Franklin, Lavoisier, and Mesmer: origin of the controlled clinical trial. Academic Article uri icon

Overview

abstract

  • In 1784, a Royal Commission headed by Benjamin Franklin and Antoine Lavoisier designed a series of ingenious experiments to debunk France's greatest medical rogue, Anton Mesmer, and his bizarre healing of illnesses based on his bogus theory of animal magnetism. Using intentional subject ignorance and sham interventions to investigate mesmerism, Franklin's commission provided a model for the controlled clinical trial.

publication date

  • September 1, 2005

Research

keywords

  • Clinical Trials as Topic

Identity

Scopus Document Identifier

  • 24344502679

PubMed ID

  • 16144669

Additional Document Info

volume

  • 23

issue

  • 5