In the 19th and early 20th centuries, patients diagnosed with "pernicious" (meaning deadly) anemia faced a grim prognosis.
For decades, physicians could do nothing but watch their patients die. The breakthrough came from a series of accidental discoveries and brilliant deductions. 1. The Liver Diet Breakthrough (1920s) antipernicious anemia factor
Hearing of this, Boston physicians George Minot and William Murphy decided to try feeding raw liver to human patients dying of pernicious anemia. To everyone's astonishment, patients forced to consume about a half-pound of raw liver daily made complete recoveries. Whipple, Minot, and Murphy shared the for this discovery. 2. Extrinsic vs. Intrinsic Factors In the 19th and early 20th centuries, patients