The pioneers of endoscopy and the sword swallowers

Adolf Kussmaul drew inspiration from an unlikely source to further the development of endoscopy… The early pioneers of airway endoscopy and oesophagoscopy were bedevilled by two major and seemingly insurmountable problems. One was the paucity of light sources, with reliance...

Andrew Foster and deaf education

This article examines the career of deaf African American, Andrew Foster, and his contribution to deaf education in Sub-Saharan Africa. The history of medicine has often been guilty of attributing great revolutions to a single person (usually a white man)...

Sushruta and Indian rhinoplasty

Vijay Pothula explains rhinoplasty’s roots in ancient Indian Ayurvedic medicine, and how it was introduced to the Western world. In 1794 The Gentleman’s Magazine published a surgical operation which was long established in India but unknown in Europe [1]. A...

The Ewings and paediatric audiology

Medical historian, Laura Dawes, discusses how Irene and Alexander Ewing were instrumental in shaping paediatric audiology in the first half of the 20th century. Irene and Alexander Ewing were the power couple of audiology in the UK in the mid-20th...

Edith Whetnall’s contribution to ENT and audiology 1910-1965

Sue Archbold reviews the fascinating life of Edith Whetnall and traces her influence on audiology from the mid-20th century to today’s practices. It’s a pleasure to be asked to write about Edith Whetnall for this edition of ENT & Audiology...