Hektoen International

A Journal of Medical Humanities

Tag: Adam and Eve

  • The trouble with the belly button

    Tonse N. K. RajuGaithersburg, Maryland, United States It is a simple dimple in the mid-abdomen. Yet for medieval artists, it caused mighty headaches while painting portraits of Adam and Eve. Painting the dimple as a natural anatomic feature could be construed as sacrilegious, implying that Adam and Eve were connected by umbilical cords to their…

  • Does an apple a day keep the doctor away?

    Vincent P. de LuiseNew Haven, Connecticut, USA The health benefits of fruits and vegetables are a long-standing and verified aspect of nutrition science. One of those fruits, the apple, has a particularly interesting, albeit circuitous, history as a healthy foodstuff. The well-known aphorism “An apple a day keeps the doctor away” is based on a…