Hayman John, van Wyhe John
Department of Pathology, The University of Melbourne.
Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore.
J Hist Dent. 2018 Spring;66(1):25-35.
Charles Darwin suffered relapsing, debilitating illness for most of his adult life with many symptoms. His most prominent complaints were episodic nausea, retching and vomiting. As is common in patients with repeated vomiting he developed dental problems, problems that may be dated back to his voyage on the Beagle and his vomiting due to persistent seasickness. Dental problems continued after the voyage and he was one of the first patients to have extractions under chloroform. Watching a dental procedure caused Darwin great distress, much as surgical and obstetric procedures had previously caused him distress with onset of symptoms. Darwin's dental experiences are consistent with the proposed diagnosis of his lifetime illness- patients with similar illnesses today have much the same dental problems. Dentists also helped Darwin with his researches and collection of specimens. In Darwin's day, dentists, like country clergymen, had time to follow other interests. Dentists contributed to Darwin's dental health, to the dental health of his family and to Darwin's work and biological studies. Dentists, in their own right, were also prominent in developing our biological understanding.
查尔斯·达尔文成年后的大部分时间都饱受反复发作、使人衰弱的疾病折磨，症状繁多。他最突出的症状是间歇性恶心、干呕和呕吐。和反复呕吐的患者一样，他出现了牙齿问题，这些问题可以追溯到他乘坐“小猎犬号”航行期间，以及他因持续性晕船而呕吐的时候。航行结束后，牙齿问题仍持续存在，他是最早在氯仿麻醉下拔牙的患者之一。观看牙科手术让达尔文极为痛苦，就像之前外科手术和产科手术引发他的症状时一样令他痛苦。达尔文的牙齿经历与对他终身疾病的诊断相符——如今患有类似疾病的患者也有大致相同的牙齿问题。牙医还协助达尔文进行研究和标本收集。在达尔文那个时代，牙医和乡村牧师一样，有时间去追求其他兴趣。牙医们为达尔文及其家人的牙齿健康，以及达尔文的工作和生物学研究都做出了贡献。就其本身而言，牙医在增进我们对生物学的理解方面也很突出。
