Year: 2023
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The interplay of spirituality and traditional medicine in Indonesia
Shabrina JarrellCharleston, West Virginia, United States In the cultural fabric of Indonesia, spiritual healing has thrived for centuries. The practice of spiritual and traditional healing remains relevant alongside modern medical advances. The contrast and interplay of traditional wisdom and contemporary influences is particularly apparent in a nation characterized by rich cultural diversity. While interest in…
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I’m listening
Tulsi PatelChicago, Illinois, United States To the gentle whispers of the summer breeze,The carpenter ants’ chatter in the trees,A firefly’s luminous flash in the night,A saguaro’s water, still and quiet.The ocean’s froth, a fierce collision.Then, hoarse vocal cords, a trach’d admission,Eyes’ wells fill, glistening and bright,LVADs’ hum, a steady pump’s right. I listen close till…
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Friedrich Wöhler (1800–1882)
When the proteins of the human body are broken down to their constituent amino acids, they are converted to ammonia (NH3), which, being toxic, is metabolized in the liver to urea. As the main nitrogenous end product of proteins, urea is found mainly in the blood, but to some extent also in bile, milk, and…
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Richard Wiseman, “father of English surgery”
Richard Wiseman lived in the turbulent seventeenth century that devastated Western Europe by its internecine conflicts. Germany was torn apart by the Thirty Years War, France by the rebellion known as the Fronde, and England by the Civil War that culminated in the execution of its monarch in 1649. In 1665 London was devastated by…
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Aphasia
Tulsi PatelChicago, Illinois, United States Paint chips Plume of smoke Plume of feathers Peach pits Petty parrot Paris — In muddled speech dwells a world unknown,Where ordered words once danced, now overthrown.Broca’s realm, a twisted maze,Where language hides in veiled haze.The mind’s expression, bound and tied,An overpass collapsed, connections dried. Thoughts in motion, stammer and…
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It’s all in a name
Rida KhanNew York, United States I struggle with the letters that make up my nameIt hesitates and falls flat on their tonguesAnd although I’ve searched for reason, there is an inexplicable shameThat I’ve unwillingly carried since I was young Until one day, in a hospital bed ten paces from the nurse’s stationA tired man of…
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The mysterious death of Margaret, child queen of Scotland
Juliana MenegakisSt. Andrews, Scotland Upon the death of Alexander III of Scotland in 1286, the throne of Scotland passed to his four-year-old granddaughter Margaret. Only four years later, the young queen died, aged just seven. However, the exact details of her death are uncertain. When exactly did she die? And was her death a sudden…
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When it rains, it pours
Giulio NicitaFlorence, Italy 1983 Giuseppe’s shouts and laughter echoed in the long corridor as he ran after the ball, kicking it toward his mother with his slippered foot. Attracted by the noise, but silently sliding along the polished floor, the austere figure of Sister Leonia appeared, her face surrounded by her veil. With a smile…
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“Man’s greatest pleasure”: Dr. Richard Selzer, as patient
Mahala StriplingFort Worth, Texas, United States A Yale-New Haven surgeon-writer, Richard Selzer wrote stories about his patients that illuminated their souls. But he did not really know what it was like to be a patient until a dramatic, transformational event occurred on the last day of March, 1991. Returning home from a long speaking tour…
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Dr. Bernard Lown
Philip LiebsonChicago, Illinois, United States Sudden death from cardiac dysrhythmias is a frequent consequence of acute myocardial infarction. Before the 1960s, little could be done to prevent it, and patients were usually confined to bed for several weeks. Ventricular fibrillation, the underlying cause of sudden cardiac death, was a frequent occurrence. In the 1950s, Dr.…