Medpedia is coming. "In association with Harvard Medical School, Stanford School of Medicine, Berkeley School of Public Health, University of Michigan Medical School and other leading global health organizations, the Medpedia community seeks to create the most comprehensive and collaborative medical resource in the world." Apply to contribute content. [more inside]
posted by cashman on Jul 25, 2008 - 25 comments

For 200 years, the city has been the center of a shadowy network of bone traders who snatch up skeletons in order to sell them to universities and hospitals abroad. In colonial times, British doctors hired thieves to dig up bodies from Indian cemeteries. Despite changes in laws, a similar process is going strong today. (More on the unsettling subject of the human bone trade from the author of the first link, and his Wired article too. And Photos.) Via the excellent Sepia Mutiny.
posted by serazin on Dec 4, 2007 - 15 comments

Historical medicine and health images - there's some fun browsing for aficionados of antique medical technologies, such as orthapedic devices, anatomical illustrations and models, public health materials, and much more. Each image can be enlarged and has explanatory text. (Just a small part of the 30,000+ image database of the wonderful site ingenious, previously brought to our attention by Fat Buddha.)
posted by madamjujujive on Aug 3, 2007 - 5 comments

The X Finger a prosthetic for digital amputees.
posted by phrontist on Jun 20, 2007 - 23 comments

The inaugural edition of Open Medicine, a peer-reviewed, independent, open-access medical journal is now available online. The online medical journal launched in the aftermath of a rift last year between some editors and the publisher of the Canadian Medical Association Journal. Among the first interesting articles? a review of studies which suggests that health outcomes may be superior in patients cared for in Canada versus the United States (but differences are not consistent), even though spending is higher south of the border.
posted by furtive on Apr 18, 2007 - 6 comments

Diseases of the Skin by Gary M. White & Neil H. Cox. All you ever wanted to know about how bad your skin could be - full of images. Possibly NSFW, as some groin photos are included.
posted by youngergirl44 on Jan 3, 2007 - 31 comments

Historical anatomy models were a marriage of art and science. From about the 13th to the 19th centuries, exquisite wax models were the state of the art. Florence's La Specola anatomical wax museum houses the works of master artists, such as Ercole Lelli, Anna Morandi, and Clemente Susini. The later years of wax models tended towards the grotesque: moulage and depictions of pathological conditions and physical anomalies. Due to the labor required and delicacy of wax models, papier-mâché became the favored production method in the 19th century, partly due to the ability to dissect the models. Over time, models became more stylized to protect the delicate sensibilities of the public. Today, models are again shocking the public with extreme realism.
posted by madamjujujive on Aug 30, 2006 - 18 comments

Welcome to the internet's busiest one-person medical site. I'm Ed, "the pathology guy". He's not a postmodernist but he's an experienced lecturer and autopsy pathologist and an all around cool cat.
posted by pieoverdone on Oct 20, 2005 - 19 comments

New Life Form? Doctors claim to have uncovered new evidence that the tiny particles known as "nannobacteria" are indeed alive and may cause a range of human illnesses. Other researchers disagree.
posted by mcgraw on May 24, 2004 - 13 comments

Unmitigated gall. The illegal aliens who got two hearts and two lungs for their daughter REFUSED to have any of her organs donated when it was clear she was brain-dead...
posted by MattD on Feb 22, 2003 - 240 comments

First vancomycin-resistant bacteria found in Detroit. This is worrisome, as vancomycin is usually the last antibiotic of choice when fighting a bacterial infection. Bacteria are both helpful and hurtful to the human body, but the little bugs seem to evolve much more quickly than humans own immune systems. Have we seen an end to antibiotics used in the fight against bacteria? What alternatives do we have?
posted by WolfDaddy on Nov 12, 2002 - 37 comments

Tiny camera reveals the inside story for patient.
This is pretty dam clever. Girl swallows pill size camera, and doctors 40 miles away investigate her condition. Echos of Inner Space and The fantastic voyage
posted by monkeyJuice on Oct 11, 2002 - 6 comments

The patient refused an autopsy. (Via Linklust) Sunday silliness; bloopers made by doctors on medical charts and records
posted by Perigee on May 26, 2002 - 3 comments

Patient confidentiality vs. cancer research. New rules on patient confidentiality prevent "research that recognises dangerous side effects of treatments and it would prevent research that would recognise avoidable causes of diseases and death. " What is more important: 'medical progress' or 'your medical file'?
posted by nonharmful on May 19, 2001 - 2 comments