Hektoen International

A Journal of Medical Humanities

Tag: blood donation

  • Agatha Christie, nurse

    Linda CarterCarpinteria, California, United States It is not well known that Agatha Christie (1890–1976), the most published author of all time,1 served as a Red Cross nurse volunteer in World War I. Beginning in 1914, she logged 3,400 hours of supportive care in a temporary… Read more

  • Massaging the baby

    Erin FroschCork, Ireland The centuries-old practice of baby massage has been used as early as 2670 BC in China1 to promote bonding between parent and child and demonstrate affection through physical touch, words of affirmation, and quality time. It has been passed down from generation… Read more

  • Working abroad

    Julius MontuertoLobogon, Duero, Bohol, Philippines Nursing school in the Philippines is among the most expensive undergraduate programs anyone can pursue. Having the opportunity to enroll in this program is a privilege and earning that nursing diploma guarantees financial stability—but only if we work abroad. Nurses… Read more

  • Metrodora: Egyptian physician, midwife, and surgeon

    Geraldine MillerLiverpool, England Metrodora is considered to be the “the mother of gynecology.”1 Yet, for many centuries, she has remained unknown. Even today, there are few within the medical community who know much about her pioneering work as a midwife, gynecologist, and surgeon who performed… Read more

  • Multiple personalities are taking over me

    Prekshya ParajuliLouisville, Kentucky, United States In a world where days unfold with habitual grace,I find myself caught in a strange, erratic chase.Not half an hour past, yet hunger calls again,A craving that burns despite my daily strain. Eight hours a day, I toil without much… Read more

  • Leonardo’s Vitruvian Man, a self portrait?

    JMS PearceHull, England Amongst Leonardo da Vinci’s (1452–1519) unrivalled masterpieces are the Mona Lisa (c. 1503), The Last Supper (c. 1495–1498), Salvator Mundi (c. 1499–1510), and the Vitruvian Man (c. 1490). All have been subject to countless commentaries and learned descriptions.1,2 Just as the fictional… Read more

  • Complicating leprosy in the late medieval West

    Juliana MenegakisSt. Andrews, Scotland Starting in the 1990s, Demaitre, Rawcliffe, and Touati revived the study of medieval leprosy, countering the traditional view that lepers were excluded from mainstream society.1 Traditionalists argued that medieval Europeans were inspired by Leviticus, which instructs priests on how to examine… Read more

  • Carriages in history and medicine

    Avi OhryTel Aviv, Israel In Ezekiel 1:4-28 there is a reference to a big cloud with a strong wind and fire flashing from it. Inside the cloud, four wheels touched the ground, and all the wheels looked as if they were made from a clear,… Read more

  • From bedside to bench: The discovery of calmodulinopathy

    Göran WettrellLund, Sweden As a pediatrician specializing in pediatric cardiology, I met in 1982 a twelve-year-old-boy with syncope when playing football. He had four previous episodes of losing consciousness during physical activity and once during a fire alarm. His resting ECG was normal, but his… Read more

  • A “semi-slaughter and a scandal of surgery”: The first documented tracheostomy in history

    Matthew TurnerHershey, Pennsylvania, United States Surgical tracheostomy has been known to humans for thousands of years. The ancient Hindu book of medicine, the Rig Veda, dating to approximately 2000 BC, discusses the healing of throat incisions; the ancient Egyptians may have been aware of the… Read more

  • Portraits of William Hunter by Reynolds, Chamberlin, and Ramsay

    Stephen MartinThailand The Hunterian in Glasgow University and The Royal Academy, London, have three portraits of the anatomist Dr William Hunter.1,2 They make a particularly interesting group with personalized, cryptic symbols and plain emblems of anatomy and the Enlightenment. Despite some discussion,3 their specific icons… Read more

  • Chevalier Jackson, MD: Patient safety champion

    Alan Jay SchwartzPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania, United States Docents guide and educate the visitors at the Mütter Museum of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia while they view the vast array of exhibits. One exhibit in particular is valuable for its historical message. The Chevalier Jackson, MD, (1865–1958)… Read more