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| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elizabeth Fleischman | 2/2 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Fleischman | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T10:59:53.785949+00:00 | kb-cron |
By 1903, the cumulative effects of seven years of unprotected X-ray exposures and twelve-hour workdays began to appear as X-ray dermatitis on her hands. She attributed this irritation to the chemicals used in developing photographic plates. In early 1904, the dermatitis progressed to the point where she sought medical attention. Her doctors found:"The fingers of both hands were found to be badly ulcerated, chiefly the tissues over the middle phalanges and the middle joints....the surfaces presenting both an ulcerated and warty condition, the warts assuming the form of necrogenica-healing alternating with ulceration. All the secreting glands and hair-follicles were destroyed so that the skin was hard and dry and cracked easily. All forms of treatment by ointments and washes were without permanent benefit."She continued to work despite this injury. In 1904, she was responsible for introducing protective measures for the operators of X-ray machines. She commented on the merits of double-plate glass screens, and metals such as lead, aluminium, iron and copper to "resist" X-rays. By late 1904, the dermatitis progressed to cancer. Her doctors attempted to excise a tumor on her right hand, but this failed to halt the progression of the carcinoma. In January 1905 her entire right arm and scapula with the clavicle were amputated. The March 4, 1905 edition of the journal Electrical World and Engineer published the details regarding the amputation of Fleishman's right arm and her withdrawal from the field of radiography and stated:"The leading medical and scientific men of the Coast are full of sympathy and regrets that Mrs. Aschheim has been forced to give up her eminent work as a radiographer in the midst of a brilliant career. It will be a serious loss to them to be deprived of her professional services in the most difficult cases for X-ray examination and radiography."Four months later the cancer recurred and metastases were found in her pulmonary pleurae and lungs. Elizabeth Fleischman died on August 3, 1905, at 38 years old. The notice of her death published in the San Francisco Examiner and the San Francisco Chronicle noted:"[S]o intent was she in the performance of her work that she became careless of her own health. She acquired the reputation [as] the most expert woman radiographer of the world, but she sacrificed her arm [to radiation poisoning] in the pursuit of that fame. The arm was amputated last January. She never fully recovered her health, though she endured all suffering with heroic fortitude. Death came as a relief..."Her gravestone states simply: "I think I did some good in this world." Fleischman was the second person and first woman to die as result of X-ray exposure. The previous year, Clarence Dally, an American glassblower and assistant to Thomas Edison in his work on X-rays, died under similar circumstances to Fleischman.
== Personal life == In 1900, at age 32, Fleischman married Israel Julius Aschheim. She hyphenated her last name to Fleischmann-Aschheim. Aschheim was born in Prussia and had immigrated to California by 1868. He was the grand secretary of the Independent Order of B'nai B'rith (District No. 4, Pacific Coast), a Jewish service organization, and served as the assistant secretary to the California Board of Education.
== Publications and citations == Fleischman, Elizabeth. (1898). Description of Plates: Plate LV: American Frog. Archives of the Roentgen Ray. 3(2): 62. Borden, William Cline, & Sternberg, George Miller. (1900). The Use of the Röntgen Ray by the Medical Department of the United States Army in the War with Spain. Washington, D.C. Government Printing Office. Senn, Nicholas. (1900). The X-ray in Military Surgery. Philadelphia Medical Journal. 5: 36–37.
== References ==
== External links == Media related to Elizabeth Fleischman at Wikimedia Commons