SPOTLIGHT: Leukaemia

Like many aspects of the history of medicine, the discovery of the concept of leukaemia originated around the 5th century in Greece. The drawing of blood for inspection is a practice that goes back to ancient times, when blood was recognised as a life giving substance. The Hebrews believed that blood was the seat of the soul, whilst the Romans sometimes even went as far as drinking the blood of their enemies in the belief that it would allow them to absorb the courage of those they had defeated. It was, however, the invention of the microscope circa 1590 that paved the way for the true s...