Hektoen International

A Journal of Medical Humanities

Tag: alopecia

  • More than skin deep: The spirituality of chronic dermatologic disease

    Josephine McQuillanIndianapolis, Indiana, United States Chronic dermatological conditions such as psoriasis, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), systemic sclerosis, vitiligo, hidradenitis suppurativa, and cutaneous lymphoma impose more than physical burdens—they profoundly disrupt patients’ spiritual and emotional lives. These lifelong, visible, and stigmatizing diseases fracture identity and belonging, leaving wounds that extend far beneath the skin. Historically and…

  • The Girl with a Pearl Earring—A vanitas?

    James LindesayLeicester, United Kingdom It is a truism that you only have one opportunity to see a picture for the first time. However, in our image-saturated age, by the time you get to see a famous painting in the flesh (so to speak) you will have been so primed with reproductions, commentaries, and received opinions…

  • The doctor and the baron

    George DuneaChicago, Illinois, United States There was a doctor, and there was a baron. The doctor could write, the baron could fly. On a clear day the baron could have flown on the back of an eagle over Italy and Spain to the Carolinas and the White House. There was also a rogue professor. And…