[4] During his time at university, studied under highly esteemed individuals, including Lord Kelvin and Joseph Lister.

[5] In the 1870s, Dr. Bell gained recognition for pioneering a new technique for treating diphtheria and creating a method to address smallpox that prevented the occurrence of secondary fever.

By the 1880s, he identified a link between constipation and illness, coining the term "autotoxemia" to describe the absorption of toxins into the bloodstream.

[7] In 1909, he declined an offer of a baronetcy from King Edward VII, who had a strong interest in the problem of cancer and who had read one of Bell's books on the subject.

[8] In the same year, Bell gave a speech on the benefits of a fruitarian diet at the newly opened international headquarters of the Order of the Golden Age in London.

[7][11] He recommended his cancer patients fresh air and a vegetarian diet of uncooked vegetables and fruit, nuts, and dairy products.

[5][12] His advocacy for such treatments led to a sharp critique in 1912, when the British Medical Journal published an article titled "Cancer, Credulity, and Quackery" accusing him of promoting pseudoscience.

One micrograph, captured in 1872, required a minimum exposure time of three-quarters of an hour, as dry plates were not yet available.

[13]: xi–xii In 1893, Bell published a collection of poetry titled A Physician's Poems, which led to him being featured in David Herschell's One Hundred Modern Scottish Poets.