This Medical Life
च्यानल विवरणहरू
This Medical Life
Welcome to the This Medical Life podcast. Our mission is to share stories about the triumphs and tragedies of diseases and illnesses from ancient times up until what we know today. It is about those scientific and medical minds who came before us and how, every single day, we stand on the shoulders...
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136 एपिसोडहरू
Episode 91: Sleep Apnoea | Pickwickian Syndrome
Charles Dicken’s first novel has an adolescent boy named Joe who was overweight and always sleepy. He could fall asleep at any time, even during meals...
Episode 90: Chronic Kidney Disease (Part 2) | Diabetes, Hypertension & Avoiding The Rotating Drum Kidney
Willem J Kolff was an intern when he saw a 22 year old man die of kidney failure. He realised that the patient’s life could have been saved if his blo...
Episode 89: Chronic Kidney Disease (Part 1) | The Bright Side Of Urine
One in 10 Australians over the age of 18 years are living with signs of Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) with the number of patients needing treatment for...
Episode 88: Intimate Partner Violence | Permission To Ask And Listen
The statistics of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) and Domestic Violence prevalence are staggering. 1 in 6 adult women and 1 in 16 adult men have exper...
Episode 87: Oral Cancer | Smokes For Nothin’ And HPV For Free
Oral cancer was a fatal disease even into the twentieth century. Patients required extensive surgery and often had a painful recovery or went into pal...
Episode 86: Vitamin B12 | Solving The Pernicious Anaemia Mystery
The first medical description of pernicious anaemia is from 1821. It is written by Dr James Combe and describes a previously well 47 year old corn-mer...
Episode 85: Lung Cancer Screening | Search For The 30 Pack-Years
One of the most difficult cancers to detect early has been lung cancer. Patients often present with advanced disease that and can often be fatal.
Episode 84: Prostate Cancer | Donald Gleason’s Legacy
In 1966, the Chief of Urology asked the Chief of Pathology at the Minneapolis VA Hospital to develop a system to communicate the results of prostate c...
Episode 83: Breast Augmentation | Risks and Myths
Over the last 100 years, numerous types of implants (i.e. ivory, glass, wool) and injections (i.e. epoxy resin, beeswax, paraffin) have been used in a...
Episode 82: Pharmacogenomics | Personalised medicines
The interplay between genetics and medications is important but complex. Pharmacogenomic testing provides doctors with information about how individua...
Episode 81: Familial Adenomatous Polyposis (FAP)
In 1924, a surgeon and a pathologist had a conversation about some patients with multiple bowel polyps. The pathologist, Dr Cuthbert Dukes, and the su...
Episode 80: Epilepsy | Moonstruck
We have come a long way in our understanding of epilepsy and seizures.
Historically, epilepsy was associated with possession and demonic forces....
Episode 79 Hand Pathology | Osteoarthritis, Ganglion Cysts, And Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
It is evident from paintings that Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo suffered some form of underlying hand pathologies. These have been the focus of d...
Episode 78: Hyponatraemia | Sodium Solutions
Hyponatraemia, the most common electrolyte disturbance in clinical medicine, is often subtle but can be serious.
In this episode, we trace the s...
Episode 77: Burkitt Lymphoma | Into The Archives
In 1958, Dr Denis Burkitt was working in Uganda when he saw multiple children with large and aggressive jaw tumours. He had never seen anything like t...
Episode 76: Osteoporosis | Blasts And Clasts
Osteoporosis is a disease that takes years and even decades to develop. Up to 40% of post-menopausal women are affected who have a lifetime risk of fr...
Episode 75: Ancient DNA | Humans and Neanderthals
Recent genetics studies have shown that ancient Humans and Neanderthals coexisted around 50,000 years ago for approximately 7,000 years. There is evid...
Episode 74: The Story Of Stories
And we’re back for 2025. We thought we’d ease into this season with some medical stories. From the Manhattan project and the demon core to the inspira...
Episode 73: Colorectal Cancer (CRC) | Part 3: Management
Patients with colorectal cancer often have their diagnosis, treatment, and care discussed at a regular multidisciplinary team meeting. This includes:...
Episode 72: Colorectal Cancer (CRC) | Part 2: Diagnosis
The lifetime risk for colorectal cancer is 1 in 23 men and 1 in 25 women. Detecting and diagnosing cancer is a critical step in managing a patient’s h...
Episode 71: Colorectal Cancer (CRC) | Part 1: Screening
Colorectal cancer accounts for ~10% of all new cancer diagnoses. Fortunately, over the last three decades, the 5 year patient survival has increased f...
Episode 70: Understanding Troponin | As Serious As A Heart Attack
Troponin is a protein found in heart muscle that was a game changer when it came to diagnosing heart attacks and myocardial injury in the late 1990s....
Episode 100 Well Kinda | Historical autopsy of Oscar Wilde
Our eagle-eyed This Medical Life podcast listeners will wonder why we have called this episode 100 … is that right?
Well, it kinda is.
Episode 68: Janine Watson | Taking The Challenge Head On
Throughout history, humanity has been captivated by heroes overcoming immense challenges—from ancient legends to modern Marvel icons.
In...
Episode 67 - Season 5 Reflection And Highlights
In this episode, Steve Davis and Dr. Travis Brown reflect on the journey through Series 5 of This Medical Life.
From discussing the impa...
Episode 66 - Thyroid Lumps | The Good, The Bad, And The Nodules - Part Two
Thyroid lumps have always been with us. Often referred to as goitres (interpreted from Latin to mean neck swelling), numerous ancient medical sources...
Episode 65: Thyroid Lumps | The Good, The Bad, And The Nodules - Part One
Thyroid lumps have always been with us. Often referred to as goitres (interpreted from Latin to mean neck swelling), numerous ancient medical sources...
Episode 64: Pregnancy And Epilepsy | Dispelling The Myths
A common myth about epilepsy is that women who suffer from this condition should avoid getting pregnant. This is simply not true. It can be safely man...
Episode 63: Tonsillectomies | To excise or not to excise
Tonsillectomies are one of the most common operations both today and historically, however, it has always been mired in controversy. In ancient times,...
Episode 62: Lactose intolerance | Udderly unbearable
Over two-thirds of the world’s population lose the ability to metabolise during their lifetime (the majority during childhood). We know today that lac...
Episode 61: Pelvic Pain And Endometriosis | More Than The Black Spots
Pelvic pain is a difficult and challenging medical condition for both patients and doctors. It can be debilitating for women that can begin as a teena...
Episode 60: Vitamin B6 | ViB6ranium
Vitamin B6 is a common additive in supplements, energy drinks and breakfast cereals. In rare circumstances though, it can reach levels toxic levels an...
Episode 59: Scleroderma | Arboreal Integument
Scleroderma is a disease characterised by the hardening and tightening of the skin and connective tissues. The first medical description can be traced...
Episode 58: Ticking the spotted fever box | Rickettsia
In 1901, the state of Montana organised for scientists and doctors to investigate a mysterious illness from the Bitterroot Valley called ‘Black measle...
Episode 57: Fantastic Faeces and Where to find pathogens | Metapanel
Our understanding of infectious disease and pathology stems from the 19th century with Robert Koch pioneering research. Dr Koch help to shaped modern...
Episode 56: The Iron-Clad Chronicles | Iron Studies
In episode 56 of This Medical Life, Dr Travis Brown and Steve Davis delve into the critical topic of iron studies, with a special focus on iron defici...
Episode 55: Pomegranate Health | Fighting The Good Fight
In this episode we delve into the nuanced world of the Pomegranate Health podcast with our guest, Mic Cavazzini. Pomegranate Health, a creation of the...
Episode 54: Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) | Advocacy And Prevention, Part 2
In Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) Part 1, we learned that CTE is a neurodegenerative disease caused by repetitive cumulative brain injury. Pat...
Episode 53: Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) | The Disease, Part 1
In 2005, Dr Bennet Omalu would publish a report in the United States on the autopsy brain findings of a former professional footballer from the NFL. H...
Episode 52 : This Medical Life Podcast Now With CPD
We begin this year with one of the most important topics for General Practitioners in 2024: what are the Continuous Professional Development requireme...