An American soldier who lost all four of his limbs has successfully undergone a rare and complicated double arm transplant. Brendan Marrocco, 26, was hit by a roadside bomb in 2009, and was the first soldier to survive quadruple limb loss from the war in Iraq.
While Mr Marrocco is not the first person to undergo a double arm transplant – he is the seventh – surgeons at Johns Hopkins hospital in Baltimore, where the operation took place, say his was “the most complicated one” so far.
For nearly four years he …

On the 24th August 79AD, Mount Vesuvius erupted explosively, burying Pompeii under a crust of volcanic ash. For the next seventeen centuries the city would remain lost, forgotten and preserved, sealed in a time capsule. Since excavations began in 1748, Pompeii was gradually revealed – street by street, building by building, room by room, providing an unparalleled record of life in the Roman Empire.
During this time, literary records tell us that the head of the household was often responsible for the physical health of his family, and as such would …

ap∙pren∙tice
“one who is learning by practical experience under skilled workers”
The system of apprenticeships was first developed in the Middle Ages, and came to be supervised by craft guilds and town governments. Master Craftsmen employed apprentices who were an inexpensive form of labour, in exchange for providing food, lodging and formal training. Apprentices usually began at 10-15 years of age and would live in the Master Craftsman’s household until the completion of their contract. Most apprentices aspired to becoming Master Craftsmen, and were required to serve seven years before being allowed …

Surgical instruments have evolved over thousands of years, allowing advancements in surgical techniques to save millions of lives. Small copper knives dating back to 3000BC are believed to be some of the first surgical instruments on record.
The ancient Egyptians recorded surgical procedures as early as 2500BC. The earliest written representation of surgery is that found in Egyptian ruins and early papyri. A number of minor procedures are noted, including the practice of circumcision, which is the only surgical procedure referred to in the Bible. Knives with stone blades were used, …