Unethical Science: The History of the U.S. Tuskegee and Guatemala Syphilis Experiments

Poor Historians: Misadventures in Medical History

When you hear the story of how syphilis research was carried out in the United States in the 20th century, you'll probably start to understand why there is a history of mistrust of the medical establishment, especially among the African American community. This episode details one of the bleakest and most shameful chapters in U.S. medical history, a time when ethics were cast aside at the expense of minority communities. We'll talk about the Tuskegee Syphilis Study (aka Tuskegee Experiment) as well as the Guatemala syphilis experiments that preceded them.
Sources:

1. For symptom confirmation: https://www.uptodate.com/contents/syphilis-epidemiology-pathophysiology-and-clinical-manifestations-in-patients-without-hiv?search=syphilis&source=search_result&selectedTitle=3~150&usage_type=default&display_rank=3#H10 UpToDate (paywall)
2. Emily Blunt gets Syphilis: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_English_(TV_series)
3. Medical Microbiology, Chapter 36: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK7716/
4. Wikipedia Syphilis: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syphilis
5. Long Article on Syphilis Origin: https://asm.org/Articles/2019/June/Revisiting-the-Great-Imitator,-Part-I-The-Origin-a
6. Republication of the AP study about Tuskeegee: https://apnews.com/article/business-science-health-race-and-ethnicity-syphilis-e9dd07eaa4e74052878a68132cd3803a
7. Bioethics statement on Guatamala Studies: https://bioethicsarchive.georgetown.edu/pcsbi/sites/default/files/Ethically%20Impossible%20(with%20linked%20historical%20documents)%202.7.13.pdf
8. Wikipedia on Guatemala Studies: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guatemala_syphilis_experiments
9. Wikipedia on Tuskeegee: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuskegee_Syphilis_Study
10. John Charles Cutler Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Charles_Cutler

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