Unsexing gonorrhoea: Bacteriologists, gynaecologists, and suffragists in Britain, 1860-1920

Social History of Medicine

Volumn 17, Issue 1, 2004, Pages 41-59

  Worboys, Michael ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

Bacteriology; Gonorrhoea; Great Britain; Gynaecology; Midwifery; Nineteenth century; Suffrage movement; Twentieth century; Venereal diseases

Indexed keywords

EID: 4043101734     PISSN: 0951631X     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1093/shm/17.1.41     Document Type: Review

References (120)

1. R. S. Morton, Gonorrhoea (New York, 1977), pp. 21-5. The micro-organism is now known as Neisserai gonorrhoeas.
2. Koch's postulates for demonstrating the bacterial aetiology of a communicable disease are: that a specific micro-organism must be shown to be constantly present in diseased tissue; that the specific organism must be grown and isolated in pure culture; that the pure culture must produce the disease when inoculated into a healthy animal; and finally, that the pathogenic micro-organism has to be recovered from the infected animal and produced again in pure culture. T. D. Brock, Robert Koch: A Life in Medicine and Bacteriology (Madison, 1988), pp. 179-82.
3. R. A. Aronowitz, Making Sense of Illness: Science, Society and Disease (Cambridge, 1998), pp. 7-10.
4. This section is based on J. E. Erichsen, The Science and Art of Surgery (London, 1861, 1869, and 1877 edns.); T. Holmes (ed.), A System of Surgery, vols 1-4 (London, 1864); F. J. Gant, The Principles of Surgery (London, 1864).
5. This section is based on J. E. Erichsen, The Science and Art of Surgery (London, 1861, 1869, and 1877 edns.); T. Holmes (ed.), A System of Surgery, vols 1-4 (London, 1864); F. J. Gant, The Principles of Surgery (London, 1864).
6. This section is based on J. E. Erichsen, The Science and Art of Surgery (London, 1861, 1869, and 1877 edns.); T. Holmes (ed.), A System of Surgery, vols 1-4 (London, 1864); F. J. Gant, The Principles of Surgery (London, 1864).
7. Erichsen, Science and Art (1869 edn), p. 626.
8. C. Lawrence, Medical Theory, Surgical Practice (London, 1992), pp. 1-41.
9. Copaiba and cubebs were plant-based remedies used as balsams to aid healing and ease pain.
10. C. R. Drysdale, Syphilis: Its Nature and Treatment, with a Chapter on Gonorrhoea (London, 1872), p. 24.
11. Holmes (ed.), System of Surgery, vol. 4 (1864), p. 634.
12. In 1881, J. R. Lane stated that the sequelae of gonorrhoea in women were 'trifling'. Report of the Select Committee on the Contagious Diseases Acts, Minutes of Evidence and Appendix, British Parliamentary Papers (P. P.), 1881 (351) viii, paras. 2688, 2697.
13. B. Hill, Syphilis and Local Contagious Disorders (London, 1868), p. 452.
14. V. Bullough and M. Voght, 'Women, Menstruation, and Nineteenth-century Medicine', Bulletin of the History of Medicine, 47 (1973), 66-82.
15. British Medical Journal (BMJ), 2 (1881), 656.
16. Erichsen, Science and Art, vol. 2 (1877 edn), p. 872.
17. Drysdale, Syphilis, p. 24.
18. T. Holmes and J. W. Hulke (eds), A System of Surgery, vol. 3 (London, 1883), pp. 376-8.
19. J. Walkowitz, Prostitution and Victorian Society: Women, Class and the State (Cambridge, 1980), p. 54.
20. Contagious Diseases Returns, 1864-1883, P.P., 1897 (217) liv, p. 503.
21. Ibid., Appendix C, p. 832.
22. Ibid., Appendix C, p. 921.
23. E. Noeggerath, Die Latente Gonorrhöe im Weiblchhen Geschlecht (Bonn, 1872).
24. E. Noeggerath, 'Latent Gonorrhoea, especially with Regard to its Influence on Fertility in Women', Transactions of the American Gynaecological Society, 1 (1876), 268-300.
25. O. Moscucci, The Science of Woman: Gynaecology and Gender in England, 1800-1929 (Cambridge, 1990).
26. A. Macdonald, 'Latent Gonorrhoea in the Female Sex, with Special Relation to the Puerperal State', Edinburgh Medical Journal, 18 (1873), 1086-104.
27. Ibid., pp. 1103-4.
28. L. Tait, The Diseases of Women (Birmingham, 1877), p. 211.
29. In a later publication, Tait directly supported Noeggerath and Macdonald; see L. Tait, Diseases of Women and Abdominal Surgery, vol. 1 (Leicester, 1889), p. 402. Cf. J. Thorburn, 'Latent Gonorrhoea as an Impediment to Marriage", BMJ, 2 (1877), 259. This observation was repeated in all editions from 1887 to 1888. Erichsen, Science and Art, Vol. 2 (1877 edn), p. 884.
30. In a later publication, Tait directly supported Noeggerath and Macdonald; see L. Tait, Diseases of Women and Abdominal Surgery, vol. 1 (Leicester, 1889), p. 402. Cf. J. Thorburn, 'Latent Gonorrhoea as an Impediment to Marriage", BMJ, 2 (1877), 259. This observation was repeated in all editions from 1887 to 1888. Erichsen, Science and Art, Vol. 2 (1877 edn), p. 884.
31. In a later publication, Tait directly supported Noeggerath and Macdonald; see L. Tait, Diseases of Women and Abdominal Surgery, vol. 1 (Leicester, 1889), p. 402. Cf. J. Thorburn, 'Latent Gonorrhoea as an Impediment to Marriage", BMJ, 2 (1877), 259. This observation was repeated in all editions from 1887 to 1888. Erichsen, Science and Art, Vol. 2 (1877 edn), p. 884.
32. H. Lee, 'Gonorrhoea', in Holmes and Hulke (eds), System of Surgery, p. 391.
33. B. Hill and A. Cooper, A Student's Manual of Venereal Diseases (London, 1886), p. 91.
34. B. Ryan, 'On the Communicability of the Gonorrhoeal Virus', Medical Times, 2 (1851), 462; D. Campbell Black, 'On Certain Points in the Pathology and Treatment of Gonorrhoea', BMJ, 1 (1870), 405.
35. B. Ryan, 'On the Communicability of the Gonorrhoeal Virus', Medical Times, 2 (1851), 462; D. Campbell Black, 'On Certain Points in the Pathology and Treatment of Gonorrhoea', BMJ, 1 (1870), 405.
36. C. Gradmann, 'Geschichte als Naturwissenschaft: Ernst Hallier und Emil du Bois-Reymond als Kulturhistoriker', Medizinhistorisches Journal, 35 (2000), 31-54.
37. J. H. Salisbury, 'Descriptions of Two New Algoid Vegetations, One of which Appears to be the Specific Cause of Syphilis and the Other of Gonorrhoea', American Joumal of Medical Science, 55 (1868), 17-25.
38. In the early 1880s, Cheyne and Lister were in dispute with Alexander Ogston over the role of micrococci in wound infections and septic diseases. Cheyne maintained that only bacteria caused disease and that micrococci were harmless. See M. Worboys, Spreading Germs: Disease Theories and Medical Practice in Britain, 1865-1900 (Cambridge, 2000), pp. 156-64.
39. W. W. Cheyne, 'On the Abortive Treatment of Gonorrhoea', BMJ, 2 (1882), 175-7, 213-5.
40. C. B. Keetley, 'The Treatment of Gonorrhoea and Greet', BMJ, 2 (1880), p. 349. See also C. B. Keetley, Index of Surgery (London, 1881), p. 136.
41. C. B. Keetley, 'The Treatment of Gonorrhoea and Greet', BMJ, 2 (1880), p. 349. See also C. B. Keetley, Index of Surgery (London, 1881), p. 136.
42. W. J. Sinclair, 'Gonorrhoea in Women', Medical Chronicle, 6 (1887), 110-28, 177-92, 266-81, 353-71, 441-54; and ibid., 7 (1887-8), 1-18.
43. W. J. Sinclair, 'Gonorrhoea in Women', Medical Chronicle, 6 (1887), 110-28, 177-92, 266-81, 353-71, 441-54; and ibid., 7 (1887-8), 1-18.
44. E. Bumm, Der Mikro-Organismus der gonorrhoischen Schleimhaut-Erkrankungen 'Gonococcus-Neisser': nach Untersuchungen beim Weibe und an der Conjunctiva der Neugeborenen (Wiesbaden, 1885).
45. G. Bantock, 'On the Importance of Gonorrhoea as a cause of Inflammation of the Pelvis Organs', BMJ, l (1891), 749-51, p. 750. George Grenville Bantock was a surgeon at the Samaritan Free Hospital, who claimed to have better results with his hygienic, soap and water methods than his Listerian colleague, Thomas Spencer Wells. Moscucci, Science of Woman, pp. 154, 175.
46. G. Bantock, 'On the Importance of Gonorrhoea as a cause of Inflammation of the Pelvis Organs', BMJ, l (1891), 749-51, p. 750. George Grenville Bantock was a surgeon at the Samaritan Free Hospital, who claimed to have better results with his hygienic, soap and water methods than his Listerian colleague, Thomas Spencer Wells. Moscucci, Science of Woman, pp. 154, 175.
47. Ibid., 750.
48. C. R. Drysdale, The Contagium of Gonorrhoea', Medical Press, 2 (1882), 391-2; idem, 'Compound Gonorrhoeal Infection', BMJ, 2 (1888), 1299.
49. C. R. Drysdale, The Contagium of Gonorrhoea', Medical Press, 2 (1882), 391-2; idem, 'Compound Gonorrhoeal Infection', BMJ, 2 (1888), 1299.
50. Editorial, 'Latent Gonorrhoea in Women', BMJ, 2 (1888), 190. See also London Medical Recorder, 1 (1888), 4-6.
51. Editorial, 'Latent Gonorrhoea in Women', BMJ, 2 (1888), 190. See also London Medical Recorder, 1 (1888), 4-6.
52. N. Senn, Surgical Bacteriology (Edinburgh, 1889), pp. 235-46.
53. On Sternberg's work on gonococci, see London Medical Record, 13 (1885), 110.
54. A. J. Pepper, 'Gonorrhoea', in F. Treves, A Manual of Surgery (London, 1892), pp. 280-1.
55. R. Quain (ed.), A Dictionary of Medicine (London, 1894), p. 787.
56. G. Luys, A Textbook of Gonorrhoea and its Complications, trans. by A. Forrester (London, 1913); D'A Power and J. Keogh Murphy, A System of Syphilis (London, 1914).
57. G. Luys, A Textbook of Gonorrhoea and its Complications, trans. by A. Forrester (London, 1913); D'A Power and J. Keogh Murphy, A System of Syphilis (London, 1914).
58. E. Blake and E. B. Shuldham, 'Latest Continental Views Concerning the Gonococcus and Allied Organisms', Medical Press, 1 (1890), 655-7; ibid., 2 (1890), 3-6.
59. E. Blake and E. B. Shuldham, 'Latest Continental Views Concerning the Gonococcus and Allied Organisms', Medical Press, 1 (1890), 655-7; ibid., 2 (1890), 3-6.
60. W. J. Sinclair, 'Diagnosis of Gonorrhoeal Infection in Women', Lancet, 1 (1890), 1244.
61. J. Hutchinson, 'Gonorrhoea', in F. Treves (ed.), A System of Surgery (London, 1895), 433.
62. W. Rose and A. Carless, A Manual of Surgery for Students and Practitioners (London, 1898), p. 561.
63. W. W. Cheyne and F. F. Burghard, A Manual of Surgical Treatment (London, 1903), p. 373.
64. In 1901, the Clinical Research Association charged 5s. 0d. for a report on gonococci in a specimen, double that for Tubercle bacilli sputum test. The Clinical Research Association Handbook (London, 1901), p. 22.
65. A. Brandt, No Magic Bullet: A Social History of Venereal Disease in the United States Since 1880 (New York, 1985).
66. W. J. Sinclair, Gonorrhoea in Women, On Gonorrhoeal Infection in Women (London, 1888).
67. Anon., 'Latent Gonorrhoea', p. 190.
68. British Gynaecological Journal, 4 (1888-9), p. 121.
69. Hill and Cooper, Student's Manual, pp. 90-3.
70. Bantock, 'On the Importance', 749-51.
71. Sinclair replied to Bantock indirectly, speculating on why 'the bias produced by emotion' was more powerful in gynaecology than other areas of medicine. W. J. Sinclair, 'The Influence of Prejudice and Criticism in the Progress of Gynaecology', Transactions of the North of England Obstetrical and Gynaecological Society (1893), 126-45.
72. F. J. McCann, 'The Aetiology of Gonorrhoea', Transactions of the Obstetrical Society of London, 38 (1896), 251-2.
73. D. McKeown, 'The Prevention of Ophthalmia Neonatorum and of its Ravages', Transactions of the Obstetrical Society of London (hereafter TOSL), 27 (1885), 2749-57. See also TOSL, 35 (1893), 71-92; 43 (1903), 337-63.
74. D. McKeown, 'The Prevention of Ophthalmia Neonatorum and of its Ravages', Transactions of the Obstetrical Society of London (hereafter TOSL), 27 (1885), 2749-57. See also TOSL, 35 (1893), 71-92; 43 (1903), 337-63.
75. D. McKeown, 'The Prevention of Ophthalmia Neonatorum and of its Ravages', Transactions of the Obstetrical Society of London (hereafter TOSL), 27 (1885), 2749-57. See also TOSL, 35 (1893), 71-92; 43 (1903), 337-63.
76. 'Readings in the History of Gonorrhoea, II', Medical Life, 39 (1932), 525-88.
77. E. Jones, 'Ophthalmia Neonatorum', BMJ, l (1881), 345.
78. L. Bland, 'Cleansing the Portals of Life: The Venereal Disease Campaign in the Early Twentieth Century', in M. Langan and B. Schwanz (eds), Crises in the British State, 1880-1930 (London, 1985), 192-208.
79. L. Bland, 'The Married Woman, the New Woman and the Feminist: Sexual Politics in the 1890s', in J. Rendall (ed.), Equal or Different: Women's Politics, 1800-1914 (London, 1987), 141-64.
80. P. A. Morrow, Social Diseases and Marriage (New York, 1904).
81. BMJ, l (1904), 1488; Lancet, 2 (1904), 380.
82. BMJ, l (1904), 1488; Lancet, 2 (1904), 380.
83. L. Martindale, Under the Surface (Brighton, 1910). The publication of the first edition coincided with a new American book on the disease in women; P. Findley, Gonorrhoea in Women (St Louis, 1908).
84. L. Martindale, Under the Surface (Brighton, 1910). The publication of the first edition coincided with a new American book on the disease in women; P. Findley, Gonorrhoea in Women (St Louis, 1908).
85. L. Martindale, A Woman Surgeon (London, 1951).
86. C.-E. A. Winslow, The Conquest of Epidemic Disease (Madison, 1943), pp. 337-46; J. W. Leavitt, Typhoid Mary: Captive to the Public Health (Boston, 1996).
87. C.-E. A. Winslow, The Conquest of Epidemic Disease (Madison, 1943), pp. 337-46; J. W. Leavitt, Typhoid Mary: Captive to the Public Health (Boston, 1996).
88. F. Ivens, 'The Incidence of Gonorrhoea on Gynaecological Hospital Practice', BMJ, 1 (1909), 1476-8.
89. Luys, Textbook of Gonorrhoea; C. C. Morris, Gonorrhoea in Women (London, 1913); D. Watson, Gonorrhoea and its Complications in the Male and the Female (London, 1914); C. E. Pollock and L. W. Harrison, Gonoccocal Infections (London, 1913).
90. Luys, Textbook of Gonorrhoea; C. C. Morris, Gonorrhoea in Women (London, 1913); D. Watson, Gonorrhoea and its Complications in the Male and the Female (London, 1914); C. E. Pollock and L. W. Harrison, Gonoccocal Infections (London, 1913).
91. Luys, Textbook of Gonorrhoea; C. C. Morris, Gonorrhoea in Women (London, 1913); D. Watson, Gonorrhoea and its Complications in the Male and the Female (London, 1914); C. E. Pollock and L. W. Harrison, Gonoccocal Infections (London, 1913).
92. Luys, Textbook of Gonorrhoea; C. C. Morris, Gonorrhoea in Women (London, 1913); D. Watson, Gonorrhoea and its Complications in the Male and the Female (London, 1914); C. E. Pollock and L. W. Harrison, Gonoccocal Infections (London, 1913).
93. J. E. Ross and S. M. Tomkins, 'The British Reception of Salvarsan', Journal of the History of Medicine, 52 (1997), 398-423.
94. Pollock and Harrison, Gonococcal Infections; M. Worboys, 'Vaccine Therapy and Laboratory Medicine in Edwardian Britain', in J. V. Pickstone (ed.), Medical Innovation in Historical Perspective (Houndmills, 1992), 84-103.
95. Pollock and Harrison, Gonococcal Infections; M. Worboys, 'Vaccine Therapy and Laboratory Medicine in Edwardian Britain', in J. V. Pickstone (ed.), Medical Innovation in Historical Perspective (Houndmills, 1992), 84-103.
96. Findley, Gonorrhoea in Women. See review in BMJ, l (1909), 1305-6.
97. Findley, Gonorrhoea in Women. See review in BMJ, l (1909), 1305-6.
98. R. W. Johnstone, Report on Venereal Diseases, P.P., 1913 (Cd. 7029), XXXII, p. 423.
99. L. A. Dock, Hygiene and Morality: A Manual for Nurses and Others, Giving an Outline of the Medical, Social and Legal Aspects of Venereal Diseases (New York, 1910).
100. E. S. Pankhurst, The Suffragette Movement (London, 1931), p. 521.
101. C. Pankhurst, The Creat Scourge and How to End It (London, 1913), pp. v-vi. Pankhurst commented on the Royal Commission that, 'men are trifling with a great peril and are pretending that immorality can be made safe'. See ibid., p. 26.
102. C. Pankhurst, The Creat Scourge and How to End It (London, 1913), pp. v-vi. Pankhurst commented on the Royal Commission that, 'men are trifling with a great peril and are pretending that immorality can be made safe'. See ibid., p. 26.
103. D. Evans, 'Tackling the "Hidden Scourge": The Creation of Venereal Disease Treatment Centres in Early Twentieth-century Britain', Social History of Medicine, 5 (1992), 413-33, pp. 414-6.
104. Pankhurst, Great Scourge, pp. 17, 26, 71, 105-6.
105. Ibid., pp. 83-4.
106. Ibid., p. 95.
107. 'Venereal Disease', BMJ, l (1914), 768.
108. L. Creighton, The Social Disease and How to Fight it: A Rejoinder (London, 1914), pp. 25-6.
109. Evidence of the Royal Commission on Venereal Diseases, P.P., 1914 (Cd. 7475), XLIX, p. 109, paras. 4594-5, 6731-3, 7370-7, 8307; Evidence of the Final Report of the Royal Commission on Venereal Diseases, P.P., 1916 (Cd. 8190), XVI, p. 215, paras. 13,611, 14,023-7, 17,791-6.
110. Evidence of the Royal Commission on Venereal Diseases, P.P., 1914 (Cd. 7475), XLIX, p. 109, paras. 4594-5, 6731-3, 7370-7, 8307; Evidence of the Final Report of the Royal Commission on Venereal Diseases, P.P., 1916 (Cd. 8190), XVI, p. 215, paras. 13,611, 14,023-7, 17,791-6.
111. M. Scharlieb, The Hidden Scourge (London, 1916).
112. Royal Commission, Evidence, paras. 1120-4. The same sentiment was expressed in A. Corbett-Smith, The Problem of Nations: A Study in the Causes, Symptoms and Effects of Sexual Diseases and the Education of the Individual in therein (London, 1914), pp. 16-17.
113. Royal Commission, Evidence, paras. 1120-4. The same sentiment was expressed in A. Corbett-Smith, The Problem of Nations: A Study in the Causes, Symptoms and Effects of Sexual Diseases and the Education of the Individual in therein (London, 1914), pp. 16-17.
114. Final Report of the Royal Commission on Venereal Diseases, P.P., 1916 (Cd. 8189), XVI, p. 1.
115. Ibid., para. 83.
116. Ibid., p. 27.
117. Evans, 'Tackling the "Hidden Scourge'", pp. 418-19.
118. M. Morris, The Nation's Health: The Stamping Out of Venereal Disease (London, 1917), pp. 52-3.
119. E. R. T. Clarkson (ed.), The Venereal Clinic: The Diagnosis, Treatment and Prevention of Syphilis and Gonorrhoea (London, 1922), pp. xi, 75.
120. National Campaign for Combating Venereal Diseases, Venereal Disease - Pamphlet (London 1920). The special warnings on gonorrhoea were that it was serious in women, could last a lifetime, and was more prevalent than syphilis.