/oss/taxonomy/term/1265/all en /oss/article/food-health-history/accidental-opportunity <p>William Beaumont was an army doctor stationed at Fort Mackinac in Michigan in 1822 when an accident occurred that allowed him to make the first systematic study of the process of digestion. Alexis St. Martin, a young French Canadian army porter was wounded in the stomach when a musket accidentally discharged. He was brought to Beaumont who was unable to close the wound. The man developed an infection for which, according to accepted practice at the time, he was bled by Beaumont. In spite of this useless treatment he survived and became a living laboratory.</p> Fri, 08 Nov 2013 03:34:11 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 2029 at /oss