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In 1817 an emergency operation on a London porter was hailed a ‘success’ despite the patient’s swift demise. Find out how this case became a landmark in vascular surgery.

Discover the unlikely connection between pharmaceuticals and unicorns.

After years suffering in silence, David Jesudason finds speaking out about his pollen allergy gives him hope for a future where his hay-fever symptoms are under control.

From censuses to smartwatches, Ross MacFarlane shows how we have tracked health across the centuries.

Could upper-class hair-hygiene regimes cause baldness, or does hair health depend on a blast of deadly mercury? Maisie Jenkins scours the archives for historic follicle care.

If you fancy a slice of cake with your tea this afternoon, read on to find out how your luck, health or marriage prospects might change as you munch.

From rare bugs to exorbitantly priced plant parts, find out more about the artistic and medical uses of pigments from the past.

The need to deal with battlefield injuries has led to inventive designs for extreme situations. Find out how camel-drawn ambulances and flat-pack hospitals have helped casualties survive.

For thousands of years, and in many different cultures, people have practised bloodletting for health and medical reasons. Julia Nurse explains where and when bleeding was used, how it was done, and why.

Find out how hydrogen peroxide has been used to do everything from investigate murders and propel rockets to treat teeth and bleach hair.

From douches to diaphragms, and condoms to caps, discover the wide range of contraception methods people have used over the centuries.

Why is there a gender imbalance when it comes to the donation of organs, blood and tissue, and what can be done about it?

Dr Kate Lister exposes the brutal 19th-century ‘cures’ for women who indulged in masturbation.

What have snakes, unicorns and crocodiles got to do with pharmacies? The history of these modern signs goes back to the Greek gods.

Most new mums are told that breast is best. But breastfeeding doesn’t always come as easily or naturally as you might imagine.

Those who collect play an important role as “facilitators of curiosity”, says Anna Faherty.

Our current Queen fortunately doesn’t have to spend hours laying hands on the sick to cure them. But it was a different story for monarchs of the early modern era, whose touch was a sought-after treatment for scrofula.

From the miniature adult in the womb imagined by 15th-century artists to the increasing detail of today’s ultrasound scans, Tania Staras traces our changing view of the human foetus.

Can hermits get lonely? Explore solitary lives through the ages, from early religious ascetics to children imprisoned in churches, and on to those compelled to withdraw from modern life in the 21st century.

The fighting methods of World War I brought with them a huge increase in disfiguring facial injury. See how surgeons and sculptors helped injured men face the world again.