Hektoen International

A Journal of Medical Humanities

Month: August 2018

  • “The GBM in Room 9”: On the objectifying power of naming and diagnosing

    Atara MessingerToronto, Ontario, Canada I wheeled the patient through the double doors into the operating room. As I parked the hospital bed next to the operating table, I quickly glanced at the patient’s chart. NAME: ‘J.’ AGE: 28. HISTORY: Progressive headaches, visual changes, and right-sided weakness. IMAGING: MRI of the brain shows contrast-enhancing mass with…

  • Jan Steen: Quack doctors visit lovesick maidens

    Like his contemporary Molière, the Dutchman Jan Steen makes fun of quack doctors, often shown in ridiculous costumes visiting young love-sick or pregnant women. In the Lovesick Maiden (Fig.1, Metropolitan Museum) the diagnosis is suggested by the painting of a Cupid above the door, the bed on the right, and the bed-warmer on the lower…

  • Pietro Longhi: appearances are deceiving

    Sally MetzlerChicago, Illinois, United States Pietro Longhi’s depictions of Venetian society delight the eye by his detailed renderings of elegant satin dresses, demure shoes, and fashionable wigs. But appearances can be deceiving. Though he lavishes attention on the attractive façade of his subjects, he is equally concerned with their actions. He invites the viewer into…

  • Giorgio Baglivi, a leading physician of his time

    Giorgio Baglivi (1668-1707) contributed much to our understanding of muscle structure and function, as well as publishing classic descriptions of pulmonary edema and other disorders. Born Duro Armeno in the Republic of Ragusa (now Dubrovnik), he was probably of Armenian descent. His parents dying when he was young, he left for southern Italy, where adopted…

  • Familial food

    Catherine LanserMadison, Wisconsin, USA My brother Rick’s house was warm with the scent of food. He had made huge pans of lasagna to comfort my family a few weeks after my dad’s stroke. My mom, eight siblings, in-laws, nieces, and nephews sat in groups around the house wherever we could fit. Rick stood hunched against…

  • The tempestuous reign of King Sugar: superfood to health hazard

    John TurnerLiverpool, United Kingdom “What am I to buy for the sheep-shearing feast? Three pounds of sugar, five pound of currants . . .”– William Shakespeare, The Winter’s Tale, Act IV Scene iii, 36-49 A scarce, expensive luxury sweetener for two thousand years, “honey powder” and “sugar loaf” became available, affordable, enticingly habituating, and for some,…

  • Christian cutting at Vancouver General

    Amber MooreVancouver, British Columbia, Canada She calls it “Christian cutting,” and laughs dryly,as if trying to soak the secret back up. It’s futile;in the Psychiatry Assessment Unit at Vancouver General,everything spills out eventually anyway- it gushes. Carving crucifixes in her skin, she prays to Mary becauseJesus just won’t do.She doesn’t think he’ll bother to try…

  • Signs

    Jack RiggsMorgantown, West Virginia, United States “This is no way to treat soldiers!” The lieutenant colonel was furious as he screamed at me over the phone. After sufficient venting had occurred, I ventured a nonthreatening interjection. “Colonel, I was not there. Tell me what happened with your soldier.” The lieutenant colonel’s battalion has just completed…

  • Appendicitis: a teenager’s insight

    Berklee CohenClarksville, Maryland, United States If we have enjoyed good health for most of our lives, we often take that health and happiness for granted. An event occurred during summer break that enabled me to truly appreciate my own good health and made me more aware of the challenges for people facing serious illness. One…

  • Shadow self

    Anna ByrdLos Angeles, California, United States When was I was twenty-three years old and weighed ninety-eight pounds, I thought I was fat. I wanted to look like a model, except my hair was falling out, I was bleeding from my nose and ears in my sleep, I was always cold and wore baggy boys’ clothes,…