Starting with colorectal cancer, I will republish all the videos here by cancer type.

Caution: All these videos show actual examinations and surgery.

	Colonoscopy Endoscopic examination of the colon.
	TEM Transanal endoscopic microsurgery. Removal of colorectal polyps.
	Stoma Marking Preoperative determination of optimal stoma placement.
	Hemicolectomy Surgical removal of the descending colon.
	Low Anterior Resection Surgical removal of the rectum with mesorectum and the uterus.
	Cylindrical Rectum Amputation Surgical removal of the entire pelvic floor.
	Peritonectomy and HIPEC Surgical removal of the peritoneum followed by intraperitoneal chemotherapy.

Photo by Øystein H. Horgmo © All rights reserved.

2 cm candy brain specimen shot on a double glass plate.

Photo by Øystein Horgmo © All rights reserved. Click for larger version.

There are not many published textbooks on the subject of medical photography, and no comprehensive books have been published after the digital revolution. That doesn’t mean the books that do exist are all outdated. Here are four textbooks we keep at our department and from time to time consult on different matters. Although dated, the books all offer relevant information on positioning of patients, best lighting practices for various conditions and ethical considerations.

Biomedical Photography

Edited by John Paul Vetter (Focal Press 1992)

Photo by Øystein Horgmo © All rights reserved. Click for larger version.

From the cover:

Biomedical Photography is the most comprehensive and authorative photographic reference book written for professionals in the healthcare industry. Covering both human and veterinary medicine, this book is designed to assist the biomedical and healthcare worker in producing images for research, teaching and documentation. Discussion includes the latest photographic techniques, equipment and processes, as well as emerging technologies, such as raster/vector computer graphics and video imaging. Illustrated extensively with more than 500 color and black-and-white visuals, the text emphasizes practical applications, theory and references.

Photo by Øystein Horgmo © All rights reserved. Click for larger version.

Considered the definitive work on medical photography, this is a very comprehensive book with chapters on everything from optics for biomedical photography and gross specimen photography to portraiture, ultraviolet photography, basic videography and department management. An updated version for the digital age would be more than welcome. Not as detailed on patient photography as some of the other books, but focuses more on principles than specific suggestions on lighting setups.

New and used copies of Biomedical Photography are available through Amazon.

A Guide to Medical Photography

Edited by Peter Hansell (MTP Press Limited 1979)

Photo by Øystein Horgmo © All rights reserved. Click for larger version.

From the introduction:

The photography of patients is fundamental to the whole process and involves not only adept photographic technique, but the sympathetic management of sick and often bewildered people, which brings in its wake a host of ethical considerations. The two most important aspects open and close the book, and within this framework it has not been the intention to cover the subject comprehensively, but rather to concentrate on those aspects which tend to comprise the daily routine, with more than a passing glance at requirements in some of the specialized fields such as endoscopy and ophthalmology.

Photo by Øystein Horgmo © All rights reserved. Click for larger version.

A Guide… also covers a lot of subjects, but leaves out the principles of photography and delves straight into the practical photography of patients, specimen, surgery and instruments. Illustrated throughout with beautifully reproduced color photographs.  Includes an especially interesting and ever relevant chapter on ethical considerations.

Used copies of A Guide to Medical Photography are available through Amazon.

Clinical Photography – A Kodak Data Book

Kodak Publications N0. N-3 (Eastman Kodak 1972)

Photo by Øystein Horgmo © All rights reserved. Click for larger version.

From the cover:

This book presents a cross-section of the kinds of photography carried out in various clinical surroundings. It will be helpful in orienting those contemplating medical photography as a career; specifically, the clinical phase of the service, which deals almost exclusively with the photography of patients. (…) The technical emphasis in this book is on lighting and positioning (posing) the patients.

Photo by Øystein Horgmo © All rights reserved. Click for larger version.

This book focuses solely on the photography of patients in the studio and on location. In addition to in-depth discussions on lighting, patient positioning and equipment, it describes a “simple system” to make it easier to obtain consistently good clinical photographs for doctors that don’t have access to a medical photographer. The book has an especially interesting chapter on photographic surroundings, ranging from the different visual impacts of background tones in the studio, to finding suitable backgrounds on location.

Used copies of Clinical Photography are available through Amazon.

Photography in Medicine

By Arthur Smialowski and Donald J. Currie (Charles C. Thomas Publisher 1960)

Photo by Øystein Horgmo © All rights reserved. Click for larger version.

From the dust jacket:

Designed to present by description, drawings and examples the many techniques in photography as applied to all branches of medical practice and investigation. Full-page illustrations face large line drawings which explain the technique used. Short clinical summaries and photographic techniques accompany clinical photographs. Emphasis is on color photography. Clear, concise, easily understood – an indispensable addition to the library of the physician, dentist, veterinary surgeon, research scientist and professional photographer. Of special value to the part-time medical photographer and the physician-photographer.

Photo by Øystein Horgmo © All rights reserved. Click for larger version.

The oldest of these four books are also one of the most detailed, with chapters on photography in almost every speciality of medicine, from orthopedics to dental photography and photography of the breast. All illustrated with photo examples and lighting diagrams. More of historical value are the chapters on physical organization of a photo department and the preparation of transparencies. Even though it was published over 50 years ago, most of this book is still highly relevant.

Used copies of Photography in Medicine are available through Amazon.

—

For further reading, the Institute of Medical Illustrators (UK) have compiled a good book list (updated 2008).

The pictures above and the following text are taken from the article “Aufgaben und Probleme der medizinischen Photographie” (Tasks and problems in medical photography) by Wolfgang Müller and Waldemar Wirth. The article was published in two parts in the February and April 1967 issues of Visum – Das medizinische Bildjournal (Visum – the medical visual journal).

The Surgical Photography Ladder

The tasks and prerequisites for photography in the operating room, in addition to the photographic equipment required to obtain informative images, have been discussed above. Bringing these tasks, conditions and the necessary equipment into harmony to produce truly successful photographs is one of the most difficult problems we have tackled at the Giessen Surgical University Clinic.

The author have learned that producing informative photos using a handheld camera, without disturbing the operation or entering into the strictly sterile zone, is very difficult. Also, all tests with commercially available tripods have been unsatisfactory, because the camera was never over, but always next to the surgical field and could never reach the viewpoint of the surgeon.

The ”More”, that this photographer believed he could contribute to the surgical photos, led, after many trials and considerations, to the development of an applicable operation ladder which has proved to be extremely useful.

The ladder is 2 m high and therefore suitable for all body sizes. It has a padded chest support. A special feature is the side and height adjustable camera mount with a ball joint head. Brackets are provided for attaching sterile drapes. In addition, the ladder provides the ability to set up a flash. When not in use, the flash handle can be placed in a holder. A shelf is available for lenses and films.

As a rule, one places the ladder behind the operator, which then sees the camera over his shoulder. The camera, equipped with long focal length lenses and attached with the special arm to the ladder, covers every important situation from the correct viewpoint, without disturbing or without entering the strictly sterile zone, and is always ready for use.

My (not very fluent) translation.

A year back I wrote a post on the use of mirrors in vintage medical photos, with most examples from the American Civil War. The common photographic technique of that time was the tintype photograph. Check out this video from the George Eastman House to see how the process was done.

This is my first journal publication, so I’m very pleased to see it in print!

The online version of the paper can be found here (requires subscription). If you do not have institutional access or a subscription and would like to read the paper, please contact me and request a copy.

View PubMed citation

Abstract:

We describe the design, construction and evaluation of a custom-made camera support to gain better access for recording videos of open surgery.

This week the photo exhibition UiO – En uke (UiO – One Week) opened at the Sverdrup Gallery in Oslo.

The university celebrated its 200th anniversary last year. Twelve of the institution’s photographers from several different faculties decided to document work and celebration during the main anniversary week in September.

I photographed different activities at my institute, the Institute of Clinical Medicine, and seven of those photos have ended up on the walls of the gallery, together with fifty-three others from museums, campus life and other institutes.

If you are in Oslo, the exhibition is open until April 27.

View photo set on Flickr

View large slideshow on Flickr

Hawaiian missionaries Asa Thurston and Lucy Goodale Thurston. Daguerreotype, ca. 1864. Public domain.

Letters of Note has published a remarkable letter from Hawaiian missionary Lucy Goodale Thurston to her daughter, describing Mrs. Thurston’s mastectomy in 1855. The operation was done without any form of anesthesia. The doctors had advised her to not use chloroform “because of my having had the paralysis” (probably polio).

Dr. Ford looked me full in the face, and with great firmness asked: “Have you made up your mind to have it cut out?” “Yes, sir.” “Are you ready now?” “Yes, sir; but let me know when you begin, that I may be able to bear it. Have you your knife in that hand now?” He opened his hand that I might see it, saying, “I am going to begin now.”

Read the whole account here.

As you can tell from the picture above, the operation was successful and Mr. Thurston lived for another 21 years.

Hat tip to Suture for a Living.

Medical Photography Section, University of Oslo © All rights reserved.

Browsing through some old hospital newsletters, I found an article on cesarean sections and noticed a photographer in one of the photos. Being a photography section we typically don’t have many photos of ourselves at work, so I dived into our negative archive in hope of locating the shoot.

We have not yet been able to digitize our archives in a systematic way, and most of it is hard to search, as the entries for many years were logged only with the department and the requesting doctors name. This time however, I knew the year and the doctor from the newsletter story, and of course it was the department of obstetrics.

The year is 1978 and they must have been two photographers present at the surgery. I’m guessing this was a high-profile story and they didn’t want to risk missing a shot. Photographers are not mentioned in the story, so maybe one photographer decided to shoot the other for our archives (or out of boredom?).

The photographer is a former head of section and she’s sporting what seems to be a Nikon F SLR with a Sunpak auto124 flash.

Medical Photography Section, University of Oslo © All rights reserved.

This is the official poster for the the 19th Workshop of the International Society for the Study of Vascular Anomalies (ISSVA). What on earth were they thinking?

• Did the parents of this child agree to their child being used on a poster in this way?
• Did they know ISSVA would choose a photo were their child looks frightened?
• Did they know ISSVA would make the poster the shape of their child’s head?
• Did they know ISSVA would desaturate everything but their child’s hemangiomas?
• Did they know ISSVA would put text all over their child’s face?
• Even if they knew and agreed to all of the above, why did ISSVA use the photo like this?

Beside being a bad photo, I find this a very disrespectful use of a medical photograph.