Fascinating Medical History
8 Clips
From the 1918 Flu Pandemic to the horrific realities of Civil War-era medicine, these clips explore the history of disease and medical treatments.
Playlist
Was HIV Around Decades Before Anyone Noticed?
From: The Rise of the Killer Virus
- 3m 2s
- HD
Dr. Dirk Teuwen travels to the Congo to get tissue samples from the 1960s. If they test positive for HIV, we may be one step closer to discovering the devastating disease's origins.
How a Diphtheria Outbreak Spawned the Iditarod
From: Aerial America: Alaska's Call of the Wild
- 2m 30s
- HD
Each year, mushers drive a pack of 16 dogs through the rough wilderness between Anchorage and Nome in honor of a famous Alaska medical emergency.
Why the 1918 Spanish Flu Probably Didn't Originate in Spain
From: America's Hidden Stories: Pandemic 1918
- 4m
- HD
Despite its name, the Spanish Flu almost certainly didn't originate in Spain. In fact, it appears to have originated on the Midwestern prairies of Kansas.
Why the U.S. Was Distracted From Tackling the Spanish Flu
From: America's Hidden Stories: Pandemic 1918
- 3m 34s
- HD
By the summer of 1918, the Spanish Flu was claiming American casualties in the hundreds. But the U.S. government's official position was to not comment.
President Roosevelt's War on Polio
From: A Shot to Save the World
- 2m 19s
- HD
The March of Dimes was founded by President Roosevelt in 1938 in order to fund the development of a cure for polio - a disease he had himself.
How Disease Plundered the German Army Ranks
From: Apocalypse: The Second World War: Crushing Defeat
- 1m 52s
- HD
In the winter of 1941, Hitler's Wehrmacht trudges towards Moscow. But before they can face Stalin's Red Army, they must first battle an early cold front and rampant disease.
How Philadelphia City Officials Helped the Spanish Flu Take Hold
From: America's Hidden Stories: Pandemic 1918
- 1m 54s
- HD
In 1918, against the advice of health experts, the city of Philadelphia went ahead with a scheduled parade. Within weeks, the Spanish Flu had become a public health disaster, eventually killing over 15,000 people.
The Gruesome Reality of Civil War Medicine
From: Civil War 360: The Union
- 3m 3s
- HD
During the Civil War, battlefield injuries often meant infection, amputation, and surgeries performed by inexperienced doctors.
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