Page 195 - ירושלים: גיליון רפואי

Scaring Away the Muses

Tuberculosis, Inspiration and Medical Innovations

Tuberculosis was a fatal companion to inhabitants of the impoverished and decaying cities
of Europe. Its dreaded effect made no distinction between one victim and another, but
well-known patients in Palestine and abroad provided it with a reputation as the disease
of artists. In spite of the dry climate, tuberculosis reached Jerusalem, incubating in the
bodies of pilgrims, travelers, and immigrants, and the conditions in the poor and crowded
city proved conducive to spreading the disease. Eliezer Ben Yehuda, the reviver of the
Hebrew language, who settled in Jerusalem, and the poetess Rachel, who came to recover
in the city, were among the well-known patients.

The struggle against tuberculosis was a top priority among the physicians working in the
city, and they embarked on an effort to diagnose the disease and provide the public with
relevant information. The invention of the x-ray machine revolutionized the process of
diagnosing tuberculosis and assisted in the fight against it.

Following World War I, the administration of the Rothschild Hospital was turned over to
the Hadassah Women’s Organization. In 1923, Jewish doctors in the United States and
Hadassah women solicited donations in memory of Eliezer Ben Yehuda, who had died a
year before, and used the money to purchase a surplus x-ray machine from the American
army. The dangers of radiation were not known at the time, and the machine showing
inner parts of the body aroused curiosity and the imagination. It was used for a variety of
purposes without sufficient protection. The health and even the lives of both the medical
staff and patients were put at risk, due to the lack of experience and knowledge of the
dangers inherent in the machine.

193 ■ ‫קוטלת המוזות‬