Wilhelm Rontgen took this radiograph of his wife's left hand on December 22, 1895, shortly after his discovery of X-rays. NATIONAL LIBRARY OF MEDICINE
At the end of the 19th century, while studying the effects of passing an electrical current through gases at low pressure, German physicist Wilhelm Röntgen accidentally discovered X-rays—highly energetic electromagnetic radiation capable of penetrating most solid objects. His discovery transformed medicine almost overnight. Within a year, the first radiology department opened in a Glasgow hospital, and the department head produced the first pictures of a kidney stone and a penny lodged in a child’s throat. Shortly after, an American physiologist used X-rays to trace food making its way through the digestive system. The public also embraced the new technology—even carnival barkers touted the wondrous rays that allowed viewing of one’s own skeleton.
Although Röntgen’s lab records were burned at his request when he died, many ...
