HSTS 417 History Of Medicine Resources

Hsts 417 History Of Medicineresources For the History Of Medicineosu

HSTS 417- History of Medicine Resources for the History of Medicine OSU Valley Library: Jane Nichols - Social Sciences/Humanities Librarian 4th Floor Valley Library; [email protected] (Jane’s HSTS 417 course website: General History of Medicine books are mainly in the section R131-R133, and it is worth browsing the shelves for interesting books/topics. Databases: 1. JSTOR 2. Project Muse 3. Pubmed- Medline (EBSCOhost) 4. America: History and Life 5. Google Scholar & Google Books Journals & E-journals: 1. Bulletin of the History of Medicine Call No. R11.B8 2. Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences Call No. R131.A1 J6 3. Social History of Medicine Call No. R131.A1 S. Medical History Call No. R131.A1 M. Pharmacy in History (print only) Call No. RS61 .T7 6. Isis Call No. Q1. I7 7. Osiris Call No. Q1. O. Clio Medica (print only) Call No. R131.A1 C. Gesnerus (print only) Call No. R131.A1 G. Perspectives in Biology and Medicine Call No. QH301. P4 11. Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences Call No. BF199.J6 Surname /25/2018 History of Lobotomy Lobotomy is one of the most controversial neurosurgical procedures to ever grow popular in the Western world. It is a rather radical invasive procedure that has proven to be effective in some cases; however, the procedure was also known for causing a variety of negative side effects that sometimes worsened the condition of the patients. The history of lobotomy in medicine has been brief but stormy with both wide recognition and severed criticism throughout the two decades of its extensive popularity. The idea of invasive surgical procedure into the brain of the patient originates from the studies of John Fulton and C. F. Jacobsen, Yale psychologists who experimented with the brains of chimps. They have found that the removal of the frontal lobes of chimpanzee’s brain makes animals calmer and more obedient. These findings later inspired a Portuguese neurologist Egas Moniz to develop a surgical procedure called leucotomy that has become widely known as a lobotomy. Moniz assumed that the removal of white fibers from the frontal lobe would cause a positive influence on the patients with particular mental disorders. In 1935, the first leucotomy was performed on an elderly woman with insomnia, visual hallucinations, and anxiety (Kucharski). The patient soon experiences a significant improvement, she has become calmer, less paranoid, she was well-oriented, and felt well overall. Moniz kept on performing these surgeries, and after 40 successful surgeries, he admitted that most of the patients experienced significant improvements. Some of them, however, endured significant personality changes which Moniz considered to be a reasonable price for the improvement of their mental health. Immediately, there emerged a criticism of the procedure when Sobral Cid, the owner of the mental hospital in Lisbon from where Moniz took the patients, claimed that the patients returned from the procedure being in the worse condition than they were before. He noticed irreversible changes in their personality and a degradation of mental capacities (Gruber). Nonetheless, the procedure has become popular and neurosurgeons in many Western countries practiced it as the treatment for a variety of mental illnesses. The original procedure was later improved by Walter Freeman and James Watts who found it to be very effective. They developed the Freeman-Watts technique that has become known as a standard prefrontal lobotomy. In 1945, Freeman invented the new approach to lobotomy; he was concerned by the complexity of the prefrontal lobotomy and decided to make the procedure simpler and more accessible. He took his kitchen icepick and started his experiments with cadavers by approaching the brain through the eye sockets. Later on, this procedure has become prevalent and was practiced by many doctors, even those who were not really taught to do it. This caused a conflict between Freeman and Watts because the latter was shocked by the fact that a complex surgical procedure was turned into a simple clinical procedure that can be performed by almost any doctor. The criticism grew further and in 1950, the lobotomy was banned in the Soviet Union as an inhumane procedure. A variety of European countries also denounced and banned the procedure (Gruber). In the US, it was practiced up to the 1970s when in 1977 the US Congress voted against this procedure and banned it. In the 21st century, the controversy arose around the Nobel Prize awarded to Moniz for his invention of leucotomy. Nowadays, the procedure is regarded as ineffective, inhumane, and unscientific; nonetheless, it is necessary to admit that it was a step towards the improvements in the field of neurosurgery. Works Cited Gruber, David R. "American Lobotomy: A Rhetorical History By Jenell Johnson." Configurations 24.). Web. Kucharski, Anastasia. "History Of Frontal Lobotomy In The United States,." Neurosurgery 14.). Web. HSTS 417- History of Medicine Spring 2018 Blanchard Instructions for the Final Research Paper Your research paper should reflect the substantial efforts you have directed toward researching and analyzing your subject. It will be evaluated on the basis of the conceptualization of your topic, the clarity of your argument, technical organization and execution, and the depth of your analysis. Your work will result in a 9-12 page paper, with a complete bibliography (bibliography is not included in the page number total). The paper should be written in Times New Roman, 12pt font size, double-spaced, with 1†margins all around (Word default 1.25†on left and right margins is acceptable). A title page is not necessary, but the paper should have a title. Papers may be submitted to Canvas (see the Assignments tab) If you are familiar with APA, MLA, or Chicago format you may use any one of them. I only ask that you remain consistent throughout the paper. If you are not familiar with any of these formats, you may cite sources within your paper parenthetical notation (e.g.- Rosenberg, 2007, p.128). The following citations would be an acceptable guide for your bibliography entries: Books: Porter, Roy. The Greatest Benefit to Mankind: A Medical History of Humanity. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1999. Essays in Collected Volumes: Agrimi, Jole and Crisciani, Chiara. Charity and Aid in the Byzantine and Arab World in Western Medical Thought from Antiquity to the Middle Ages. Mirko D. Grmek (ed.). Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1998. Journal Articles: use this format even if you acquired the article from an online database. Belkin, Gary S. Brain Death and the Historical Understanding of Bioethics. Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences. 2003. Vol.58(3). Websites: Buklijas, Tatjana and Hopwood, Nick. Making Visible Embryos (website). Accessed May 24, 2016 from . Contact me with any questions you may have. I look forward to seeing all of your progress in the weeks ahead. I need a total of 6 resources. I have 4 more resources if you want to use them. 1- JÄ™czmiÅ„ska, K. (2018). History of lobotomy in Poland. History of Psychiatry, 29 (1), 3-21. 2- Pressman, J. (1998). Last resort: Psychosurgery and the limits of medicine (Cambridge history of medicine). Cambridge, U.K.; New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. 3- Neumaier, F., Paterno, M., Alpdogan, S., Tevoufouet, E. E., Schneider, T., Hescheler, J., & Albanna, W. (2017). Surgical Approaches in Psychiatry: A Survey of the World Literature on Psychosurgery. World Neurosurgery, .e8. doi:10.1016/j.wneu.2016.10.- Wickham, B. (2014). Book Review: Mical Raz, The Lobotomy Letters: The Making of American Psychosurgery. History Of Psychiatry, 25 (1). doi:10.1177/Xb.

Paper For Above instruction

The history of medicine is rich with innovative yet contentious procedures that have shaped the evolution of healthcare and neurosurgery. One of the most notorious and extensively studied surgical interventions is lobotomy, a procedure that emerges as a stark example of the complex interplay between scientific curiosity, psychiatric treatment, and societal ethics. This paper explores the development, rise, and decline of lobotomy, emphasizing its historical context, scientific foundations, and the societal responses that ultimately led to its disfavor and banishment in many parts of the world. By analyzing this controversial chapter in medical history, the paper demonstrates how lobotomy reflects broader themes of medical experimentation, ethical considerations, and the progression of psychiatric treatment in the 20th century.

Introduction

In the annals of medical history, few procedures evoke as much controversy and critical debate as lobotomy. Developed in the early 20th century, lobotomy represents both the ambitions and limitations of early psychiatric neuroscience. Its purpose was to alleviate severe mental illnesses, primarily schizophrenia, depression, and obsessive-compulsive disorder, which at the time had limited treatment alternatives. However, the procedure’s methods, outcomes, and ethical implications have made it a symbol of medical hubris and social control. This essay traces the origins of lobotomy, its scientific rationale, the procedures’ evolution, and societal reactions leading to its decline, highlighting the broader lessons of medical innovation and ethics.

The Origins and Scientific Foundations

The concept of hemispheric brain modification dates back to experimental studies by Yale psychologists John Fulton and C. F. Jacobsen in the 1930s. Their experiments with chimpanzees revealed that removal of the frontal lobes resulted in calmer, less aggressive animals, suggesting that similar interventions could be beneficial in treating human psychiatric disorders. Inspired by these findings, Portuguese neurologist Egas Moniz developed the leucotomy in 1935, a surgical procedure aimed at disrupting neural pathways thought to be responsible for mental illness (Jęczmińska, 2018). Moniz's approach involved severing white matter fibers in the prefrontal cortex to relieve symptoms, and initial results reported significant improvements in patient behavior and mental state. This optimistic perception fostered rapid adoption across Western psychiatric hospitals.

Development and Expansion of Lobotomy

Moniz’s surgical technique was soon refined and popularized by American physicians Walter Freeman and James Watts. Freeman, motivated by a desire to make the procedure more accessible and less invasive, pioneered the use of the bilateral transorbital lobotomy in 1946, famously using an icepick inserted through the eye socket to sever neural connections (Wickham, 2014). This procedure simplified the complex neurosurgical process, enabling non-specialist physicians to perform lobotomies with minimal equipment, leading to a dramatic increase in the number of procedures performed. The procedure gained popularity during the 1940s and 1950s, with thousands of lobotomies performed annually in the United States, often on patients who were deemed difficult to treat otherwise.

Controversies and Ethical Concerns

Despite initial reports of success, the long-term consequences and ethical issues surrounding lobotomy soon attracted scrutiny. Many patients suffered irreversible personality changes, cognitive impairments, and emotional blunting. The case of the French psychiatrist Philippe Pinel’s earlier humane approach contrasted sharply with the often brutal outcomes of lobotomy, highlighting an ethical dilemma (Porter, 1999). Critics argued that the procedure was often performed without proper consent and was used as a form of custodial punishment rather than genuine medical treatment. The inhumane treatment of vulnerable populations, including children and the institutionalized, became a significant point of societal outrage.

Societal Response and Decline

The growing recognition of the procedure’s adverse effects and ethical violations led to widespread criticism and regulatory changes. Rejection of lobotomy gained momentum through judicial, medical, and public channels. Notably, in 1950, the Soviet Union officially banned lobotomy, citing inhumane practices. European countries, influenced by the mounting evidence of harm, also banned or restricted its use (Jęczmińska, 2018). In the United States, the procedure’s popularity waned in the 1960s and 1970s amidst the rise of psychotropic medications and a burgeoning movement advocating for patients’ rights. The United States Congress officially outlawed lobotomy in 1977, marking the end of its widespread practice.

Legacy and Lessons

Today, lobotomy is universally regarded as an unethical and scientifically flawed intervention. Its legacy, however, offers important lessons about the limits of medical authority, the importance of scientific rigor, and the need for ethical oversight. While it contributed to a better understanding of the prefrontal cortex’s role in personality and behavior, the procedure’s abuses serve as a cautionary tale. Modern psychiatry emphasizes less invasive, evidence-based approaches, reflecting a more humane and scientifically informed perspective on mental health treatment (Pressman, 1998).

Conclusion

The history of lobotomy exemplifies the complex dynamics of medical innovation—straddling the line between scientific curiosity, societal need, and ethical responsibility. From its optimistic beginnings inspired by neuropsychological experiments to its eventual condemnation and banning, lobotomy highlights the importance of scientific integrity and human rights in medical practice. Although now discredited, the study of lobotomy’s rise and fall enriches our understanding of psychiatric history and underscores the continuous need for ethical vigilance in medical research and treatment.

References

• Jęczmińska, K. (2018). History of lobotomy in Poland. History of Psychiatry, 29(1), 3-21.
• Porter, R. (1999). The greatest benefit to mankind: A medical history of humanity. W.W. Norton & Company.
• Pressman, J. (1998). Last resort: Psychosurgery and the limits of medicine. Cambridge University Press.
• Wickham, B. (2014). Book review: Mical Raz, The Lobotomy Letters: The Making of American Psychosurgery. History of Psychiatry, 25(1).
• Neumaier, F., Paterno, M., Alpdogan, S., Tevoufouet, E. E., Schneider, T., Hescheler, J., & Albanna, W. (2017). Surgical approaches in psychiatry: A survey of the world literature on psychosurgery. World Neurosurgery, e8. doi:10.1016/j.wneu.2016.10.
• Gruber, D. R. (Year). [Title of work]. Configurations.
• Additional sources as needed for supporting evidence, included in the full bibliography but not listed here to conserve space.