Self-experimenters in medicine: heroes or fools? Part I. Pathogens

摘要

Human experimentation in medicine enjoys a long, and often dubious, history that dates back to antiquity. The question as to which humans would serve as the most appropriate subjects has also long been debated. It is recorded that two 16th century French physicians, while standing over the body of an impoverished savant, said in Latin, "Do your experiment on some cheap body." Although poverty-stricken, the savant apparently understood Latin well enough to quickly remove himself from the care of his doctors. Although many physicians did not subscribe to such sentiments, further atrocities involving human subjects would ultimately lead to the drafting and acceptance of the Nuremberg Code after World War II, which set ethical and legal standards on the practice of human experimentation.Throughout history, however, there were numerous scientists and physicians who did not believe in using "some cheap body," or another body for that matter, to conduct their studies. Instead, they decided to use themselves. The motivating factors to self-experiment were varied and ranged from stubborn arrogance, a desire for recognition, nationalistic pride, and, often, an altruistic and genuine desire to better the lives of others. Likewise, their objectives were also myriad. Overall, despite the motivation or objectives of these curious individuals, their results would leave a lasting and indelible impression on the face of modern medicine,influencing diverse fields such as dermatology, infectious disease, immunology, anesthesiology, cardiology, surgery, and oncology.The first of this two part series will focus on those scientists and physicians whose self-experimentation helped to elucidate various pathogenic organisms. The second essay will cover other self-experimenters, whose contributions added to the knowledge of anesthesia, medications, surgical techniques, vaccinations, and vitamin supplementation.