Month: May 2025
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History of human water channels
Mostafa ElbabaDoha, Qatar Water is the essence of life; it serves as the fundamental solvent for many biochemical processes. Different theories have examined how life began on Earth.1 One of the most popular scientific theories suggests that hot chemicals raised through the sea floor enabled a chemical reaction between hydrogen and carbon, producing simple organic…
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The history of typhus
Typhus exanthematicus is an old disease long confused with typhoid fever. Some historians believe that it caused the Plague of Athens as described by Thucydides, and that it was introduced into Europe by the Spanish soldiers returning from the Americas in the sixteenth century. It likely caused the severe epidemic occurring during the confrontations between…
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Kipling’s books
Rudyard Kipling (1865–1936) is best known for his adventure stories and poems centered on India, empire, and childhood. However, his works also contain rich medical implications—both in their depictions of disease and healing and in their reflection of medical attitudes during the height of British colonialism. From tales of tropical illness to narratives involving surgery,…
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Jules Verne’s novels
Jules Verne, the celebrated 19th-century French author, is primarily known for his science fiction works that anticipated many technological innovations. His approach to writing was rooted in scientific research: Before penning his novels, he meticulously studied scientific journals and consulted with experts across various fields. This approach allowed him to incorporate authentic medical knowledge into…
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Cuore: The heart of Italian literature and society
Cuore, which means “heart” in Italian, is one of the most influential works in Italian literature. Written by Edmondo De Amicis and published in 1886, this novel has become a fundamental text in Italian culture and education. Through its narrative structure and emotional depth, Cuore captures the essence of Italy during a crucial period of…
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On superficial, “epidermal” books
Frank González-CrussíChicago, Illinois, United States Camille Flammarion (1842–1925) was a French astronomer who acquired immense popularity as a writer (Fig. 1). Today, his surname brings to mind a major French publishing house (founded by his brother Ernest), but in the nineteenth century and first half of the twentieth, the word “Flammarion” evoked Camille’s extraordinary celebrity…
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Sir James Paget
JMS PearceHull, England James Paget (1814–1899) is remembered for his original accounts of “osteitis deformans,” universally known as Paget’s disease of bone,1 and for his original description of Paget’s disease of the nipple, a sign of intraductal carcinoma.2 He made extensive contributions to pathology3 and to surgery.4 As a student at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital, he was…
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Eric Ambler’s psychopath
Stephen McWilliamsDublin, Ireland Years before Ian Fleming, John le Carré, and Alistair MacLean were popular, there was another spy novelist they all admired. His name was Eric Ambler and, in the late 1930s, just as Europe’s core temperature was heating up for war, Hodder and Stoughton published half a dozen of his earliest thrillers. His…
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Leaving medicine
Dean GianakosLynchburg, Virginia, United States It is February in Boston, and the snow is coming down hard. From his office window, Tom shakes his head and watches a car spin its wheels in the middle of the road. Next week, he will be in southern California for a medical meeting. “I’m so done with this,”…
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Rooted in exile, growing through medicine
Tenzin TamdinConnecticut, United States I was born in a Tibetan refugee settlement in India. My parents were farmers who worked a small piece of land with a few cows. I remember my mother borrowing rice from neighbors when we had none. I remember cleaning cow dung before sunrise, my school uniform folded beside me. Out…