Imaging and Imagining the Fetus: The Development of Obstetric Ultrasound

332 Pages·2013·4.3 MB·English

by  Malcolm Nicolson and John E E Fleming

Imaging and
Imagining the Fetus
This page intentionally left blank
Imaging and
Imagining the Fetus
The Development of Obstetric Ultrasound
Malcolm Nicolson
and
John E. E. Fleming
The Johns Hopkins University Press
Baltimore
© 2013 The Johns Hopkins University Press
All rights reserved. Published 2013
Printed in the United States of America on acid-f ree paper
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
The Johns Hopkins University Press
2715 North Charles Street
Baltimore, Maryl and 21218-4 363
www .press. jhu .edu
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Nicolson, Malcolm, 1952–
Imaging and imagining the fetus : the development of obstetric
ultrasound / Malcolm Nicolson and John E. E. Fleming.
p. ; cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978- 1- 4214- 0793- 7 (hdbk. : alk. paper) —
ISBN 1- 4214- 0793-0 (hdbk. : alk. paper) — ISBN 978- 1- 4214-0 824- 8
(electronic) — ISBN 1-4 214-0 824- 4 (electronic)
I. Fleming, John E. E. (John Eric Edgcumbe), 1934– II. Title.
[DNLM: 1. Donald, Ian, 1910–1 987. 2. Ultrasonography,
Prenatal—h istory—Scotland. 3. Ultrasonography, Prenatal—
instrumentation—Scotland. 4. Diffusion of Innovation— Scotland.
5. Fetal Diseases—d iagnosis—Scotland. 6. History, 20th Century—
Scotland. 7. Politics— Scotland. WQ 11 FS2]
618.3'207543—dc23 2012017646
A catal og record for this book is available from the British Library.
Special discounts are available for bulk purchases of this book. For more
information, please contact Special Sales at 410- 516- 6936 or specialsales@
press.jhu.edu.
The Johns Hopkins University Press uses environmentally friendly
book materials, including recycled text paper that is composed of at
least 30 percent post-c onsumer waste, whenever possible.
To the memory of John’s parents, Eric E. and Emilie M. Fleming
To John’s children, Alan, Rachel, and Peter, and to his grandchildren,
Hannah, whom we never knew, Rhona, and Benjamin
And to Catherine and Eilidh Nicolson, who w ere fortunate enough never
to need much assistance from the technologies of modern obstetrics
This page intentionally left blank
Contents
Ac know ledg ments ix
1 Introduction: Historiographies of Obstetrics 1
2 Diagnostic Ultrasound before Thomas Brown 12
3 Ian Donald before Ultrasound I: St. Thomas’s Hospital
and the Royal Air Force 46
4 Ian Donald before Ultrasound II: Hammersmith
and Glasgow 72
5 A-Scope Investigations in Glasgow 88
6 The First Contact Scanner 119
7 The Automatic Scanner and the Diasonograph 144
8 Behind the Iron Curtain: Ultrasound and the Fetus 173
9 Diffusion, Controversy, and Commodifi cation 203
10 Ian Donald after Ultrasound: Contraception and Abortion 234
11 Maternity and Technology 250
Notes 269
Index 309
This page intentionally left blank
Ac know ledg ments
We have been engaged in this work for what seems like an inordinate
amount of time and have acquired many substantial debts over the years. We
are particularly happy to acknowledge the support of Professor Iain T. Cam-
eron. Following his appointment to Glasgow University as Regius Professor, he
initiated collaboration between the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecol ogy
and the Centre for the History of Medicine, and generously sponsored this
project in its early stages. Also deserving of special thanks is Dr. Ian Spencer,
whose work as Research Assistant was instrumental in getting the project going.
Ian did much of the initial groundwork and skillfully conducted a number of
key interviews.
This book would not have been possible without the cooperation of the
Donald family. Mrs. Alix Donald made a large number of her late husband’s
papers available to us and shared her recollections of many of the key episodes
in Ian Donald’s career. Dame Alison Munro provided us with valuable insights
into her brother’s character and early life, and she allowed us to quote from her
account of the family’s time in South Africa. We also benefi ted from much
moral and practical support and advice from Donald’s daughters, Tessa Eide,
Caroline Wilkinson, Christina Sargent, and Margaret Weston.
We owe a signifi cant debt to all who w ere willing to speak to us and our
voice recorders about their experiences with Ian Donald, Thomas G. Brown,
and ultrasound: Wallace Barr, Dugald Cameron, Stuart Campbell, Winnie
Childs, Robert Chivers, Jack L. Crichton, Alexander D. Christie, John Crof-
ton, Bernard Donnelly, Thomas C. Duggan, Brian W. Fraser, Angus J. Hall,
Malcolm MacNaughton, John MacVicar, W. Norman McDicken, Margaret B.
McNay, John Rennie, Hugh P. Robinson, Robert E. Steiner, Bertil Sundén,
John Julian Wild, James Willocks, and Maureen Young. A special mention
should be made of Tom Brown, who patiently submitted to being interviewed