What is it about?
The paper was prompted by wondering how John Snow's swollen hands may have contributed to his early death from kidney failire and stroke in 1844.
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Why is it important?
We have much to learn from the history of medicine and public health, and about the people who made important contributions to these fields. Snow was driven to carry out research and this led him to the dangerous practice of self-experimentation, in order to understand and control the effects of anesthetics. While being remembered for discovering that contaminated water was the cause of cholera, Snow's zeal for knowledge also led to his own early demise.
Perspectives
Snow was a brilliant scientist and clinician and a hero in the field of public health. He also took pains to lead a healthy life. He avoided alcohol, he distilled his own drinking water, and he walked several miles a day. Tragically, however, he was apparently unaware that his self-experimentation with anesthetic agents, aimed at making surgery painless, was destroying his kidneys, and this is what led to his swollen hands, kidney failure and early death.
Anthony Mawson
Jackson State University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: The hands of John Snow: clue to his untimely death?, Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, February 2009, BMJ,
DOI: 10.1136/jech.2008.082958.
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