Che Rahim, M. J., & Wan Ghazali, W. S. (2016). Psychosis secondary to tuberculosis meningitis: Table 1. BMJ Case Reports, 2016, bcr2015213171. https://doi.org/10.1136/bcr-2015-213171
Laderman, G. (1997). Habeas corpus: Death in nineteenth-century America. Reviews in American History, 25(3), 433–438. https://www.jstor.org/stable/30030813
Loudon, I. (n.d.). Maternal mortality in the past and its relevance to developing countries today. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 72(1), 241S–246S. https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/72.1.241S
New York Juvenile Asylum records (Children’s Village), 1853–1954. (n.d.).
Pv, R., V, S., R, K. K., L, A., & G, G. (2018). Affective psychosis: A rare presentation of tubercular meningitis in a tertiary care hospital. Journal of Case Reports, 7(4), 408–410. https://doi.org/10.17659/01.2017.0111
Roman Catholic Orphan Asylum – Manhattan and the Bronx, New York City. (n.d.). The New York City Chapter of the American Guild of Organists. Retrieved September 21, 2022, from http://www.nycago.org/Organs/Brx/html/RCOrphanAsylum.html
STEM Connection: 19th Century Medicine & Public Health
The references in this section offer rich interdisciplinary opportunities for STEM learning across grade levels. Educators can use these sources to explore how scientific understanding evolves, how public health systems form in response to crises, and how ethical dilemmas and social beliefs intersect with science and medicine.
Biology and Health Sciences: The articles detailing tuberculosis (TB), including psychosis secondary to tubercular meningitis, can anchor lessons on infectious disease, the immune response, and the neurological consequences of bacterial infections. Students might chart the pathophysiology of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, compare it to modern TB treatment protocols, or simulate how 19th-century public health campaigns (like quarantines) aimed to contain disease in the absence of antibiotics.
Chemistry: The role of chloroform in childbirth and surgery introduces anesthetic chemistry. Students can explore the molecular structure of chloroform, its interactions with the central nervous system, and why it poses a toxic risk. Teachers might stage historical debates about the ethics of using early anesthetics before informed consent standards existed.
Public Health & Epidemiology: References to typhus prevention efforts, maternal mortality, and the role of asylums allow students to trace how epidemiological methods and sanitation science developed in the 1800s. They might map disease outbreaks, model statistical survival rates, or examine how poverty, race, and gender influenced health access.
Engineering and Technology: Teachers can guide students to investigate the design of 19th-century hospitals, quarantine facilities, and the early development of medical instruments. For example, students might compare architectural blueprints or design a modern reinterpretation of an 1800s public health response using today’s technology.
Cross-cutting Concepts: Death and mourning practices, while psychological and cultural, also open up conversations about medical ethics, healthcare disparities, and how science both reflects and challenges cultural norms.