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Deadly Effects: Epidemics, Vaccines, and the Measles Outbreak

The recent outbreak  of measles at Disneyland has spurred a rash of competing newscast, blog posts, and social media responses. One question continues to be foremost--as quoted by CNN correspondent Mariano Castillo, "how bad is it?" Castillo reminds the reader: "to call the news surrounding vaccinations a "debate" is misleading. The scientific and medical consensus is clear: Vaccinations are safe, and they work." The question is not about efficacy but about consequences; parents may have a variety of reasons for not vaccinating their children, sometimes on the grounds of safety or mistrust of the vaccine. However, as pointed...

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Dittrick Book Launch Event: Rhetoric in the Flesh

Contributor: Julia Balacko EVENT: Book Launch for T. Kenny Fountain's Rhetoric in the Flesh Recently, I had the pleasure of attending the book launch for T. Kenny Fountain's Rhetoric in the Flesh: Trained Vision, Technical Expertise, and the Gross Anatomy Lab at the Dittrick Museum. At the event, Fountain discussed some of the key arguments from the book, and shared anecdotes from his participant observation in the human gross anatomy lab. Fountain's text is an ethnographic account penned from the perspective of a rhetorician of science communication. His focus on language offers a lens into anatomical learning and clinical training that is at once pointed...

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Avoiding the Dead of Winter

The Dittrick Museum of Medical History is located in Northeast Ohio -- an area (in)famous for its harsh, long winters. After last year’s “Polar Vortex,” we dug into our collections to discover how 19th century physicians would advise to protect ourselves from the dangers of falling temperatures. A little text entitled Taking Cold: The Cause of Half Our Diseases (1873) by Dr. John Hayward outlines ways to maintain warmth and health. To the author, "Taking Cold" referred to being exposed to cold air, while catching "A Cold" was one of the many diseases this exposure could cause. In fact, the following preventative methods were vitally...

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The Stomach and its Discontents: Digesting the Winter Holidays

"One of the most uncomfortable beings on earth is a Dyspeptic. To most other invalids there is some hope of a change It will neither kill the patient nor depart from him. Hitherto, it has been more hopeless than a sentence of imprisonment for life." --J.C. Eno, A Treatise on the Stomach and its Trials 1865. For a number of people, the winter holidays coincide with family meals of increased size and frequency, an unaccustomed embarrassment of riches. (I recall family dinners of my youth wherein an entire table had been commandeered only for desserts, for instance.) But as...

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