Abstract :
The author reviews the history of electrotherapy. Electricity can cure- or at least ameliorate some maladies-as well as kill if overdosed. It has long been used to treat the agonies of gout, with the biological batteries of electric eels and rays providing the electrical stimulus. Early electrostatic generators were quickly put to use treating patients. By the end of the 19th century electrical engineers had invented a host of ways of generating electricity of various kinds: electrostatic, DC, low-frequency AC, high-frequency AC. Each had its advocates, and to each was ascribed marvellous medical attributes
Keywords :
AC generators; DC generators; biomedical equipment; coils; electrostatic devices; history; patient treatment; DC generator; Tesla coil; Wimshurst machine; biological batteries; electric baths; electric eels; electrical stimulus; electricity generation; electrostatic generators; electrotherapy; gout; high-frequency AC generator; history; induction coil; low-frequency AC generator; patient treatment;
