23 – Bone Portraits

A darkened laboratory with an eerie green glow; a photograph of the bones of a woman’s hand published on the front pages of newspapers throughout the globe; mysterious rays that promise to change medicine forever but also cause horrific disease in their champions and pioneers. In this episode, called Bone Portraits, I tell the story of two men -- Wilhelm Roentgen, the discoverer of x-rays who would later win a Nobel Prize, and Clarence Dally, the first victim of x-ray radiation. Listen to the thrilling conclusion of our to part series on the dawn of diagnostic imaging! We’ve got all this, plus a double-header #AdamAnswers, in Episode 23 of Bedside Rounds, a tiny podcast about fascinating stories in clinical medicine.

Sources:

• Mahroo, et al. 'Dilatation' and 'dilation': trends in use on both sides of the Atlantic. Br J Ophthalmol. 2014 Jun;98(6):845-6. doi: 10.1136/bjophthalmol-2014-304986. Epub 2014 Feb 25.
• King, Gilbert. “Clarence Dally — The Man Who Gave Thomas Edison X-Ray Vision.” Smithsonian.com, March 14, 2012.
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• Dunlop, Orrin. Deleterious effects of X-rays on the human body. Electrical Review 1896;29:95
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• Brown, Percy. American martyrs to radiology. Clarence Madison Dally (1865-1904). 1936.
• Obrien, Frederick. In Memoriam: Percy Brown, MD. Radiology. December 1950
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• Sansare K, et al. Early victims of X-rays: a tribute and current perception. Dentomaxillofac Radiol. 2011 Feb;40(2):123-5.