Susan Isaac
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25May2018
‘Wound-man’: Feldtbuch der Wundartzney - Hans von Gersdorff (c.1480-1540)
Stabbed, bludgeoned, sliced & bleeding, the WoundMan showed the medieval battlefield surgeon what to do. This article looks at Feldtbuch der Wundartzney (1517) for advice.Susan Isaac
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18May2018
Are you using ClinicalKey?
A guide to the versatile and comprehensive ClinicalKey online resource.Corinne Hogan
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11May2018
Fishes found on the coast of Ceylon: John Whitchurch Bennett
A look at the colourful illustrations in John Whitchurch Bennett's "A Selection from the Most Remarkable and Interesting Fishes Found on the Cost of Ceylon".Susan Isaac
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4May2018
Sir Hugh Cairns and the origins of the motorcycle helmet
Learn how the motorcycle accident that killed Lawrence of Arabia 80 years ago led to the introduction of crash helmets in UK.Sarah Gillam
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27Apr2018
A practical surgeon: Sir William Fergusson (1808-1877)
Surgeon, Sir William Fergusson (1808-1877) was described as “the greatest master of the art, the greatest practical surgeon of our time". Read about his life and achievements.Susan Isaac
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20Apr2018
An unlucky elephant: an anatomical account of the elephant accidentally burnt in Dublin, on Fryday, June 17. in the year 1681 – Allen Mullen (1682)
"An anatomical account of the elephant accidentally burnt in Dublin, on Fryday, June 17. in the year 1681" records the story of a very unlucky elephant who arrived in London in 1675.Susan Isaac
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13Apr2018
Current Awareness Updates: a milestone for the RCS Library and Surgical Information Services
April 2018 is an important milestone for RCS Library and Surgical Information Services: after much planning and scoping research, there is now a Current Awareness Update for each of the eleven surgical specialties.Sarak Kennedy, Sophie Gibbs, Kirsty Morrison
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6Apr2018
Memorial to the common people: Postman’s Park, London
Postman’s Park, in the City of London, is the site of one of the Memorial to Heroic Self Sacrifice commemorating ‘ordinary’ Londoners who died while trying to save others. Individual ceramic plaques recording each story are set into the wall of a long wooden cloister, three of which bear witness to the bravery of doctors.Susan Isaac
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29Mar2018
A hare-raising tale
The story of Mary Toft of Guildford who, in 1726, claimed she had given birth to rabbits, causing considerable notoriety.Corinne Hogan
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23Mar2018
Reading for CPD: How our reflective CPD form can help
Many of our Members and Fellows read our Current Awareness Updates as part of their continuing professional development. The Updates help to keep surgeons up-to-date with the latest research being published in their particular sub-specialty area. However, it can be difficult to quantify and demonstrate reading as a piece of recognised learning that can be credited.Sarah Kennedy
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16Mar2018
The familiar and the fantastic: The historie of foure-footed beastes by Edward Topsell, 1607.
Fantastic beasts and everything you need to know about them: Edward Topsell’s historie of foure-footed beastes is a wonderful bestiary published in 1607 describing both real and fantastic creatures, all illustrated in detailed woodcuts. The book includes familiar animals such as the cat, horse and hedgehog but also the fantastic including the Unicorn and the Manticore.Susan Isaac
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9Mar2018
Collections on the Move: partnership projects with the Museum of Life Sciences at Kings College London
How do you engage with a museum’s collections if the museum is closed? Working with the King's College Museum of Life Sciences to bring museum exhibits to the public.Hayley Kruger
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2Mar2018
Questions on a Big Idea: The Enchanted Loom
The ‘enchanted loom’ is a famous metaphor for the human brain invented to poetically describe a conception of what happens in the cerebral cortex when you wake from sleep. Its inventor, Sir Charles Scott Sherrington, was a Fellow of the College.Corinne Hogan
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23Feb2018
2017 in review
2017 was an extremely busy year for us here in the Library and Surgical Information Services. Here's a look at everything we achieved last year.Sarah Kennedy
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16Feb2018
Frock coats to scrubs: a story of surgical attire
The clothes surgeons wear when operating on their patients has changed over time. Trace this history with us through drawings, paintings, photographs and written reports.Susan Isaac
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9Feb2018
Murder in the East End: the Wainwrights Trial
Henry Wainwright hid a terrible secret in his East End warehouse. Surgeon Frederick Larkin’s detailed forensic evidence led to his conviction for murder in 1875.Susan Isaac
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2Feb2018
Studies in the art anatomy of animals: Ernest Thompson Seton
Ernest Thompson Seton’s first book, Studies in the art anatomy of animals, was published in 1896 and still in print today. See examples of his drawings covering the anatomy, proportions and motion of different animals, as well as their exterior features, hair, fur and feathers.Susan Isaac
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26Jan2018
Your library needs you! Why you should consider becoming a Specialist Advisor
Find out about the role of Specialist Advisor for the Library's Current Awareness Updates, and how it can contribute to your professional development.Kirsty Morrison
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19Jan2018
Holme’s Great Metropolis: or, views of London in the nineteenth century (and now)
Comparing the sights of London between 1851 and the present day, courtesy of Thomas Holmes' "Great Metropolis".Susan Isaac
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12Jan2018
Do you Bant? The original low-carbohydrate, high-fat (LCHF) diet
William Banting lends his name to the original low-carbohydrate high-fat diet.Sarah Gillam
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5Jan2018
Joseph Swan (1791-1874): a pioneer in research on peripheral nerves
The prize-winning work of the 19th century Surgeon, Joseph Swan.Susan Isaac
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21Dec2017
Mermaid Santa, and the comical anatomical: Quirky medical Christmas cards from the Forties
A selection of “tailor-made” Christmas cards from 1947, drawn by a medical illustrator, Mary Dixon Elder, and individually surgically and anatomically themed, some more successfully than others, to bring a personal touch to a “departmental party” at Northwestern University Medical School.Corinne Hogan
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15Dec2017
Un-Christmassy Christmas: Escape to Christmas Island
Christmas planning getting you down? Escape to Christmas Island with Charles W Andrews’ guide, A monograph of Christmas Island (Indian Ocean) : physical features and geology, 1900.Susan Isaac
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8Dec2017
Dissecting the literature: the importance of critical appraisal
How to critically appraise your literature.Kirsty Morrison
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1Dec2017
Bernhard Siegfried Albinus
The son of the physician Bernhard Albinus (1653–1721), Bernhard Siegfried Albinus was born in Germany in 1697. He would go on to become one of the most famous anatomists of the eighteenth century, producing 'Tabulae sceleti et musculorum corporis humani', published in 1747.Geraldine O'Driscoll
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24Nov2017
Art and Science meet: George Spratt (1784-1840) – Obstetric tables, comprising Graphic Illustrations…
In 1833 George Spratt published his innovative Obstetric Tables. Designed as a teaching aid, the book includes fifty hand-coloured plates with flaps that lift to show a "dissected" view of the female body during pregnancy.Susan Isaac
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17Nov2017
One man – Two hospitals: William Marsden (1796-1867)
The life and achievements of William Marsden, founder of the Royal Free Hospital and the Royal Marsden Hospital.Susan Isaac
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10Nov2017
We will remember them: No 3 Canadian General Hospital (McGill) 1915-1918
The story of No. 3 Canadian General Hospital during the First World War.Susan Isaac
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3Nov2017
Conducting a literature search using RCS Library resources
Some advice from the Information Specialists on conducting a medical literature search using the Library's online databases.Kirsty Morrison
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27Oct2017
Riflin’ the churchyards: William Burke (1792-1829) and William Hare (1792/1804 - c.1858?)
For Halloween, the murderous story of Burke and Hare...Corinne Hogan
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20Oct2017
St. Ives, Barbara Hepworth and the College
Between 1947 and 1949, the artist Barbara Hepworth sat in operating theatres in Exeter and London, producing 80 depictions of surgeons and their teams at work, while the NHS was being formed.Jo Clarke
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13Oct2017
Here for you: what the RCS Library does for Members
A guide to the Library's services for College Members and Fellows.Susan Isaac
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6Oct2017
Lord Joseph Lister of Lyme Regis (1827-1912): the father of modern surgery
Joseph Lister pioneered antiseptic surgery in 1867 and made surgery safer, saving many lives. In 1879 the mouthwash Listerine was developed and named after him.Susan Isaac
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29Sep2017
Collections on the move: Harrow Green getting hands-on
Moving books is a regular task in libraries; moving 5 km of them to a new location is not. Find out how @Harrow Green got hands on...Hillary Webb
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22Sep2017
Navigating the current of surgical literature: the library as your landmark
How the Library can help surgeons keep abreast of the medical literature.Sarah Kennedy
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15Sep2017
Collections on the move: Cleaning the RCS Library collections - a job for DAD
With over five kilometres of books to clean before moving the collections to temporary storage for the redevelopment, the Library turned to experts Downie Allison Downie Book Binders (DAD) for help.Susan Isaac
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8Sep2017
Hospital Pharmacopoeias
An introduction to the Library’s hospital pharmacopeia collection.Susan Isaac
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1Sep2017
A book written by a walking stick?
The remarkable story of the The Gold-Headed Cane, a book containing the biographies of 6 physicians from the point of view of the cane they all owned.Corinne Hogan
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25Aug2017
Transplanting of Teeth
A hand-coloured cartoon by Thomas Rowlandson in 1787, highlights the lucrative 18th century practice of tooth transplantation.Sarah Pearson
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21Aug2017
Collections on the move: Moving two hundred years of history
The practicalities of packing and moving the Collections.Susan Isaac
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11Aug2017
The Alpine Club and Surgery
Three of our Fellows have been President of the Alpine Club: find out how they combined successful surgical careers with their daredevil passion for climbing.Sarah Gillam
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4Aug2017
Anatomy: a hymn in praise of the wisdom of God
“The study of Anatomy is the use of a hymn in praise of the wisdom of God.” So appears an anonymous quote on the title page of the prospectus of the Parisian Gallery of Anatomy, an anatomical museum that based itself in Sheffield, Liverpool and Manchester from the 1850s to the 1870s.Corinne Hogan
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28Jul2017
The Toothache: imagined by Horace Mayhew, realised by George Cruikshank, 1849
The story of one Victorian gentleman’s toothache, in graphic form by Horace Mayhew and George Cruikshank.Susan Isaac
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21Jul2017
Percy Furnivall the cyclist and an early training regime
A look at an early attempt at outlining an optimum training regime for competitive cycling, by Percy Furnivall.Sarah Gillam
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14Jul2017
Professor Quekett and the Curious Case of the Coal slides
Quekett's collection of microscope slides ... of coal.Hannah Cornish
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7Jul2017
Coffee: a plague remedy?
Richard Bradley's 1721 work on the cultivation of coffee and its efficacy in the prevention of plague.Susan Isaac
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30Jun2017
How to get the most out of your Current Awareness Updates
This week’s post looks at how to get the most out of the Updates in celebration of two new Updates launching this July: Urology and Emergency General Surgery.Sarah Kennedy
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23Jun2017
Darwin and Down House
The history of Down House, home of Charles Darwin and later site of the College's Buckston Browne Research Farm.Fahema Begum
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16Jun2017
A book of cheerful cats and other animated animals - Joseph Greene Francis (1849 - 1930)
A Book of Cheerful Cats by J.G. Francis is a strange book to find in a medical library. It’s an amusing collection of cartoons and rhymes involving cats and other animals.Geraldine O’Driscoll
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9Jun2017
Collections on the move: Our Skulls are Precious
Images and video showing how we move large animal skulls in the Hunterian Museum.Susan Isaac
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2Jun2017
Intriguing Apes and Curious Cockatoos
The Archives shares William Hill’s photographic slides of primates and other animals.Matthew Nicholson
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26May2017
John Hunter’s Watercolour Floral Paintings: 1801
A beautiful bound volume of watercolour paintings believed to have been the property of anatomist John Hunter.Geraldine O'Driscoll
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19May2017
Collections on the move: Safeguarding centuries of knowledge
Last week, the Library Blog told the story of how the Library collections were protected during the Second World War. Now we are moving the collections again as the College redevelops its London home. This time, we have had more time to plan and ensure that the collections are moved in the optimum condition to safeguard centuries of knowledge for future generations to discover.Susan Isaac
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12May2017
Evacuating the Library in World War II
During the Second World War, the College took great care to protect its heritage in the anticipation of aerial bombing, moving much of the Library collections to safe locations before the College was hit during the "Blitz".Susan Isaac
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5May2017
Current Awareness Updates
On the 8th May 2017, we will be launching the first of our new Current Awareness Updates. Following the success of the Current Awareness Service pilot between 2012 and 2016, we will be relaunching and expanding coverage of the Service.Amy McEwan
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28Apr2017
Sheffield steel and early physiotherapy
A look at William Edgar Allen, a 19th century industrialist from Sheffield who also established the Edgar Allen Institute for Medico-Mechanical Treatment, treating large numbers of injured soldiers during the World Wars.Susan Isaac
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21Apr2017
Flayed Penguin: anatomical drawings by William Henry Fisk (1827–1884)
A look at William Henry Fisk’s wonderful naturalistic anatomical drawings of a "flayed" penguin to see the muscle structure.Susan Isaac
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13Apr2017
An Odd Collection…
The Library of the Royal College of Surgeons of England contains countless medical, surgical, natural history and zoological texts as one might expect; however, there are a number of books in the collection that are a little bit more unexpected. For example, on a shelf in one corner of the library there is a small collection of books by Rudyard Kipling, including a signed 1922 edition of his most famous work The Jungle Book.Sarah Kennedy
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7Apr2017
Imaging Quekett’s bone slides: the origin of specimens
The pioneering Victorian microscopist John Thomas Quekett (1815-1861), author of one of the first microscopy textbooks, collected and prepared at least 12,000 histological sections. Our guest editor Alessandro Felder, budding biologist interested in comparative bone micro-anatomy writes about his work at RCS imaging some of Quekett’s bone sections.Alessandro Felder
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31Mar2017
Collections on the move: How to move an elephant
The Hunterian Museum contains approximately 3,500 specimens and preparations from John Hunter’s original collection including the partial skeletons of nine large animals. The bones are over 250 years old and include a Narwhal (the “unicorn of the sea”), an Elephant and two Camels.Amalia Lemprière
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24Mar2017
Anatomie très utile: ‘The anatyme of the inwarde partis of man and woman’
Anatomie très utile c.1559 is an anatomical ‘fugitive’ sheet designed to display internal organs and structures.Corinne Hogan
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17Mar2017
Collections on the move: Surgical tools, chemical sponges, papers, pastes and a lot of decision making
The role of conservation during the Library's decant project for the upcoming rebuild.Kostas Tsafaridis
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10Mar2017
Jessie Dobson (1906-1984): Hunterian Museum's first female curator
Jessie Dobson has a unique place in the history of the Hunterian Museum, becoming its first female curator in 1954.Geraldine O’Driscoll
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3Mar2017
Sir John Simon
October 2016 marked the 150th anniversary of the Sanitary Act (1866), which Sir John Simon (10 October 1816 – 23 July 1904), pathologist, surgeon and public health reformer, was influential in bringing about.Fahema Begum
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24Feb2017
Collections on the move: Rare books and incunabula - making our collection visible
Incunabula and rare books from the collection, as seen during the recent Cataloguing Project.Sarah Kennedy
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17Feb2017
The dangers of tight lacing: the effects of the corset
A look at the medical effects of tight corsets as worn by women in the 18th and 19th centuries.Susan Isaac
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10Feb2017
Collections on the move: How Project Transform will improve RCS’s Library, Museums and Archives Services
Considering the many opportunities that the RCS's Project Transform will provide for the Library, Museums and Archives.Library, Museums and Archives staff
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3Feb2017
Rat Day: Boston, 13 February 1917
This month marks 100 years since the first and only “Rat Day”, held in Boston on 13 February 1917. The finale to the Boston Rat Campaign led by the Boston Women’s Municipal League (BWML), the day saw prizes offered for the highest number of dead rats delivered to designated sanitary yards.Susan Isaac
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27Jan2017
Holocaust Memorial Day: the life of Eric Strach
Eric Strach FRCS (1914-2011), an orthopaedic surgeon who worked in Liverpool, was one of a number of Fellows and Members who lost relatives in the Holocaust and worked in the concentration camps after they were liberated by the Allies.Sarah Gillam
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20Jan2017
Collections on the move
Later this year we’ll be moving to temporary accommodation during the redevelopment of our home in Lincoln’s Inn Fields. We hosted an event in the Barry Reading Room a few months ago, showcasing how the Library, Museum and Archive teams are preparing for the move.Susan Isaac
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13Jan2017
MacCormac's Locked Book
Sometimes in the archives we come across material which is not easily accessible. This was the case with the accounts book of Sir William MacCormac, which had remained locked for (possibly) over a century.Virginia Dawe-Woodings
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6Jan2017
Ethicon Cat-a-log
The internet is full of cats doing funny things, but this isn’t just a recent phenomenon. Harry Pointer produced humorous pictures of his pet cats mimicking human activities in the 1870s.Susan Isaac
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23Dec2016
Festive Archives
You might be forgiven for thinking that a medical archive wouldn’t contain much that is festive in nature. Therefore, it may come as a surprise to know that the Royal College of Surgeons archives contain a number of seasonal items.Geraldine O’Driscoll
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16Dec2016
Medical fiction for popular readers: The Stark Munro Letters (1895)
Better known as the creator of Sherlock Holmes, Arthur Conan Doyle was also a graduate of medicine from the University of Edinburgh and had a short-lived career as a general practitioner and ophthalmologist. Alongside his detective stories, he wrote fiction inspired by his experiences of medical practice. His novella The Stark Munro Letters (1895) follows the early struggles of a young practitioner.Alison Moulds
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9Dec2016
Mapping disease: John Snow and Cholera
Cholera was one of the deadliest diseases to affect Britain in the nineteenth century. On the 150th anniversary of the fourth and final London pandemic in 1866, Fahema Begum looks at the work of John Snow, who's work was instrumental in the fight against the disease.Fahema Begum
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2Dec2016
Conserve our Collections Event 2016
On the 16th November we welcomed over 40 guests to our annual Conserve our Collections event. It’s an opportunity to promote the scheme and allow our guests to see items they have helped to conserve.Susan Isaac
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25Nov2016
A Very Large Collection of Very Small Things
Some of the finest microscope slides in the RCS museum collection were produced by John Thomas Quekett, who built a collection of slides giving the most astonishing overview of the natural world on a microscopic scale.Hannah Cornish
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18Nov2016
ClinicalKey: a resource RCS Members need to know about
We see ClinicalKey as a valuable resource and members at all levels can access ClinicalKey using their College Login details.Susan Isaac
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11Nov2016
Victoria Cross Winners
Only three people have received the Victoria Cross, Britain’s highest award for gallantry, twice, and of these, two were surgeons – Arthur Martin-Leake FRCS and Noel Chavasse MRCS.Sarah Gillam
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4Nov2016
21,500 tracts and pamphlets available to view online: UK Medical Heritage Library project
The shelves of our Erasmus Wilson Gallery are once again full as our contribution to the UK Medical Heritage Library is complete.Dorothy Fouracre
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28Oct2016
Skeletal rabbits at Halloween – Osteographia by William Cheselden
The man who famously healed a blind boy by removing a clouded lens, and introduced the technique of ”cutting laterally for the stone” , was also the author of one of the truly memorable anatomical works of the period, OsteographiaCorinne Hogan
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21Oct2016
The Great History Bake Off: Baking and Medicine in Early Modern Recipe Books
Many of the foods which we enjoy today have their origins in the medical world. The recipe books in the Archives are excellent examples of the historical cross-overs between medicine and cooking.Ginny Dawe-Woodings
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14Oct2016
Facsimile exhibition: Unusual and exceptional prizes
Our new facsimile exhibition in the display cases on the ground floor reveal some of the College’s historic prize essays, some of which stand out for reasons other than their written text – due either to the beauty or nature of their illustrations, or to the significance of their author.Sophie Gibbs & Ginny Dawe-Woodings
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7Oct2016
Sporting Surgeons
Three famous Fellows and their sporting successes. Find out more about them in the RCS England archives.Fahema Begum
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21Apr2016
Vaccination, Medicine and the Masses
Vaccination is a medical procedure that is familiar to most of us. From babyhood to our later years, we are offered vaccinations to fight an ever-changing roster of diseases.Sally Frampton
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4Apr2016
Samuel Gaskell’s Jacksonian Prize Essay: On the nature of the Processes of Suppuration and Ulceration - Illustrations, (1837)
Samuel Gaskell’s "illustrations" includes 15 thin membranes of blood vessels, and 37 pieces of leathery ileum - and all are human specimens.Ginny Dawe-Woodings
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22Mar2016
Back from the Binders – William Woods’s Zoography; or, the beauties of nature displayed (1807)
William Wood FRS, FLS (1774-1857) originally trained as a surgeon at St Bartholomew’s Hospital. He turned to the study of natural history with a particular interest in sea shells, for which he remains famous.Thalia Knight
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11Mar2016
The Circle of Willis
Visitors to the "Designing Bodies" exhibition will no doubt have seen the exquisite resin corrosion casts prepared by David Tompsett, including the cast of the arterial supply of the brain, demonstrating the arterial circle of Willis.Susan Standring
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4Mar2016
International Women's Day 2016
In celebration of International Women’s Day on Tuesday 8 March 2016, we would like to share some of the items in our collections that relate to the pioneering women who led the way for women to qualify as practising surgeons and members of the RCS.Sophie Gibbs
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26Feb2016
Back from the Binders – Francis Mason’s Cleft Lip and Palate (1877)
This week we received our latest batch of conservation binding which had been funded via the Conserve our Collections programme.Hilary Webb
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16Feb2016
Frozen in Time
Plaster is peculiar stuff. As a chalky powder, heavier than dust, it can pervade a wide area. As a fluid it is mercurial and insubstantial, and could almost pass for milk.Sam Alberti
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12Feb2016
Happy Birthday, William Clift! (14/2/1775–20/6/1849)
As it is William Clift’s birthday on St Valentine’s Day, we thought it was only right to acknowledge the debt of gratitude the Royal College of Surgeons of England owes to him.Geraldine O’Driscoll
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5Feb2016
Our contribution to digital UK Medical Heritage Library is almost complete
Soon the shelves in our Erasmus Wilson Gallery will again be full: we have nearly completed our contribution to the UK Medical Heritage Library.Dorothy Fouracre
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29Jan2016
Plarr's Lives of the Fellows
At the beginning of this month, January 2016, after eight or so years of work, the editorial team in the Library finished uploading all nine of the printed volumes of Plarr’s Lives.Sarah Gillam
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25Jan2016
"Anatomy as Art" Facsimile Display
The College’s collections are rich with artistic illustrations depicting human anatomy.Geraldine O’Driscoll
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15Jan2016
Elsevier ClinicalKey
The Library is pleased to announce its new subscription to Elsevier’s ClinicalKey resource.Library Services staff
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8Jan2016
Collections Review project is child’s play
Occasionally we come across markings in books which remind us of their past role as personal objects: markings by children.Dorothy Fouracre
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18Dec2015
The Twelve Days of Christmas - Part 3
We hope you enjoyed getting to know a little bit more about the fascinating collection of books, archives and museum items that are held in our Designated collections.Collections Review Team
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11Dec2015
The Twelve Days of Christmas Part - 2
As part of the RCS Collections Review project, the Museum’s visual works are currently being assessed. This category includes sculptures, pencil drawings, prints, oil paintings, pastels and watercolours.Collections Review Team
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4Dec2015
The Twelve Days of Christmas - Part 1
Our Collections Review project, which has been running throughout 2015, has given us unprecedented insight into the College’s museum, library and archive holdings.Collections Review Team
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27Nov2015
Conserve Our Collections Event, 2015
On the 18th November we hosted the annual event to promote our Conserve our Collections scheme.Geraldine O’Driscoll
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20Nov2015
The British Journal of Surgery now available to RCS members from Vol. 1 (1913)
We are pleased to announce that we have purchased the back files of The British Journal of Surgery.Thalia Knight
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13Nov2015
Insecten-Belustigung (1746–1761) – August Johan Rösel
August Johann Rösel von Rosenhof, 1705–1759, was born in Augustenburg and, having shown an early artistic talent, was apprenticed first to his uncle, the artist Wilhelm Röselvon Rosenhof, and then to Johan Daniel Preisler.Bulletin of the Royal College of Surgeons of England
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6Nov2015
The Bones, Author Unknown
Held in our Archives is a small leather-bound manuscript with two silver clasps, simply entitled The Bones.Geraldine O’Driscoll
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30Oct2015
Horror in our Collections
As it’s Halloween, we have delved into the gloomiest reaches of our collections and sought out some of the more macabre material we hold.Geraldine O’Driscoll
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23Oct2015
The chicken or the egg? Art, lectures and a basilisk
As part of the RCS Collections Review project, the Museum’s visual works are currently being assessed. This category includes sculptures, pencil drawings, prints, oil paintings, pastels and watercolours.Emmy Bocaege
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16Oct2015
Recipe Books in our Archive Collections
Before the establishment of professional healthcare, the majority of the sick were treated at home with the main carers being the women of the household.Geraldine O’Driscoll
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8Oct2015
Poetry in the Archives and Library Collections
On October 8th 2015, we celebrate National Poetry Day, inspiring us to revisit our collections in search of poems.Geraldine O’Driscoll
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2Oct2015
The Ornithology of Francis Willoughby, 1678
The Ornithology of Francis Willoughby (1678) is the enlarged and corrected English version of the previously published Latin work Ornithologiae libri tres (1676).Sarah Kennedy
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25Sep2015
John Hunter – The natural history of the human teeth, 1771
John Hunter (1728-1793) was born during the night of February 13/14, 1728, at East Kilbride, Scotland.Royal College of Surgeons of England
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18Sep2015
Jacques-Fabien Gautier D’Agoty – Exposition anatomique des organes des sens, 1775
Jacques-Fabien Gautier (he added the "D’Agoty" later in life) was born in Marseilles in 1716.Bulletin of the Royal College of Surgeons
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11Sep2015
Bernardino Genga – Anatomy improv’d, 1723
Bernardino Genga (1620–1690) was an Italian surgeon and anatomist, with a great interest in classical texts and Greek and Roman sculpture, which led to him teaching anatomy to artists at the Royal French Academy of Painting and Sculpture in Rome.Steffi Sams
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4Sep2015
Three Books - one anatomical plate
Browsing through the College’s collection of folios with anatomical illustrations, we occasionally come across the same plate in various works.Steffi Sams
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28Aug2015
Sir Everard Home - An anatomical account of the squalus maximus, 1809
The 31st of August is the anniversary of Sir Everard Home’s death in 1832.Steffi Sams
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26Aug2015
Captain James Cook - the First Voyage
On 26th August 1768, Captain James Cook (1728-1779) embarked on his first voyage of discovery aboard HMS Endeavour from Plymouth.Steffi Sams
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21Aug2015
William Wykeham Myers - early medical education in China
Recently, our attention was drawn to a rare item in our collection: a report on a late 19th century experimental medical education scheme in China, which included a set of fascinating photographs.Steffi Sams
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18Aug2015
Thomas Willis - Cerebri anatome - 1664
Many of the magnificent plates in Thomas Willis’ Cerebri anatome were drawn by Sir Christopher Wren.Bulletin of the Royal College of Surgeons of England
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14Aug2015
ClinicalKey Trial for RCS Fellows and Members
Library Services staff
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12Aug2015
Charles Estienne - La dissection des parties du corps humain 1546
Charles Estienne (1504-1564) was a 16th century French anatomist and came from a family of publishers and printers.Steffi Sams
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7Aug2015
A Guide for Medical Students - 1874
This fascinating little book is the Guide de l'Étudiant en Médecine et en Pharmacie 1874-1875 by Joseph Auguste Aristide Fort, a guide for medical students of the Paris medical school and full of details on courses and their content, term time calendar, lecturers and examinations, similar to the way medical schools today provide this information on their websites.Steffi Sams
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4Aug2015
Hamsters in the Library
Our Collections Review project is highlighting some gems of the Library’s historical medical and surgical holdings.Dorothy Fouracre
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31Jul2015
Naval Surgeons and Marine exploration in the 19th century
This week, the Wildlife Trusts celebrate the UK's amazing sea animals and plants during National Marine Week.Emmy Bocaege
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28Jul2015
William Cheselden - Osteographia or the anatomy of the bones, 1733
This outstanding book has been reviewed as “the most magnificent work of its kind now extant”. In it, Cheselden gives full and accurate descriptions of all the bones of the human body and many animal ones.Bulletin of the Royal College of Surgeons of England
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24Jul2015
Sir Jonathan Hutchinson (1828 - 1913)
The 23rd of July was the birthday of Sir Jonathan Hutchinson, a former President of the RCS.Steffi Sams
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21Jul2015
Anonymous Authors Revealed
On Monday, the 13th of July, there was a very exciting news story for those interested in Victorian literature.Sarah Kennedy
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17Jul2015
William Clowes – A prooved practice for all young chirurgiens, 1588
This was only the third surgical textbook to be printed in English.Bulletin of the Royal College of Surgeons of England
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14Jul2015
Claude Bernard – A text book of operative surgery and surgical anatomy
Claude Bernard (12 July 1813 – 10 February 1878) was a French physiologist. He is credited with many contributions to that field and other related disciplines.Steffi Sams
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10Jul2015
Sir Charles Bell – A system of dissections
One of the books we used in a small display this week was Sir Charles Bell’s A System of Dissections, explaining the anatomy of the human body, the manner of displaying the parts, and their varieties in disease.Steffi Sams
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7Jul2015
Micro/Macro: Natural History Models at the College
As teaching models have been important surgical training tools for more than a century, it is not surprising that the Royal College of Surgeons of England holds a large Models and Casts collection.Emmy Bocaege
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3Jul2015
Facsimile exhibition – Académie des Sciences
Our new facsimile exhibition in the Library showcases the 17th and early 18th explorations of the scientists in service of the French Académie des Sciences.Steffi Sams
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1Jul2015
Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz - Opera Omnia, 1768
The 1st July 1646 saw the birth of Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz, a German philosopher and ‘universal thinker’.Steffi Sams
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26Jun2015
Maria Sibylla Merian - Insectes de Surinam 1726
Maria Sibylla Merian (1647-1717) was the daughter of Matthaeus Merian the Elder (1593-1650) the celebrated engraver, publisher and topographical artistSteffi Sams
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22Jun2015
Blue Plaque for Sir Victor Horsley, Neurosurgeon
Last week, on 17th June, English Heritage honoured Sir Victor Horsley (1857-1917), pioneering neurosurgeon, with a Blue Plaque at his former home in Bloomsbury, London.Steffi Sams
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18Jun2015
Dominique Jean Larrey – Surgeon in Chief of Napoleon’s Armies
Dominique-Jean Larrey (1766-1842) was orphaned at the age of 13 and raised by his uncle, who was chief surgeon in Toulouse.Steffi Sams
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16Jun2015
Spot-the-difference: Dissection scene in Fasciculus Medicinae 1495
While trying to research the inclusion of neuroanatomical details in the drawings of Italian artists on behalf of a College fellow, I came across Dr Mortimer Frank’s 1920 edited and translated version of Dr Ludwig Choulant’s 1852 History and Bibliography of Anatomic Illustration.Steffi Sams
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12Jun2015
Gray's Anatomy 1858
Today, 13th June, is the anniversary of Henry Gray’s death from smallpox at the age of only 34 (1861).Steffi Sams
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9Jun2015
Gaspare Aselli: De lactibus, sive lacteis venis (1627)
Gaspare Aselli (1581-1625) was born in Cremona and attended University in Pavia where he obtained degrees in medicine, surgery and philosophy.Bulletin of the Royal College of Surgeons of England
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5Jun2015
Fat Books - Surgical instruments catalogues
Surgical catalogues of instruments and appliances are not the largest, but definitely amongst our fattest, books.Steffi Sams
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2Jun2015
Shakespeare Again - This time a forgery
After the recent debate as to whether a portrait on the title page of John Gerard’s Herball shows William Shakespeare, we were yesterday reminded by an enquiry that another item in our collection has a connection to Shakespeare.Steffi Sams
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29May2015
New Colorectal Current Awareness Bulletin
On 19th May the Library launched the new Colorectal Current Awareness Bulletin.Steffi Sams
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26May2015
Lincoln's Inn Fields
The Royal College of Surgeons of England has made a home in Lincoln’s Inn Fields since the late 1790s.Sarah Kennedy
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21May2015
Shakespeare or not Shakespeare in the RCS Library
We have followed with interest the debate in the national and international news around a potential Shakespeare portrait discovered in John Gerard’s herbal.Steffi Sams
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19May2015
Tracts and Pamphlets: digitising for the UK Medical Heritage Library
Over the next year, the Library at the Royal College of Surgeons of England will be preparing almost 2,500 volumes to send to the Wellcome Library for digitisation as part of the UK Medical Heritage Library.Dorothy Fouracre
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15May2015
Quekett and Exploration
The RCS collections review team is currently surveying the microscope slides collection. Working our way through the 761 units (drawers and boxes) constituting this collection, we have uncovered some hidden treasures and met some interesting characters.Emmy Bocaege
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12May2015
Botany and Surgeons
In the 19th century many surgeons also practiced as apothecaries. The study of materia media, the knowledge of the therapeutic properties of substances, in particular plants, was part of the education of anyone working as a medical practitioner.Steffi Sams
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8May2015
Jean-Baptiste Marc Bourgery
Jean-Baptiste Marc Bourgery (1797-1849), Traité complete de l’anatomie de l’homme comprenant la medicine operatoir…avec planches lithographiées d’apres nature par N-H Jacob. 1831-54.Bulletin of the Royal College of Surgeons of England
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5May2015
Sir John Tomes Display
At the Charles Tomes Lecture on 27 March, organised by the Faculty of Dental Surgery, we displayed items from the Museums, Archives and Library collections to celebrate the bicentenary of Charles Tomes’ father, Sir John Tomes.Steffi Sams
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1May2015
New Emergency General Surgery current awareness bulletin
On April 17th we launched a new current awareness bulletin aimed at all our fellows and members in the General Surgery specialty.Tom Macmillan
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28Apr2015
Welcome to the RCS Library & Surgical Information Services blog
In February 2013 the Arts Council England formally Designated the RCS library, museums and archives as outstanding collections of national and international quality and significance.Thalia Knight & Dorothy Fouracre