Regina Salomea Rusiecki (later Pilsztynowa) was a young, poorly educated Polish Catholic woman in the 18th century who became well known in Eastern Europe and the Ottoman Empire because of her skill in the treatment of cataracts and some other medical problems. She was born in 1718, and at the age of 14 she married an experienced, but significantly older, German Lutheran physician and ophthalmologist, Jakob Halpir. By helping him eagerly in his work, Pilsztynowa learned a great deal of her husband's way of treating cataracts and other ailments, and she ambitiously made use of the friendship and help of other physicians whom she met on her travels.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe question of why Hephaestus, the Greek god of smiths, limped has been the subject of much debate, mainly on mythological grounds. This debate extended also into the field of medical diagnosis, with attempts at defining the nature of the deformity that made the crippled Hephaestus the buffoon of the other Olympic gods. One problem encountered in these debates was the changes to which the ugly young Hephaestus was subjected with the passing of time-from a limping deformed youth to the later dignified and normal man.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF