June 6 – On This Day in Medical History

Medical milestones, landmark publications, and notable births and deaths associated with June 6.

Events

2000 – Wiese, Shlipak and Browner proposed the neologism “veisalgia” as a medicalised label for the alcohol hangover, combining Norwegian kveis (“uneasiness following debauchery”) with Greek algia (“pain/suffering”). A wonderfully hybrid, but etymologically chaotic, piece of medical wordplay that never quite became standard.


Births

1819 Ernst Wilhelm von Brücke (1819-1892), German-born, Austrian physiologist; described Brücke reflex and the Red Reflex (1845–1847)

1856Emil Samuel Perman (1856-1946), Swedish general surgeon; described Perman sign of acute appendicitis (1904)

1886Paul Dudley White (1886-1973), American cardiologist. Described Wolff–Parkinson–White syndrome (1930) and the McGinn-White pattern (1935)

1900Manfred Joshua Sakel (1900-1957), Austrian neuropsychiatrist; developed Insulin Coma Therapy (ICT) as a precursor to Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT)


Deaths

1921Heinrich Ernst Albers-Schönberg (1865-1921), German radiologist; described Albers-Schönberg disease (1904), Osteopoikilosis (1915) and invented Die Kompressionsblende (1903)


Further reading

BA MA (Oxon) MBChB (Edin) FACEM FFSEM. Emergency physician, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital. Passion for rugby; medical history; medical education; and asynchronous learning #FOAMed evangelist. Co-founder and CTO of Life in the Fast lane | On Call: Principles and Protocol 4e| Eponyms | Books |