The<unk>  or radiotherapy can be traced back to experiments made soon after the discovery of X-rays (1895), when it was shown that exposure to<unk>  produced cutaneous burns. Influenced by electrotherapy and escharotics — the medical application of caustic substances — doctors began using<unk>  to treat growths and lesions produced by diseases such as lupus, basal cell carcinoma, and epithelioma.<unk>  was generally believed to have bactericidal properties, so when radium was discovered, in addition to treatments similar to those used with x-rays, it was also used as an additive to medical treatments for diseases such as tuberculosis where there were resistant bacilli. Additionally, because<unk>  was found to exist in hot spring waters which were reputed for their curative powers, it was marketed as a wonder cure for all sorts of ailments in patent medicine and quack cures. It was believed by medical science that small doses of<unk>  would cause no harm and the harmful effects of large doses were temporary. The widespread use of radium in medicine ended when it was discovered that physical tolerance was lower than expected and exposure caused long term cell damage that could appear in carcinoma up to 40 years after treatment. The use of<unk>  continues today as a treatment for cancer in<unk><unk> .
History of radiation therapy
History of chemical warfare
History of surgery
History of psychosurgery
History of wound care
History of tuberculosis
History of HIV/AIDS
History of general anesthesia