1640 BAILLOU, Guillaume de [BALLONIUS] (1538 – 1616)
Epidemiorum et ephemeridum libri duo.
A pupil of Fernel, De Baillou was a follower of Hippocrates in his advancement of the doctrine of “epidemic constitutions”. Crookshank regards him as the first modern epidemiologist. This work includes the first descr…
GMN 1673 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/2328
1730 MARTINE, George (1702 – 1741)
Account of the operation of bronchotome, as it was performed at St. Andrews.
Martine was the first to perform tracheotomy for diphtheria.
GMN 5048 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/5836
1748 FOTHERGILL, John (1712 – 1780)
An account of the sore throat attended with ulcers.
First authoritative account of both diphtheria and scarlatinal angina, although failing to differentiate between the two conditions. Reprinted in Med. Classics, 1940, 5, 58-99.
GMN 5049 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/5928
1757 HUXHAM, John (1692 – 1768)
A dissertation on the malignant, ulcerous sore-throat.
Huxham’s reputation rests mainly on his Essays on fevers, but he also left an excellent account of diphtheria. Although he failed to differentiate the disease from scarlatinal angina, he was the first to observe the p…
GMN 5050 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/5841
1765 HOME, Francis (1719 – 1813)
An enquiry into the nature, cause, and cure of the croup.
First clear and complete clinical description of diphtheria.
GMN 5051 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/5845
1771 BARD, Samuel (1742 – 1821)
An enquiry into the nature, cause and cure of the angina suffocativa, or sore throat distemper, as it is commonly called by the inhabitants of this city and colony.
One of the earliest accurate descriptions of diphtheria. Osler considered the book “an American classic of the first rank”. Bard was personal physician to George Washington.
GMN 5052 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/5847
1826 BRETONNEAU, Pierre Fidèle (1778 – 1862)
Des inflammations spéciales du tissu muqueux et en particulier de la diphthérite, ou inflammation pelliculaire.
Bretonneau showed that croup, malignant angina, and “scorbutic gangrene of the gums” were all the same disease, for which he suggested the term dipntheritis, later substituting “dipnthérite”. He performed (pp. 300-38)…
GMN 5053 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/5849
1833 TROUSSEAU, Armand (1801 – 1867)
Mémoire sur un cas de trachéotomie pratiquée dans la période extréme de croup.
Trousseau popularized tracheotomy.
GMN 5054 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/5855
1856 ARETAEUS OF CAPPADOCIA, (Ἀρεταῖος Καππάδοκος) (80 – 140); ADAMS, Francis (1796 – 1861)
Тα ∑ωζομενα. The extant works of Aretaeus, the Cappadocian. Edited and translated by Francis Adams.
Aretaeus left many fine descriptions of disease; in fact Garrison ranks him second only to Hippocrates in this respect. In the printed editions of this bibliography, before the present online version, the Adams editio…
GMN 22 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/8934
1858 FOURGEAUD, Victor Jean (1817 – 1875)
Diphtheritis: A concise historical and critical essay on the late epidemic pseudo-membranous sore throat of California (1856-7), with a few remarks illustrating the diagnosis, pathology, and treatment of the disease.
For publishing this 46-page pamphlet Fourgeaud has been called "California's first medical historian." Digital facsimile from U.S. National Library of Medicine at this link.
GMN 12152 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/14362
1883 KLEBS, Theodor Albrecht Edwin (1834 – 1913)
Ueber Diphtherie.
First account of Corynebacterium diphtheriae (Klebs–Loeffler bacillus), causal organism in diphtheria, discovered by Klebs.
GMN 5055 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/5856
1884 LOEFFLER, Friedrich August Johann (1852 – 1915)
Untersuchungen über die Bedeutung der Mikroorganismen für die Entstehung der Diphtherie beim Menschen, bei der Taube und beim Kalbe.
Loeffler succeeded in cultivating C. diphtheriae, the diphtheria bacillus. He reproduced the characteristic membrane by swabbing the mucous membranes of various animals with pure cultures of the bacillus. In this pape…
GMN 5056 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/5859
1885 O’DWYER, Joseph P. (1841 – 1898)
Intubation of the larynx.
O’Dwyer perfected the operation of laryngeal intubation in croup.
GMN 5057 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/5861
1888 –1889 YERSIN, Alexandre Émile Jean (1863 – 1943); ROUX, Pierre Paul Émile (1853 – 1933)
Contribution a l’étude de la diphtérie.
Confirmation of the work of Loeffler and demonstration of the exotoxin. This work is the starting point of the development of an immunizing serum.
GMN 5059 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/5867
1890 BEHRING, Emil Adolf von (1854 – 1917); KITASATO, Shibasaburō (1852 – 1931)
Ueber das Zustandekommen der Diphtherie-Immunität und der Tetanus-Immunität bei Thieren.
Antitoxins and their immunizing powers were discovered when Behring and Kitasato published their paper dealing with immunity to tetanus and diphtheria. This work laid the foundation of all future treatment with antito…
GMN 2544 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/3562
1890 FRAENKEL, Carl (1861 – 1915)
Immunisirungsversuche bei Diphtherie.
Artificial immunity to diphtheria produced in guinea-pigs by injection of attenuated cultures of the bacillus. Fraenkel's account appeared one day before the paper of Behring and Kitasato. Behring, Die Geschichte der …
GMN 5060.1 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/5886
1891 FLEXNER, Simon (1863 – 1946); WELCH, William Henry (1850 – 1934)
The histological changes in experimental diphtheria.
An account of the pathological changes brought about by experimental inoculation of diphtheria toxins.
GMN 5061 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/5888
1893 BEHRING, Emil Adolf von (1854 – 1917)
Die Behandlung der Diphtherie mit Diphtherieheilserum.
In 1890 Behring and Kitasato discovered the diphtheria and tetanus antitoxins (see No. 5060). The above papers deal more fully with the use of the diphtheria antitoxin.
GMN 5062 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/5891
1894 ROUX, Pierre Paul Émile (1853 – 1933); MARTIN, André Louis François Justin (1853 – 1921)
Contribution à l’étude de la diphtérie (sérum thérapie).
Roux and Martin demonstrated the value of Behring’s specific antitoxin in the treatment of human diphtheria, and showed how it could be produced on a large scale.
GMN 5063 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/5893
1897 EHRLICH, Paul (1854 – 1915)
Die Wertbestimmung des Diphtherieheilserums.
Ehrlich improved Behring’s diphtheria antitoxin through quantitative titration and established an international standard for this and other antitoxins. This was the beginning of the concept of biological standardizati…
GMN 5064 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/5894
1908 SCHICK, Béla (1877 – 1967)
Kutanreaktion beil Impfung mit Diphtherietoxin.
The Schick test for the determination of susceptibility to diphtheria.
GMN 5065 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/5896
1913 SCHICK, Béla (1877 – 1967)
Die Diphtherietoxin – Hautreaktion des Menschen als Vorprobe der prophylaktischen Diphtherieheilseruminjektion.
Schick developed his test for use as an indication as to whether or not prophylactic injections of antitoxin are necessary in children already exposed to diphtheria. English translation in J. Mt. Sinai Hosp., 1938, 5,…
GMN 5066 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/5897
1913 BEHRING, Emil Adolf von (1854 – 1917)
Ueber ein neues Diphtherieschutzmittel.
Toxin–antitoxin for immunization against diphtheria.
GMN 5067 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/5899
1914 PARK, William Hallock (1863 – 1939); ET AL
Active immunization in diphtheria and treatment by toxin-antitoxin.
With A. Zingher and M. H. Serota. Park was an early advocate of diphtheria immunization with toxin-antitoxin. A second paper is in the same journal, 1915, 65, 2216-20.
GMN 5068 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/5900
1924 KASSOWITZ, Karl Erhard (1886 – 1978)
Ueber cutane Hautreaktion mittels Diphtherie-Toxin zum Nachweis der Diphtherie-Immunität.
The “scratch test”, a cutaneous reaction for determination of susceptibility to diphtheria.
GMN 5069 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/5907
1928 RAMON, Gaston Léon (1886 – 1963)
L’anatoxine diphtérique. Ses propriétés–ses applications.
In 1923 Ramon so modified the diphtheria toxin with formaldehyde that it lost its toxic properties while retaining its antigenic virtues. This modified “anatoxin” (toxoid) superseded toxin–antitoxin as an immunizing a…
GMN 5070 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/5909
1930 GLENNY, Alexander Thomas (1882 – 1965)
Insoluble precipitates in diphtheria and tetanus immunization.
Alum-precipitated toxoid for active immunization.
GMN 5071 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/5911
1931 ANDERSON, James Stirling (1891 – 1976); ET AL
On the existence of two forms of diphtheria bacillus B. diphtheria gravis and B. diphtheriae mitis.
J. S. Anderson, F. C. Happold, J. W. McLeod, and J. G. Thomson were the first to distinguish the gravis, mitis, and intermediate types of C. diphtheriae.
GMN 5072 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/5914
1948 OUCHTERLONY, Örjan Thomas Gunnersson (1914 – 2004)
In vitro method for testing the toxin-producing capacity of diphtheria bacteria.
Agar gel immunodiffusion.
GMN 2578.6 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/4143
1972 CAULFIELD, Ernest (1893 – 1972)
Disease and society in provincial Massachusetts: Collected accounts, 1736-1939.
Includes Caulfield's "A history of the terrible epidemic, vulgarly called the throat distemper, as it occurred in His Majesty's New England colonies between 1735 and 1740," Yale J Biol Med. 11 (1939) 219–272. availabl…
GMN 9189 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/11370
