Enfreakment in the medicalization of difference
Camille Kroll Chicago, Illinois, USA An advertisement for the Barnum and Bailey circus, of which P.T. Barnum was a cofounder Credit: Wellcome Collection License: Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) terms and conditions Exalted showman P.T. Barnum was thrilled when he discovered Joice Heth, a severely disabled elderly slave woman. In grotesque detail, he […]
Our divisive political climate and our ability to treat patients without bias
Shane Sobrio Washington, DC, USA Image courtesy of the author Politics are divisive. That should not be a shock to anyone. However, the political climate in the USA at the moment is more than just divisive. Lately, there seems to be an underlying disdain for those we disagree with, in a way that even […]
Drug war or race war? Effects of illegal drug distribution in the African-American community
Denise Powell San Francisco, California, USA Bernard Noble and daughter “Cajun cook got 13 years for two joints.” The Clemency Report. Link I also don’t believe in drugs. For years I paid my people extra so they wouldn’t do that kind of business. Somebody comes to them and says, “I have powders. If you up […]
Pushing back into chaos
Kyra McComas Salt Lake City, Utah, USA The pathway of pain according to René Descartes: “Particles of heat” (A) close to the foot (B) contact the skin and pull threads (C) up the body, that “open the pores” (D, E) and allows “animal spirits to flow from a cavity (F) into the muscles,” causing […]
The beauty of gender diversity
Lisa Shugoll Asheville, North Carolina, USA Caelin Lee, Crux, 2014, pen and ink on paper. https://www.caelinlee.com. Used with permission of artist. The arts have always provided a rich source of material for the type of introspection and contemplation that can deepen our ability to respond empathetically to those whose concerns and life experiences are […]
The language game of medicine
Gunjan Sharma Devon, United Kingdom Photo by Ludomił on Unsplash “The arrow points only in the application that a living being makes of it.” – Ludwig Wittgenstein1 The Language Game Language is a fascinating concept when viewed through a philosophical lens. Imagine if we no longer had a word for jealousy. Would that […]
Gender identity in the twenty-first century
Piper Haitsuka Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, USA Transgender role model, Casil Mcarthur Identity characterizes who a person is. Physical, mental, or chemical identity can have an array of diverse meanings. Gender and sex are two very different concepts that influence identity, but are often confused as being interchangeable words.1 Sex is a biological classification, whereas gender […]
Seeing things differently: a reflection on clinical photography
Michaela Clark Cape Town, South Africa Image courtesy of the Pathology Learning Centre, University of Cape Town Looking into the face of a patient is a necessary part of the clinical experience. Yet despite the physical proximity achieved in the doctor’s office, on the operating table, or in the petri dish, it is only […]
The other pain crisis
Adil Menon Cleveland, Ohio, USA A guiding principle of medical care is that humans regardless of their superficial differences are fundamentally the same in their physiology. One of the oldest and most persistent refutations of this premise is the centuries old myth of a uniquely “African body,” characterized by diminished pain response and elevated […]
Corruption and organ trafficking in Egyptian medicine
Hossam Reda Ghalab Tanta, Egypt A scar left on a kidney trafficking victim. Healthcare for the indigent in developing countries often leaves much to be desired. Organ trafficking is rampant, its prevalence rising alarmingly and for some constituting a thriving business. In Egypt, each year hundreds of poor Egyptians sell their kidneys and livers […]