Organ Extracts and the Development of Psychiatry

Hormonal Treatments at the Maudsley Hospital 1923-1938

Datos Bibliográficos

ID4002192
AutoresBonnie Evans (0000-0001-8879-7955), Edgar Jones (0000-0002-4610-9584)
Año2012
Volumen48
Número3
Páginas251-276
Fecha de publicación2012-06-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaJournal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0022-5061 • E-ISSN: 1520-6696
EditorialWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/jhbs.21548
PMID22644956
PMCIDPMC3594693
OpenAlexW1483578125
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas5
Referencias citadas56

The use of organ extracts to treat psychiatric disorder in the interwar period is an episode in the history of psychiatry which has largely been forgotten. An analysis of case-notes from The Maudsley Hospital from the period 1923-1938 shows that the prescription of extracts taken from animal testes, ovaries, thyroids, and other organs was widespread within this London Hospital. This article explores the way in which Maudsley doctors justified these treatments by tying together psychological theories of the unconscious with experimental data drawn from laboratory studies of human organs. It explores the logic behind these treatments and examines beliefs about their efficacy. The connection between this historical episode and current research in endocrinology and psychology is explored

History of psychiatry · Medical prescription · Period (music · Psychiatry · Psychoanalysis · Psychotherapist · Tying · Unconscious mind · Historical Psychiatry and Medical Practices · Historical Studies on Reproduction, Gender, Health, and Societal Changes · Medicine · Neurology and Historical Studies · Pharmacology · Philosophy · Psychology