November 11, 1973Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaHarry Raymond Eastlack dies of pneumonia Eastlack had a condition called fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP), also referred to as Stone Man Syndrome. FOP is a rare genetic disorder affecting approximately 1 in 2,000,000 births and shows very little evidence at birth aside from a malformation of the great toes. FOP causes the…
“Founder of transplantology” successfully joins two dogs in controversial transplant experiment
February 24, 1954 Moscow, Russia Vladimir Petrovich Demikhov successfully joins two dogs in a controversial transplant experiment Demikhov had previous experimented with dogs, trying to perfect organ transplant with hearts and lungs; his hope was to eventually perform successful organ transplants on humans. After completing several organ transplants, Demikhov began experimenting with creating two-headed dogs.…
Boy’s severed arm reattached, the first recorded successful reattachment of a completely severed arm
May 23, 1962 Boston, Massachusetts A team of doctors successfully reattach a boy’s severed arm, the first known successful procedure of reattaching a completely-severed limb Everett Knowles (12) had decided to try train hopping — the act of jumping into or onto a car of a moving train — “just once.” The practice had become…
Doctor attempts to weigh a soul
April 10, 1901 Massachusetts Dr. Duncan MacDougall begins several experiments on humans and animals to measure a soul’s weight MacDougall’s experiments on humans involved waiting patiently for nursing home patients to pass away naturally. As their time neared, the patients’ beds were placed on industrial scales and their weights carefully recorded before death and directly…
The death of the first diagnosed Alzheimer’s patient
April 8, 1906 Frankfurt, Germany Auguste Deter dies at 55 from sepsis resulting from bedsores Deter is best remembered as the first diagnosed Alzheimer's patient. One of her conversations with Dr. Alois Alzheimer which was recorded went: "What is your name?" "Auguste." "Family name?" "Auguste." "What is your husband's name?" she hesitates, finally answers: "I…
