Hektoen International

A Journal of Medical Humanities

Year: 2020

  • Albert C. Barnes, MD: the physician who spun silver into gold

    Sylvia KarasuNew York, New York, United States Albert C. Barnes is known as the man who accumulated an incomparable art collection for a foundation that bears his name. Few, though, may know how he earned a place in the history of medicine, specifically through his development of Argyrol, the unique compound that was the source…

  • Ephesus and its renowned physicians

    L.J. SandlowGeorge DuneaChicago, Illinois, United States To visit the extensive ruins of Ephesus is to step back into the beginnings of history. The city had been founded by Ionian Greek colonists in the tenth century BC. It prevailed after an early turbulent history and was prospered initially as an independent city-state. After its conquest around…

  • Harvey Cushing: Surgeon, Author, Soldier, Historian 1869-1939

    John RaffenspergerFort Meyers, Florida, United States Harvey Cushing was a third-generation physician, born to a family of New England Puritans who had migrated to Cleveland, Ohio, in the mid 1830s. His father and grandfather were successful physicians; family members on both sides were well-educated and financially secure. At Yale, Cushing studied Latin, Greek, literature, and…

  • Samuel Mudd, MD: Good Samaritan or conspirator?

    Kevin R. LoughlinBoston, Massachusetts, United States As he rose in the Washington, D.C. courtroom on June 30, 1865, to hear his verdict, Dr. Samuel Mudd looked older than his thirty-one years (Figure 1). His odobene mustache framed his mouth and his goatee was speckled with prematurely gray hair. His shoulders were slightly slouched and perspiration…

  • Thomas Sydenham, “The English Hippocrates”

    JMS PearceEast Yorks, UK Still Fever burns, and all her skill defiesTill Sydenham’s wisdom plays a double part,Quells the disease and helps the failing Art.—From a poem on plague by John Locke, 1668 From Hippocrates, “Father Of Medicine,” to William Osler, “Father Of Modern Medicine,” plaudits for doctors abound and venerate their varied virtues. Thomas…

  • The bedside manners of Ingmar Bergman’s celluloid physicians

    Eelco WijdicksRochester, Minnesota, United States The great humanitarian filmmaker and auteur Ingmar Bergman used physicians in his films much more frequently than his peers. Bergman’s full filmography, including two films (Thirst and Brink of Life) directed by but not written by Bergman, features sixteen physicians in thirteen films. Excluding the family doctor in Fanny and…

  • Asclepius at Epidaurus

    L.J. SandlowGeorge DuneaChicago, Illinois, United States An Athenian seeking a cure for his afflictions in the fourth century BC had the option of visiting several competing sanctuaries, at Delphi, Olympia, or Epidaurus. To reach Epidaurus, the Athenian would bypass Megara and Corinth, then turn south and find himself at the shrine of Asclepius, the son…

  • Charles Richard Box: physician, pathologist, and infectious disease pioneer

    Arpan K. BanerjeeSolihull, UK The name Charles Richard Box is perhaps not as well-known as some of the medical contemporaries of his time. He had a brilliant career in medicine at his alma mater but his nature and personality did not result in popularity and fame in society circles. As Alex Munthe, the author of…

  • Life and death of a dog

    Hugh Tunstall-Pedoe Dundee, Scotland We learn from the life and death of family pets, a microcosm of our own existence. We nurtured Petra, a guide-dog puppy, in our family home for more than a year, after which we handed her over for her formal training. She was welcomed as a star pupil for her social and…

  • Neville Samuel Finzi—British radiotherapy pioneer

    Arpan K. BanerjeeSolihull, UK Neville Samuel Finzi was born on June 25, 1881.1 He was the son of Gerald Finzi’s uncle, Leon, who was also a doctor. Gerald Finzi was a British composer famous for his song cycles, choral music, and reflective instrumental and orchestral works including a violin and cello concerto. Neville attended University…