Res Medica (E-Journal)
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Aspects of Obesity
Get PDFThe topic of obesity could provide material for a series of symposia. Personal prejudice has largely determined the aspects chosen for discussion here, and these are intended to demonstrate features bearing on our understanding of the nature of this disorder, which, as is generally recognised, has such profound medical and social implications. Adiposity itself is less of a problem than the sequelae and complications which so commonly occur. The epidemiology of obesity will not be dealt with now, but a moment’s reflection on the morbidity and mortality associated with being overweight will suffice to emphasise the importance of even a single example such as diabetes mellitus
“Wayside Houses of Ill-Repute” – Diverticular Disease of the Colon
Get PDFA diverticulum is simply a blind pouch and it can occur in any section of the alimentary tract; this article concentrates on those arising from the large bowel.The question of how diverticulae are produced was for many years the subject of pure conjecture rather than of scientific proof. If we turn back the pages of medical journals over the past century, we see many shifts in the emphasis of man’s efforts to elucidate the cause of acquired colonic diverticular disease. The current theory is that abnormal inter-haustral contractions of rings of thickened muscle result in the development of very high intra-colonic pressures in response to certain specific stimuli, the most important being morphine and prostigmine. By contrast, “probanthine” and atropine tend to abolish the pressures.I must stress that basal pressures are similar in patients with diverticular disease and in normal controls. (This tends to refute any close casual relationship between the “spastic colon" and diverticular disease.) It is only in response to certain stimuli that the abnormal intraluminal pressures may be recorded.One important practical point is that the above facts represent prima facie evidence against using morphine to alleviate the pain of acute diverticulitis
The Society
Get PDFThe 230th Session has passed extremely well, the Society having now settled down in its new surroundings and come to grips with the problems revealed by its first year in Hill Square. But the upheaval is by no means over, and the problems now facing the Royal Medical Society are perhaps the most pressing in its whole history — where to go from here? The Society’s future must be reassessed in the light of the recent valuation of the Library and a comprehensive policy of management worked out once and for all
Book Reviews
Get PDFThe Christian Physician in the Advance of the Science and Practise of MedicineEthical Responsibility: Medicine. A Christian approachThe Enigma of Coronary Heart DiseaseThe E.E.G. in Clinical PracticeLecture Notes on Psychological MedicineHistological Appearances of TumoursThe Eye in General PracticeClinical ExaminationDemonstrations of Operative Surger
In Memoriam Professor Matthew H. Kaufman
Get PDFIn Memoriam to the late Professor Matthew H. Kaufman written by Owen Dudley Edward
A Sleep to Remember: The Effects of Sleep on Memory.
Get PDFFor centuries, the functions of sleep have been researched. Multiple theories have been developed, but even now, scientists are unable to produce a conclusive explanation as to why we sleep. It is evident that sleep is vital, as even in animals, it has been argued that sleep deprivation leads to serious consequences. More recently, research has suggested that sleep plays a role in memory consolidation. This review aims to bring together the evidence concerning the link between sleep and different memory sub-classifications (episodic memory, semantic memory, procedural memory and conditioning) and its potential clinical application will be discussed
Deadly Décor: A Short History of Arsenic Poisoning in the Nineteenth Century
Get PDFAt the beginning of the 19th century, wallpapers containing Scheele’s green pigments were a commonplace finding in the houses of Britain. Despite apprehensions and documented cases concerning their safety dating back as far as this, it was not until later in the century when leading physicians began to support poisoning theories and a potential mechanism was found, that the general public took notice. Despite the increasing body of support for campaigns to ban the production of such papers, parliament ignored the public health scandal choosing instead to favour the huge profit arsenic mining brought by it. Regardless of the lack of legislation, wallpapers containing arsenic pigments eventually fell out of popularity as the public voted with their feet and chose to purchase “arsenic-free” papers instead
Editorial
Get PDFAfter 220 years of journalistic infertility, the Royal Medical Society has given birth to Res Medica and it is appropriate enough that nearly nine months have elapsed since the end of last Session when the idea was first conceived. Previous attempts to publish the Transactions of the Society have on the whole been abortive, and the idea of a regularly produced Journal never seems to have been seriously entertained
Changing Fashions in Diabetes
Get PDFThe increasing tempo of change in outlook and way of life is a characteristic of our modern age, and our changing attitudes in medicine keep pace with the rapid metamorphosis of the intellectual and material world around us. When I was asked to write an article for Res Medica on diabetes I thought, therefore, that it might be amusing and instructive to contrast my attitude to the disorder twenty-five years ago when I was a young physician with what it is now when I am a middle-aged or elderly one, for in almost every respect the change has been revolutionary.Twenty-five years ago we regarded the pathogenesis of diabetes as being very simple, however complicated it might be to treat. We knew that the pancreatectomised animal or the animal poisoned with alloxan became diabetic and died but that it could be kept alive by the appropriate administration of insulin. Diabetes was therefore regarded as being due to a simple deficiency of the internal secretion of the pancreatic islet tissue just as primary myxoedema was due to a simple failure of the thyroid to secrete the thyroid hormone
