Medicine and health

A Red Cross worker in the United States, 1918

Spanish flu: the virus that changed the world

Women 'take the air' in an attempt to ward off the Spanish Flu

First World War

“Far too little, too late”: what happened when Spanish Flu hit Britain?

Mary Seacole is best known for her work during the Crimean War, where she cared for injured soldiers. But she was also well-known as a hotelier, traveller and author – a celebrity of the Victorian era. This is a contemporary painting of her

Mary Seacole: Victorian celebrity, joyful hotelier and Crimean nurse

Victorian surgeon Robert Liston during an operation

An appointment at the house of death: the horror of the early Victorian hospital

Margarette Lincoln reveals how a century that saw plague, fire, revolution and civil war transformed England’s capital. (Image by Getty Images)

17th-century London: a city shaped by catastrophe

A mother receives her newborn baby in a c1490 text written for Henry VII. Childbirth in the Middle Ages exposed both mother and child to great peril but, writes Elma Brenner, midwives had the expertise to intervene when complications arose. (Photo by Bridgeman)

The medieval childbirth guide: 6 tips for pregnant mothers in the Middle Ages

Elizabeth Blackwell, the first woman to receive a medical degree in the US

Elizabeth Blackwell: the pioneering ‘first female doctor’, who entered medicine to prove a point

Illustration of the Black Death from the Chroicles of Gilles Li Muisis (1272-1352), Abbaye Saint-Martin de Tournai (Photo by Alamy)

The Black Death: everything you wanted to know

Student nurse Dorothy Norris

A brief guide to the history of the NHS

Susan Cohen discusses the highs and lows of the NHS, from its creation in 1948 to the challenges it faces today. (Image by Getty Images)

The NHS: a brief history

Gareth Williams explores previous efforts to combat lethal diseases, from smallpox to polio. (Image by Getty Images)

The race for vaccines: lessons from history

Edward Jenner performs a vaccination, in an 1802 cartoon that lampoons the notion that being vaccinated will turn you into a cow

The race for a cure: how we found vaccines for 4 of history’s most dangerous diseases

(L to R) Isaac Newton, Henry VIII and Bal Gangadhar Tilak

How did people cope with ‘lockdowns’ of the past? And were they really all so productive?

19th century advert for snuff

Q&A What was snuff?

Edward Jenner

Q&A When did medical practitioners start to be called ‘doctor’?