This picture is an advertisement for bromo seltzer, an at home remedy for headaches and indigestion. It depicts the role of nurses in healthcare as well as a new and more efficient remedy for common problems that don't really warrant a doctors visit. It also shows an image of researchers who tested this product and it's efficacy, which demonstrates the major differences in biomedical research in today's world as opposed to 50 years ago.
Tuberculosis, or TB, is a very aggressive bacterial respiratory infection that has been the cause of a large number of deaths in patients who have had it all throughout history. This booklet from 1950 shows early medical advances that worked to fight against this deadly and miserable disease. Very much like today, this shows that the number one, best way to combat this disease is through prevention/early detection, which still today is through a chest X-Ray. It also highlights the important role that antibiotics play in fighting this painful infection, and how important it is to complete the full course of antibiotics to properly rid the body of all of the bacterium.
This picture shows a chest tube being placed after a pneumothorax, or air in the pleural cavity that causes the lung to collapse. The differences in the treatment of this condition can be seen in this picture. For example, while the doctor performing the procedure is in fact wearing gloves and a gown, he is not wearing a facemask to prevent infection in the patient once he opens his chest cavity. You can also see that the nurse assisting is not wearing proper protective clothing to reduce the risk of airborne or bloodborne pathogens spread between her and the patient.
This image was taken on May 6, 1953 of the first open heart surgery done using a heart lung machine. It was invented by a surgeon named John H. Gibbons Jr. who got his inspiration 20 years prior from a young female patient who died in surgery from a common heart disorder. This invention has revolutionized cardiovascular medicine and is still used to treat hundreds of thousands of patients every year. It also has made thousands of heart transplants possible because it replaces the heart's function of circulating blood to the body and the lungs job of oxygenating the blood, therefore making it so you could remove/operate on the heart without compromising vital organ functions.
In 1954, Dr. Joseph E. Murray transplanted a kidney from one identical twin to the other at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston. The twins were perfect for the first transplant because it eliminated the chance of rejection, as they have the exact same genetic makeup. The doctors and nurses who worked to make this transplant happen were unsure if it would succeed or not but they worked hard, carefully and efficiently. When it was time to remove the clamps on the blood vessels that had been attached to the new kidney, the whole room fell silent. Then the medical staff watched as the blood flowed into the kidney and it became swollen and turned a healthy pink color. Later, in 1990, Dr. Murray received a Nobel Prize in Medicine for his successful and revolutionary treatment.