Medical Times & Gazette, Sept. 30, 1854

¶ 1 Leave a comment on paragraph 1 0 Introduction

¶ 2 Leave a comment on paragraph 2 0 The first few pages of the Medical Times and Gazette focuses first on aneurysms, and ways in which doctors in Dublin, Ireland were able to look at a patient in the 1800s and work on different treatments. A man referred to as Mr.Todd, who had an aneurysm, seems to be the main patient that was focused on while doctors were looking for ways to treat such. “An aneurysm occurs when part of an artery wall weakens, allowing it to balloon out or widen abnormally. The causes of aneurysms are sometimes unknown. Some may be congenital, meaning a person is born with them. Aortic disease or an injury may also cause an aneurysm,” ( Heart.org). This portion of the article dives into ways in which aneurysms can be treated and goes a bit into the history of these processes. The passages end up taking a bit of a dramatic turn and start to discuss different diseases during the 1800s, and different case studies.

¶ 3 Leave a comment on paragraph 3 0 This issue also includes a piece addressing tumor studies. The tumor studies section goes through various case studies that range in age, gender, doctor/medical care, and even the hospital where the cases took place. There were even cancer studies. In almost all the case studies, the patient dies. They typically end with a post-mortem autopsy report where they finalize a conclusion on the patient’s death. In the middle of page eleven, the case studies began to vary into different kinds of medical issues, and on page thirteen we read an explanation for the cholera epidemic. In between those pages, there are other small mentions outside of cholera like the Nuisance Removal Act on page fourteen, and a hernia study on page fifteen.  This section is sad: in almost every single case study the patient dies.

¶ 4 Leave a comment on paragraph 4 1 In the last segment of the text, the main focus is on the cholera epidemic and how it has impacted England. France was also mentioned at the beginning of the section due to its involvement in the Crimean War, but doesn’t show up in the rest of the pages. The bulk of the piece consists of various treatments and medical reports on patients and the medicines they received. Tables are also present to show the mathematical data on how many were affected by cholera, where they were affected, and even the weather conditions of the area at the time. It seems like the doctors and researchers in the 19th century were aware that living near cesspools and open sewage was the leading cause of cholera. Throughout the section were letters to the editor of the medical gazette and some were about rival doctors quarreling over what was the best treatment.  

¶ 5 Leave a comment on paragraph 5 0 The Medical Times and Gazette can be connected to Charles Dickens’s Bleak House in that both deal with illness or medical issues around the same time period. However, it would seem that Medical Times and Gazette and Bleak House do mention different illnesses. It is good, though, to have a general knowledge of what was going on during that time that could help while reading. After Bleak House came out, medical professionals, like the ones that we read in the article, actually had to go against some of Dickens’s claims about medical illness and diseases.

¶ 6 Leave a comment on paragraph 6 0 Although this piece can give insight on the time period 1855, it cannot add much to the overall conversation about Charles Dickens and Bleak House. This is because not only were none of the medical terms from the Gazette used in the novel, but also it can be assumed that Charles Dickens himself did not have much medical knowledge of his own. So, it is truly up to the reader to decide the relevance of this article.