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Event and Gallery Opening! From Ether to Epidural by Jacqueline Wolf

Anesthesia: it calls to mind surgeries, treatment of shock--the rendering of a patient unconscious and free (temporarily) from pain.  But anesthesia has played an enormous role in the shifting ideas surrounding labor and birth in America generally--and right here in Cleveland. It's more than a knock-out; it's an ever-changing history! On Thursday, November 19th at 6:00pm, Dittrick will share this fascinating story through a gallery opening (Childbirth in America, 1840-1940) and a talk by celebrated author and historian Jacqueline Wolf. Reproduction, birth, and women's health in the 19th century shaped the way we practice obstetrics today. One of the biggest...

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Livers and Freckles — 19th Century Humoral Theories about the Summer Sun

"Of all the results that exposure of the skin to the sun or air produces, the most disagreeable is that known by the name of tan, or freckles. The finest and fairest skin is most liable to this affection, and such is the consolation usually offered to females who suffer -- the state is nevertheless a disease when numerous." 1 --Dr. William Kittoe, 1845 In 19th century summers, most Americans considered tans more pathological than fashionable. Patent medicines like Faricum Almandine above (Fig. 1) and compounds from doctors and pharmacists provided men and (primarily) women the means to eliminate any evidence...

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