Month: February 2026
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Rome’s Ospedale Santo Spirito: From ruin to revival
Sally MetzlerChicago, Illinois, United States Renowned for his restoration of the legendary Sistine Chapel at the Vatican, Pope Sixtus IV (Francesco della Rovere; 1414–1484) embellished Rome with such rapidity and magnitude that he earned the title Urbis Restaurator. Some lauded him as the new Augustus of the Eternal City and praised him for surpassing his…
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The spleen and melancholy
Old Democritus under a tree,Sits on a stone with book on knee;About him hang there many features,Of Cats, Dogs and such like creatures,Of which he makes anatomy,The seat of black choler to see.—Robert Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy The spleen could be described as occupying a special place between medicine and science versus art and…
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The once fatal pernicious anemia
For much of medical history, pernicious anemia was a baffling and invariably fatal disorder. Characterized by profound weakness, pallor, glossitis, and progressive neurologic decline, it carried an ominous reputation. Its name—“pernicious”—reflected the despair of physicians who could offer no remedy. The symptoms of this disease developed gradually and were fatigue, weakness, pallor, and shortness of…
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On clubfoot, orthopedics, art, and history
Avi OhryTel Aviv, Israel A clubfoot,1 or congenital talipes equinovarus (CTEV), is a birth defect in which the foot is inverted. If untreated, children with TEV often walk on their ankles, or on the sides of their feet. The condition occurs about one in every 1,000 live births. Recently, I watched an excellent French film,…
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Earl Bakken: Pacemaker pioneer and founder of Medtronic
Ahmed NadeemChicago, Illinois, United States Earl Bakken was an electrical engineer who developed the external, battery-operated, wearable pacemaker. He was born in Minnesota in 1924 and received his Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in electrical engineering from the University of Minnesota. In 1949, he founded a company called Medtronic with his brother-in-law,…
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Jacobus Rau: Surgical innovator, renowned lithotomist, and educator at Leiden
Johann Jakob Rau, latinized to Johannes, was one of the most influential surgical innovators of early modern Europe, best known for transforming the treatment of urinary bladder stones through his lateral lithotomy technique. Born in 1668 in Baden-Baden, he was the son of wine merchant Johannes and Magdalena Muller. His early exposure to medicine came…
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Bernhard Siegfried Albinus: Anatomist and surgeon
Bernhard Siegfried Albinus, originally called Weiss, was born at Frankfurt on the Oder in 1697. There his father was professor of medicine until 1702 when he was transferred to the chair of medicine at Leiden University. Thus young Bernhard began his education in the Netherlands at the age of twelve, studying under the famous Govert…
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Agatha Christie’s first post-mortem
Stephen McWilliamsDublin, Ireland Aficionados of Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple could do worse than read Carla Valentine’s Murder Isn’t Easy: The Forensics of Agatha Christie.1 In the book’s introduction, we’re reminded that Christie, the “Queen of Crime,” remains the world’s all-time bestselling novelist, outsold only by the Bible and Shakespeare. Valentine describes Christie’s dedication to…
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Lorenz Heister, German surgeon
Lorenz Heister (or Laurentius Heister in his Latin works) was a prominent German general, eye surgeon, and professor of anatomy and surgery at the University of Altdorf, Germany. Heister contributed significantly to surgical practice, particularly through his influential surgical books, which hold a place in medical literature comparable to that of Ambroise Paré. Born to…