Photography

Early-20th-Century Haunting Portraits of Dr. Harvey Cushing’s Surgery Patients

Dr Harvey Surgery Patient 1
Yale University’s Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library

Dr. Cushing, who also performed some of the first successful brain surgery, was a pioneer in neuroscience. The first effective electro-cautery device and the first use of x-rays to identify brain malignancies were developed by him.

The striking, sometimes unsettling photographs portray patients before and after Dr. Harvey Cushing (1869–1939) surgery. About 10,000 black and white pictures were taken between 1900 and 1932 to chronicle medical issues and may have been part of patients’ medical records. Unknown photographers took the photos.

h/t: vintag,es

Dr Harvey Surgery Patient 2
Yale University’s Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library

Dr Harvey Surgery Patient 3
Yale University’s Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library

Dr Harvey Surgery Patient 4
Yale University’s Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library

Dr Harvey Surgery Patient 5
Yale University’s Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library

Dr Harvey Surgery Patient 6
Yale University’s Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library

Dr Harvey Surgery Patient 7
Yale University’s Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library

Dr Harvey Surgery Patient 8
Yale University’s Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library

Dr Harvey Surgery Patient 9
Yale University’s Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library

Dr Harvey Surgery Patient 10
Yale University’s Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library

Dr Harvey Surgery Patient 11
Yale University’s Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library

Dr Harvey Surgery Patient 12
Yale University’s Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library

Dr Harvey Surgery Patient 13
Yale University’s Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library

Dr Harvey Surgery Patient 14
Yale University’s Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library

Dr Harvey Surgery Patient 15
Yale University’s Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library

Dr Harvey Surgery Patient 16
Yale University’s Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library

Dr Harvey Surgery Patient 17
Yale University’s Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library

Dr Harvey Surgery Patient 18
Yale University’s Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library

Dr Harvey Surgery Patient 19
Yale University’s Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library

Dr Harvey Surgery Patient 20
Yale University’s Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library

Dr Harvey Surgery Patient 21
Yale University’s Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library

Dr Harvey Surgery Patient 22
Yale University’s Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library

Dr Harvey Surgery Patient 23
Yale University’s Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library

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