WEMJ Volume 117 No.4, December 2018

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all of our readers. In this issue there are three offerings. First is a short article from the editor in his series about Quacks and their Cures. This is quite a festive missive with a lovely picture of misteltoe. This is followed by an excellent article from Paul Main about Bristol's Hotwells and then a book review by Evelyn Smith. Enjoy!

WEMJ Vol 117 No 4  Article 1 December 2018 - Paul Goddard: Quacks and their Cures: A Curious herbal.  

Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell, the pioneering Bristol doctor, was not the first Blackwell involved in medicine. There was a previous Elizabeth Blackwell who assisted her husband, Alexander, an unqualified medical practitioner. They are famous for the publication of A Curious Herbal, a ground-breaking exposition on the use of herbal medicines which included the new plants from the Americas.

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WEMJ Vol 117 No 4 Article 2  Bristol  Medico-Historical  Society Proceedings - Paul Main: The Story of the Hotwell at Bristol

Two years ago I attended a course of lectures in London on the History of Medicine organised by the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries. It was suggested that the participants might like to do some research using primary sources and write a dissertation. Some of the lectures were given by medical doctors and some by professional historians. One historian said that doctors tended to be more interested in famous doctors and historians were more interested in patients 1. 

So I decided to research the patients who attended the Hotwell as it was just a stone’s throw from where I live

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WEMJ Volume 117 No. 4 Article 3  December 2018 - Book reviews 

An Approximately True Analysis of Fake News, Paul R Goddard ISBN    9781854570963  £7.50 Clinical Press Ltd. Bristol 2018, Reviewed by Evelyn Smith

This is Paul Goddard’s  latest book. The theme in this short book is very topical and covers a wide range   of subjects, including Historical Lies, Statistics and Science, Politics, Religion, as well as Purveyors of  Snake  Oil

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Welcome to the West of England Medical Journal. This is the online journal of the Bristol Medico Chirurgical Society. The journal was formerly known as the Bristol Medico Chirurgical Journal and was first published in 1883.

This is a general medical journal and is available for everybody to read online. To access the issue please click on the link in the column to the left of this introduction.

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