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ENT and the Titanic

One otolaryngologist who perished on the ill-fated voyage of the RMS Titanic on 15 April 1912 was Dr Ernest Moraweck, a prominent physician with an interest in ENT (and ophthalmology), living in Frankfort, Kentucky, USA [1]. Moraweck was an inventive...

Themistocles Gluck – the true father of laryngectomy

Most head and neck surgeons and ENT-specialists may know that the first laryngectomy for cancer was performed by Billroth on 31 December 1873. Billroth´s assistant, Vincenz Czerny, had outlined the operation in experimental surgery on dogs in 1870. Three years...

From Hippocrates to COVID-19: sniffing out the disease

The ancient Greek physician, Hippocrates, used the ‘art of smell’ to diagnose diseases around 400BC. He also formulated miasmatic theory, which posited that disease is caused by bad smells. Bad air was strongly believed by many physicians to be the...

Vicarious (nasal) menstruation

Hippocrates himself is known to have said that when a woman’s menses are due, but instead of the usual vaginal menstrual flow, she has a haemorrhage from the nose, then this is a sure sign of pregnancy [1]. Artist’s impression...

The Indian method: Sushruta’s influence on modern nasal reconstruction

Ancient Indian medicine, as documented in the Sushruta Samhita, contains one of the earliest known references to nasal reconstruction, including surgical techniques still resembling modern practices. (The Sanskrit word ‘Samhita’ is used to define a collection of written work, similar...

High intensity, high impact: tackling waiting lists one HIT at a time

A monthly high intensity theatre list in Sheffield shows how smart planning, teamwork and focus can dramatically reduce long ENT waiting lists. Finally, after many years of training, I’ve started my first consultant post – only to become part of...