Polio and TB: diseases causing disability in Britain in the 1900s
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Bibliography
A Borsay and P Shapely (eds.), Medicine, charity and mutual aid : The consumption of health and welfare in Britain, c.1550-1950 (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2007)
T Dormandy, The White Death: A History of Tuberculosis (London: The Hambledon Press, 1999)
T Gould, A Summer Plague: Polio and its Survivors (London: Yale University Press, 1995)
A Hardy, 'Poliomyelitis and the Neurologists: The View from England, 1896-1966' Bulletin of the History of Medicine, 71.2 (1997), pp 249-272
S Humphries and P Gordon, Out of sight: The experience of Disability, 1900-1950 (Plymouth: Northcote House, 1992)
Glossary:
Tuberculosis
An infectious disease that is caused by a bacterium first identified by Robert Koch in 1882. The disease usually affects the lungs first, and is accompanied by a chronic cough.
Polio
An infectious disease affecting the central nervous system. Affected individuals can exhibit a range of symptoms if the polio virus enters the blood stream.
Plaster
A term that refers to a variety of protective coverings or dressings.
Splint
A rigid device of plastic, wood or plaster that serves to immobilize or support an injury. Generally strapped alongside an injured limb.
Epidemic
A sudden widespread occurance of an infection with high numbers of people affected.