Tag: Spring 2012
-
A perfect day
Mike Ellman Chicago, Illinois, United States Hematology rounds start with chalkboard presentations. After posting the admission date, the laboratory results, the hospital course, and our recommendations, we hunch over microscopes to view the blood smears and bone marrow aspirations before marching en masse to the patients’ rooms. As the senior resident in charge, I…
-
Hagströmer Medico-Historical Library
Anna Lantz Sweden Hagströmer Medico-Historical Library September 28, 2011 Anders Johan Hagströmer (1753–1830) was one of Sweden’s leading anatomists and a student of Linnaeus. A cofounder of both the Swedish Society of Medicine and of the Karolinska Institute,1 he was also a collector of medical and scientific books, which he donated to the library…
-
Answers to Literary Quiz – #3
Philip Roth: The Anatomy Lesson Sir Arthur Conan Doyle: The Hound of the Baskervilles George W. Bush: Decision Points Joseph Conrad: Heart of Darkness Jane Austen: Sense and Sensibility Sinclair Lewis: Main Street George Eliot: Middlemarch Woody Allen: Sandor Needleman in Side Effects Oliver Sacks: Witty Ticcy Ray in The Man who Mistook his…
-
Literary Quiz – #3
FIRST SENTENCES OF GREAT CLASSICS TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE! When he is sick, every man wants his mother; if she’s not around, other women must do. I confess that at these words a shudder passed through me. In the last year of my presidency, I began to think seriously about writing my memoirs. The Nellie, a…
-
The peach tree
Roy Smythe Temple, Texas, United States Souvenir de mauve, 1888 Vincent van Gogh Oil on canvas 73.0 x 59.5 cm In the hot Texas summer of my 77th year, my skin turned a little yella’, and I lost some weight. Doc Butler, who I’d been seein’ for ‘bout 30 years now, told me to…
-
The physician in spite of himself (Molière)
Le Médecin Malgré Lui (The Physician in Spite of Himself) is written by the French playwright Molière (1622-1673). In the play, Martine, recently beaten by her husband, seeks revenge by convincing two servants (who are seeking a doctor for their master’s daughter) that her husband Sganarelle is a great physician—with one catch. Even though he…
-
On the skill of physicians
“I am not partial to physicians myself. In minor matters a proper diet is better than a doctor; in major matters they do not seem to have much skill. No doctor has yet learnt to cure a broken neck. However, they have their place, like others in the world. No duel should be fought without…
-
Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s last illness
Armando Susmano Chicago, Illinois, United States Yalta summit, February 1945 From left to right: Winston Churchill, Franklin Roosevelt, and Joseph Stalin On April 12, 1945, the country was shocked to learn their recently-elected fourth-term president was dead. Yet even after FDR’s death, Roosevelt’s personal physician, Admiral Dr. Ross McIntire wrote that “FDR’s blood pressure…
-
Lord Moran’s secret
On December 7, 1941, Winston Churchill heard the news that America had been attacked at Pearl Harbor and that Britain was no longer alone in the war. He immediately decided to visit President Roosevelt in Washington in order to coordinate their attack and defense strategy.1 Arriving in Washington after nearly 10 days at sea, the…
-
Finding a Voice
Ruth MargalitChristopher LeetOmaha, Nebraska, United States Erin Reets, a resident of the Siena/Francis House (SFH) homeless shelter, came in to discuss a medical problem with a doctor at the shelter clinic. Having addressed the medical problem, the doctor sat down and asked Erin to tell his story: How long had he been at the shelter?…