Madhouse: A Tragic Tale of Megalomania and Modern Medicine
Encyclopedia
Madhouse: A Tragic Tale of Megalomania and Modern Medicine is a 2005 book by the distinguished psychiatric sociologist Andrew Scull which discusses the work of controversial psychiatrist
Henry Cotton
at Trenton State Hospital in New Jersey in the 1920s. Cotton became convinced that insanity
was fundamentally a toxic disorder and he surgically removed body parts to try to improve mental health
. This often began with the removal of teeth and tonsils:
Scull argues that Cotton's obsession with focal sepsis as the root cause of mental illness "persisted in spite of all evidence to the contrary and the frightening incidence of death and harm from the operations he initiated". Cotton's approach attracted some detractors, but the medical establishment of the day did not effectively renounce or discipline him.
One reviewer called Madhouse "a fine piece of historical research with a modern relevance", and added that "it makes compelling reading".
Psychiatrist
A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders. All psychiatrists are trained in diagnostic evaluation and in psychotherapy...
Henry Cotton
Henry Cotton (doctor)
Henry Andrews Cotton, MD was an American psychiatrist and the medical director of New Jersey State Hospital at Trenton in Trenton, New Jersey between 1907 and 1930...
at Trenton State Hospital in New Jersey in the 1920s. Cotton became convinced that insanity
Insanity
Insanity, craziness or madness is a spectrum of behaviors characterized by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity may manifest as violations of societal norms, including becoming a danger to themselves and others, though not all such acts are considered insanity...
was fundamentally a toxic disorder and he surgically removed body parts to try to improve mental health
Mental health
Mental health describes either a level of cognitive or emotional well-being or an absence of a mental disorder. From perspectives of the discipline of positive psychology or holism mental health may include an individual's ability to enjoy life and procure a balance between life activities and...
. This often began with the removal of teeth and tonsils:
An 18 year-old girl with agitated depression successively had her upper and lower molars extracted, a tonsillectomy, sinus drainage, treatment for an infected cervix, removal of intestinal adhesions -- all without effecting improvement in her psychiatric condition. Then the remainder of her teeth were removed and she was sent home, pronounced cured.
Scull argues that Cotton's obsession with focal sepsis as the root cause of mental illness "persisted in spite of all evidence to the contrary and the frightening incidence of death and harm from the operations he initiated". Cotton's approach attracted some detractors, but the medical establishment of the day did not effectively renounce or discipline him.
One reviewer called Madhouse "a fine piece of historical research with a modern relevance", and added that "it makes compelling reading".