Hektoen International

A Journal of Medical Humanities

Tag: William Osler

  • Sir William Osler and Oxford

    Göran WettrellLund, Sweden William Osler was one of the most famous physicians and medical teachers of his time. He combined a wide knowledge of clinical medicine and science with humanity and approached patients and people in a humoristic and enthusiastic way.1 Osler has been called “the Father of Modern Medicine.” He revolutionized the teaching of…

  • The satirical side of William Osler, M.D.

    Howard Fischer Uppsala, Sweden   Cartoon of William Osler as a cherub in charge of a cyclone banishing all disease from Johns Hopkins Hospital. Drawing by Max Brodel, a medical illustrator at the hospital, 1896. National Library of Medicine. Public domain. “But whatever you do, take neither yourself nor your fellow creatures too seriously.”1 –…

  • Erik Waller the book collector

    Anna LantzStockholm, Sweden Erik Waller (1875–1955) was a Swedish surgeon and book collector who spent most of his professional life in Lidköping, a small town in the southwest of Sweden. He received his medical education in Uppsala and Stockholm before moving to Lidköping in 1909, where he was offered a position as acting hospital doctor.…

  • William Osler

    It is good to review periodically the lives of famous men lest they be forgotten by new generations. In medicine few people have been the subject of more books, articles, and reviews then Sir William Osler. He has been called the father of modern medicine. He was the “compleat” physician, a scientist and humanist, and…

  • Walter E. Dandy, one of the founders of neurosurgery

    Philip R. Liebson Chicago, Illinois, United States   Johns Hopkins, where Dandy studied. Photo by Lizardraley99, 2012. Via Wikimedia. CC BY-SA 3.0 Three pioneers established the discipline of neurosurgery. They were the British surgeon Victor Horsley and the Americans Harvey Cushing and Walter Dandy. Both Americans were surgeons at Johns Hopkins Hospital and Dandy (1886-1946)…

  • Pediatrics and theatrics

    Howard Fischer Uppsala, Sweden   Chicago, Illinois. Provident Hospital. Doctors and interns in the cafeteria. Photo by Jack Delano. 1942. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division  1. Initiation. I had had a busy night on call in the city’s largest women’s hospital. I was a second-year pediatric resident assigned to the Neonatal Intensive Care…

  • Spirituality in medicine

    Gautam Sen Kolkata, India   Doctor-patient bonhomie is beneficial for both. Photo by Thirdman on Pexels. Imagine a hospitalized patient in the advanced stages of a difficult disease. He wonders whether he will survive and, if he does, in what state he will spend the remainder of his life. Alone in bed, he sometimes finds…

  • Leeching and François-Joseph-Victor Broussais

    JMS Pearce Hull, England, UK   Fig 1. Broussais & leeching. Credit: Encyclopædia Britannica. The practice of bloodletting began with the Egyptians and was succeeded by the Greeks, Romans (including Galen), and healers in India. In medieval times it spread throughout Europe. The “leech craze” was so popular in the nineteenth century that it has…

  • Moral judgment in medicine: “sensibility of heart”

    Jack Coulehan Stony Brook, New York, United States   Clinicians in Intensive Care Unit. 2011. Photo by Calleamanecer. Via Wikimedia. CC BY-SA 3.0 I want to reflect on the role of emotions, or “sensibility of heart,” in medical judgment. I take the term “judgment,” in general, to refer to the human capacity of assessing, analyzing,…

  • William Osler: Clinician and teacher with a pediatric interest

    Göran Wettrell Lund, Sweden   Figure 1. Sir William Osler in Oxford, photo presented by Lady Osler. Sir William Osler has been described as one of the greatest physicians of his time, especially known for his bedside medicine and teaching (Figure 1). He has also been characterized as “a pediatric-minded worker within the widespread wine-yard…