A Painless Surgery Joseph Johnstone Performed on a Mesmerized Patient in Madras in 1847

Raman, Ramya; Raman, Anantanarayanan

doi:10.16943/ijhs/2019/v54i1/49594

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…Medals honouring a private medical practitioner Joseph William Turner Johnstone in Madras 24 and the GH Surgeon Ambrose Blacklock exist today with the Madras Medical College (MMC). Both Johnstone and Blacklock medals are considered prestigious by MMC graduates.…”

Section: The General Hospital Of the Presidencymentioning

confidence: 99%

On the quarter-millennial anniversary of the Madras General Hospital

Raman

2022

NMJI

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The General Hospital (GH) of Madras (presently Chennai) grew out of a hospital intended for the personnel attached to the Madras army—a Military Hospital (MH)—established within the Fort St George in 1664. Although the GH grew out of this MH, its relocation at its present Périamét (then known as Narimédu, Hog’s Hill) site in 1772, bearing the name ‘General Hospital’ marks its 250th anniversary in 2022. From being MH that serviced the ‘white’ residents of Madras, it opened to locals in 1899. In 2011, it was renamed as the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital. Today, it has grown into a stunning medical facility in India treating about 12 000 patients a day. We chronicle the growth of the MH into the GH. Notable that the first formally conducted medical forensic examination in the whole of India occurred in this facility in August 1693, when this institution was MH. Surgeon Samuel Browne’s erroneous dispensation of a medication resulted in the death of James Wheeler, a prominent English-East India Company (EEIC) civil servant in Madras. Following an order to execute an investigation by the Governor, Fort St George, an autopsy of the body of Wheeler was carried out by Surgeon Edward Bulkley. Further to referring to such landmark historical details of early time segments of the MH and GH, we briefly refer to the remarkable medical work of Charles Donovan, William Niblock and Mysore Ramaswami Guruswami Mudaliar, who worked at the GH in the early decades of the 20th century.

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Section: The General Hospital Of the Presidencymentioning

confidence: 99%

On the quarter-millennial anniversary of the Madras General Hospital

Raman

2022

NMJI

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“…Inspired by the stories of Esdaile's successful mesmeric surgeries in Hooghly, Johnstone reportedly excised a large, soft tumour from the back of a woman successfully, using mesmerism. To this day, the best performing student in the Madras Medical School receives "The Johnstone Medal 1848" (Raman & Raman 2019).…”

Section: Hooghlymentioning

confidence: 99%

Parrhesia and Clinical Practice: A Case Study of Dr. Esdaile’s Mesmeric Hospital in Hooghly

Rajendran¹

2021

rupkatha

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This paper seeks to explore the complex negotiation between mesmerism (as unauthorised medical practice) and the State by analyzing the singular example of Dr. James E. Esdaile, a Scottish civil surgeon stationed in Hooghly, Calcutta, in the 1840-50s; one of the few known medical practitioners of mesmerism in colonial India. His diary titled Mesmerism in India, and its Practical Application in Surgery and Medicine contains a record of every patient who walked into Esdaile’s clinic in Hooghly complaining of pain, the subsequent interaction that took place between the doctor and the patient, usually in the form of a simple sequence of questions and answers, and a description of the procedure by which the patient was treated. The documentation of Esdaile’s controversial clinical practice offers several important insights into the practice of parrhesia (a theory of truth-telling proposed by Foucault) in conjunction with the practice of mesmerism as medicine. Within the annals of medical history, clinical egodocuments such as Esdaile’s surgical diary exemplify the emergence of a difficult relationship between the historical subject and the desire to speak the truth. It reveals how a unique moment in colonial medical history becomes emblematic of a negative relationship with the parrhesiastic act.

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The Australian Medical Journal, August 1846

RAMAN,

RAMAN

2024

NMJI

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Medical journals started appearing formally in Europe in the 17th century and in North America in the 18th century. In Australia, the first issue of Australian Medical Journal (AMJ) was issued in Sydney, under the stewardship of a New South Wales (NSW) senior surgeon William Brooks working in Newcastle (NSW) in August 1846. This article refers to that issue of AMJ exploring its contents and context. In terms of original articles, only one on the surgical procedures carried out on two patients suffering strangulated hernias in the Parramatta-Public Hospital by Surgeon Thomas Robertson occurs. The other inclusions are précis from contemporary British medical journals. The AMJ appeared only for a year; why it ceased publication in 1847 is not clear. It was resurrected by the Medical Society of Victoria, Melbourne in 1856, issuing 40 annual volumes uninterruptedly until 1895. With the incorporation of other regional Australian medical journals, AMJ was re-named as the Medical Journal of Australia (MJA) in 1914. As MJA, it continues to perform to-date. Natl Med J India 2023;36:263–8

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A Painless Surgery Joseph Johnstone Performed on a Mesmerized Patient in Madras in 1847

Cited by 3 publications

References 10 publications

On the quarter-millennial anniversary of the Madras General Hospital

On the quarter-millennial anniversary of the Madras General Hospital

Parrhesia and Clinical Practice: A Case Study of Dr. Esdaile’s Mesmeric Hospital in Hooghly

The Australian Medical Journal, August 1846

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