Accidental Medical Discoveries – New Series
Truly, much (if not most) of what we do in medicine has had its roots in shear GUTS, DETERMINATION, OCD behavior, STUBBORNESS and… absolute SERENDIPITY! Don’t just take my word for it, ask their discoverers or inventors – accidental medical discoveries.
When I think back on it, to me it’s sheer mind-boggling! I wrote about a few of them, but soon realized these posts need to be put in a series so they can be noticed and thought about.
That’s what the posts listed below are: a list of fifteen or more discoveries which: 1- clearly changed the way the entire practice of medicine worked; 2- benefited all of humanity; and 3- nearly all of humanity has already heard about, but probably dismissed as commonplace.
If you don’t believe me, just think of these words: penicillin, diabetes, pacemakers, X-Ray, ulcer and… Viagra. Got’cha, right? And these are just a few. Read on!
4 Posts in "Accidental Discoveries" Series
- Accidental Discoveries: Intro/Index – 2 Mar 2018
I have to say that the discoveries this series of posts cover are near miraculous. Truly sheer guts, determination, grit, OCD behavior and… let's just say it… sheer accidental luck! Yet they're here and humankind are better off because of them: the Accidental Medical Discoveries Curated Series of posts - Part 1: Microscopes, Vaccination, Anesthesia, Bacteria Cultures, Viagra – 3 Mar 2018
It's mind-boggling just how many MAJOR discoveries in medicine, indeed all science, are attributed BY THEIR INVENTORS to mear, schmear LUCK! To name just a few: here are the first five (of at least twelve) I can think of. Microscopes, Vaccination, Anesthesia, cultures of bacteria and… Viagra. - Part 2: Penicillin, Warfarin, Eye Lens, Benzodiazepines, Interventional Radiology, Ulcers – 13 Mar 2018
The path to a medical discovery is anything but "straight and narrow"! More than any scientist likes to believe or talk about, these "discoveries" take the scenic route. Such was the case with penicillin, anti-coagulants, replacement eye lenses, anti-anxiety drugs, heart surgery and ulcer treatment. Many invented in time to save lives during war. - Part 3: X-Rays, PAPs, Pacemakers, Rogaine, Antabuse, Pancreas-Diabetes – 15 Mar 2018
It's amazing no one was actually killed when these things were invented! From a device which was supposed to record the heart but instead accidentally sparked; to double-dealing by a pharmaceutical company and filing a police report. X-Rays, vaginal cancer, hair growth, alcoholism treatment and the diabetes–pancreas relation. These all had to be "the-grace-of-God" discoveries.
If you’d like to know more about medical discoveries, I’ve written posts about many important physicians throughout time in a large continuing series.