The Cadaver's Lessons

The Cadaver's Lessons is a podcast that explores the strange, fascinating, and sometimes unsettling history of medicine. Each episode traces the origins of medical practices and rare or unusual diagnoses, examining why people believed in them, how they were used, and what they reveal about the people and societies behind them. From early anatomy and experimental treatments to cases where medicine and crime collide, this show examines what lessons the past has left behind. Some ideas evolved into the foundations of modern healthcare. Others? Definitely should have stayed buried. Episodes range in tone and focus: some lean heavily into medical history and science, others drift into true crime, and many sit right at the intersection of both. If you’re curious about the darker side of medicine, the origins of what doctors do today, and the stories written into human bodies, well class is in session—and the cadaver is already on the table.

The Cadaver's Lessons is a health podcast hosted by Bernadette & Samantha Smith, with 65 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Bernadette & Samantha Smith hosts The Cadaver's Lessons, a health show with 65 episodes published.

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  Episode #33

  The Barbaric Birth Toolbox: Forceps, Vacuums & Cutting Into Bone

  Aug 17, 20261h 41m

  Check out all our links, sources, and socials: https://linktr.ee/thecadaverslessons For centuries, when a baby became stuck during labor, physicians and midwives had very few options. Hooks, knives, saws, forceps, and eventually vacuum extractors were developed to help manage some of the most dangerous complications of childbirth. Some were revolutionary. Others caused devastating injuries. And some were kept secret for generations because their inventors knew just how valuable—and controversial—they could be. In this episode of The Cadaver’s Lessons , we take a deep dive into the brutal, bizarre, and surprisingly fascinating history of obstetric instruments . References Efficacy of obstetrics forceps and vacuum extractor to assist during vaginal delivery: systematic review and meta-analysis. 2025. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12671670/ Hook CD, Damos JR. Vacuum-assisted vaginal delivery. Am Fam Physician. 2008;78(8):953-960. American Family Physician Merck Manual Professional Edition. Operative vaginal delivery. Merck Manual StatPearls. [Clinical reference]. StatPearls Publishing. NCBI Bookshelf Patel RR, Murphy DJ. Forceps delivery in modern obstetric practice. BMJ. 2004. PubMed Central History.com Editors. The chainsaw was originally invented to assist with childbirth. History. History.com Sheikh S, Ganesaratnam I, Jan H. The birth of forceps. JRSM Short Rep. 2013;4(7):1-4. doi:10.1177/2042533313478412. PubMed Central Dittrick Medical History Center. Mystery instruments: forceps in myth and history. Case Western Reserve University. Dittrick Medical History Center Motherhood in Prehistory. Embryotomy/fetotomy. 2016. Motherhood in Prehistory SEE LINK TREE FOR FULL LIST OF RESOURCES

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  The Cadaver's Lessons

  Case File: The Term Breech Trial: The One to Rule Them All

  Aug 13, 202650 min

  Check out all our links, sources, and socials: https://linktr.ee/thecadaverslessons Breech presentation occurs in roughly 3–4% of full-term pregnancies . For decades, obstetricians debated a deceptively simple question: Is it safer to deliver a term breech baby vaginally—or by planned cesarean section? In this episode of The Cadaver’s Files , we dive into one of the most influential—and controversial—studies in modern obstetrics: the Term Breech Trial . Conducted across 121 centers in 26 countries , the trial enrolled more than 2,000 women between 1997 and 2000. Its goal was to determine whether a policy of planned cesarean delivery resulted in better outcomes than planned vaginal breech birth. And the results were striking. References Hannah ME, et al. Planned caesarean section versus planned vaginal birth for breech presentation at term: a randomised multicentre trial. Lancet. 2000;356(9239):1375-1383. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(00)02840-3. Murray H. Term Breech Trial. O&G Magazine. 2012;14(2). Hannah ME, et al. Maternal outcomes at 2 years after planned cesarean versus planned vaginal birth for breech presentation at term. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2004;191(3):864-871. CREOGS Over Coffee. The Term Breech Trial. May 29, 2022.

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  Episode #32

  Breech Births: Ancient Tricks to Modern Trials

  Aug 10, 20261h 20m

  Check out all our links, sources, and socials: https://linktr.ee/thecadaverslessons What if the most dangerous part of childbirth… was simply the baby’s position? By the end of pregnancy, most babies naturally turn head down. But when a baby remains breech , with the buttocks or feet positioned to deliver first, childbirth can become significantly more complicated—and potentially life-threatening. Breech birth has challenged midwives, physicians, and parents for centuries. From ancient attempts to turn the fetus, to hands-on maneuvers performed before modern anesthesia or antibiotics, to the dramatic rise of cesarean delivery, the history of breech birth tells us a lot about how medicine learns, changes, and sometimes overcorrects. In this episode of The Cadaver’s Lessons , we’re going inside the history, anatomy, evidence, and ethics of breech birth. References Gray CJ, Shanahan MM. Breech presentation. StatPearls . NCBI Bookshelf. 2022. American Pregnancy Association. Breech presentation. Cleveland Clinic. Breech baby. Superville SS, Siccardi MA. Leopold maneuvers. StatPearls . NCBI Bookshelf. 2024. Healthline. Moxibustion: Uses and safety. MedBullets. Breech presentation. Martingano D, et al. External cephalic version. StatPearls . NCBI Bookshelf. Takeda J, Ishikawa G, Takeda S. Clinical tips of cesarean section in case of breech, transverse presentation, and incarcerated uterus. J Obstet Gynaecol Res . 2020;6(Suppl 2). Medievalists.net . Historical resources on medieval childbirth. White B. Pregnancy and childbirth in the eighteenth century. Bianca White Writes. 2023. Braithwaite K. Mothers and midwives in the 17th century. Andrea Zuvich. University of California eScholarship. Historical study of childbirth. Oxford Reference. Historical reference entry. Oxford University Press. Kim GJ. Reviving external cephalic version: a review of its efficacy, safety, and technical aspects. Obstet Gynecol Sci . 2019;62(6):371-381. Murray H. Term Breech Trial. O&G Magazine . 2012;14(2). Neonatology.net . Adolphe Pinard (1844-1934).

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  The Cadaver's Lessons

  Case File: Body Packing: The Deadly Evolution of Drug Smuggling

  Aug 7, 202636 min

  Check out all our links, sources, and socials: https://linktr.ee/thecadaverslessons Long before cartels ruled the cocaine trade, drugs crossed international borders legally. But as governments criminalized narcotics in the early 20th century, organized crime evolved—and so did the methods used to evade law enforcement. In this episode of The Cadaver's Files , we trace the history of body packing, from the rise of the Medellín Cartel and the global cocaine boom to the dangerous practice of swallowing drug-filled packets to transport narcotics across borders. You'll learn how cartels revolutionized drug trafficking, why desperate couriers risked their lives, how physicians first recognized "body packing syndrome," and the life-threatening medical emergencies caused by ruptured drug packets. We also examine the landmark Supreme Court case United States v. Montoya de Hernandez (1985) , which forever changed the balance between individual privacy and border security by establishing the "reasonable suspicion" standard for prolonged border detentions. References MSD Manual Professional Edition. Body packing and body stuffing. MSD Manuals. Accessed August 6, 2026. https://www.msdmanuals.com/professional/special-subjects/illicit-drugs-and-intoxicants/body-packing-and-body-stuffing Vearrier D, Greenberg MI, Miller SN, Okaneku JT, Haggerty DA. Methamphetamine: history, pathophysiology, adverse health effects, current trends, and hazards associated with the clandestine manufacture of methamphetamine. Forensic Res Criminol Int J. 2017;2(2):71-77. Accessed August 6, 2026. https://medcraveonline.com/FRCIJ/FRCIJ-02-00071 All That's Interesting. The Medellín Cartel: Inside Pablo Escobar's criminal empire. Accessed August 6, 2026. https://allthatsinteresting.com/medellin-cartel Booker RJ, Smith JE, Rodger MP. Packers, pushers and stuffers—managing patients with concealed drugs in UK emergency departments: a clinical and medicolegal review. Emerg Med J. 2015;32(4):316-320. Accessed August 6, 2026. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4067033/ United States v. Montoya De Hernandez. 473 US 531 (1985). Accessed August 6, 2026. https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/473/531/ Constitution Annotated. Fourth Amendment. Congress.gov . Accessed August 6, 2026. https://constitution.congress.gov/constitution/amendment-4/

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  Episode #31

  Cocaine: Euphoria, Ischemia, and Sudden Death

  Aug 3, 20261h 47m

  Check out all our links, sources, and socials: https://linktr.ee/thecadaverslessons For thousands of years, the coca leaf was revered by Indigenous cultures throughout the Andes. It eased hunger, reduced fatigue, relieved altitude sickness, and even played a role in early medical practices. In the late 1800s, scientists isolated cocaine from the coca plant, transforming a traditional remedy into what many physicians believed was a miracle drug. Cocaine quickly became one of medicine's greatest success stories—used to treat depression, morphine addiction, fatigue, toothaches, and, one of the first effective local anesthetics. As addiction, overdose, heart attacks, psychosis, and sudden deaths mounted, the medical community was forced to confront a devastating reality: the same drug capable of revolutionizing surgery could also destroy lives. References Merck Manual Professional Edition. (n.d.). Cocaine . https://www.msdmanuals.com/professional/special-subjects/illicit-drugs-and-intoxicants/cocaine National Institute on Drug Abuse. (n.d.). Cocaine research report . https://nida.nih.gov/research-topics/cocaine#pregnancy National Library of Medicine. (n.d.). History of cocaine . https://www.nlm.nih.gov/exhibition/pickyourpoison/exhibition-cocaine.html National Center for Biotechnology Information. (2023). Cocaine toxicity . https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK430976/ National Center for Biotechnology Information. (2019). Cocaine and the heart . https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6752252/ National Center for Biotechnology Information. (2008). Medical complications of cocaine use . https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2600058/ MedCrave Online. (n.d.). Pulmonary effects of cocaine use . https://medcraveonline.com/JLPRR/pulmonary-effects-of-cocaine-use.html National Center for Biotechnology Information. (2022). Cocaine-induced stroke and neurological complications . https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9121409/ Renal Fellow Network. (2019). Not just muscle damage: The many ways cocaine causes kidney injury . https://www.renalfellow.org/2019/04/24/not-just-muscle-damage-the-many-ways-cocaine-causes-kidney-injury/ National Center for Biotechnology Information. (2025). Historical and medical perspectives on cocaine . https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12026069/

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