Page 388

“…an engine of torture and oppression…”

“Address of J. Marion Sims, President of the Association,” J. Marion Sims, Transactions of the American Medical Association, Vol. 27, p. 99, available through the AMA website.

“His vaginismus cure…”

The comments of A.J.C. Skene, included in “Vaginismus, with a Report of the Case,” L. Grant Baldwin, Journal of Orificial Surgery, July 1893, Vol. 2, No. 13, p. 327.

Notably, Skene, an amateur sculptor, once created a bust of Sims.

“…would soon vanish.”

Emmet foretells the end of the operation.

“On the Surgical Treatment of Stenosis of the Cervix Uteri,” J. Marion Sims, Transactions of the American Gynecological Society, Vol. 3, 1878, p. 100.

“…infant lockjaw would be shown to be an infection…”

Guilfoile, P., & Babcock, H. (2008). Tetanus. New York, NY: Chelsea House, p. 22.

“…the most important advance…”

“Remarks on the Treatment of Gunshot-Wounds of the Abdomen in Relation to Modern Peritoneal Surgery,” J. Marion Sims, British Medical Journal, December 17, 1881, p. 971.

“…at least twelve times.”

I found a number of published cases dating after the pieces Sims published about Battey’s operation in 1877.

“Remarks on Battey’s Operation,” J. Marion Sims, British Medical Journal, December 29, 1877, p. 917.

“Monumental Error,” J.C. Hallman, Harper’s Magazine, November 2017, p. 34.

“Three women…”

I am combining here Sims’s accounts of attempts at Battey’s operation from a number of sources.

“The Bromide of Ethyl as an Anesthetic,” J. Marion Sims, The Medical Record, Vol. 17, No. 14, April 3, 1880, p. 363. This was a particularly horrible case.

Letter from J. Marion Sims to Robert Battey, May 8, 1880, in the Robert Battey materials at the Atlanta History Center in Atlanta, Georgia.

“Remarks on Battey’s Operation,” J. Marion Sims, British Medical Journal, December 15 and 22, 1877.

“…shunned by the medical profession.”

“The Rise and Fall of Battey’s Operation: A Fashion in Surgery,” Lawrence D. Longo, The Bulletin of the History of Medicine, Vol. 53, No. 2, Summer 1979, p. 263.

“…night of the falling stars…”

See “…three enslaved men…,” above, and all of Chapter One.

“…his first day of medical school…”

See “…rose to strange news…,” above.

“On November 13, 1883…”

SIMS, J. Marion, (1885). The Story of my Life, ed. by H. Marion-Sims. D. Appleton & Co: New York, p. 23.

“…Theresa beside him.”

Harris, S. (1950). Woman's surgeon: The life story of J. Marion Sims. New York: Macmillan, p. 366.

“…‘On the Surgical Treatment of Stenosis of the Cervix Uteri’…”

The American Gynecological Society was founded in 1875, and Sims was not present for the discussion that followed the presentation of the paper. I am assuming the paper was read by the secretary; it’s possible that a colleague did so instead.

“On the Surgical Treatment of Stenosis of the Cervix Uteri,” J. Marion Sims, Transactions of the American Gynecological Society, Vol. 3, 1878, pp. 50-100.

“…Gream…”

See “It had been many years, Gream wrote…” above.

“…to ensure that he was not robbed of credit…”

“On the Surgical Treatment of Stenosis of the Cervix Uteri,” J. Marion Sims, Transactions of the American Gynecological Society, Vol. 3, 1878, p. 71.

“…nor to anyone else.”

“On the Surgical Treatment of Stenosis of the Cervix Uteri,” J. Marion Sims, Transactions of the American Gynecological Society, Vol. 3, 1878, p. 91.

“…perhaps as many as a thousand women.”

“On the Surgical Treatment of Stenosis of the Cervix Uteri,” J. Marion Sims, Transactions of the American Gynecological Society, Vol. 3, 1878, p. 87.