Hektoen International

A Journal of Medical Humanities

Tag: bone

  • Humans with tails

    Howard FischerUppsala, Sweden “…he had been born and had grown up with a cartilaginous tail in the shape of acorkscrew with a small tuft of hair on the tip.”— Gabriel García Márquez, One Hundred Years of Solitude1 The chance of a child being born with a tail-like lumbosacral appendage is small. About sixty cases have…

  • Blood and bone

    Sue StevensonMelbourne, Australia The compression socks assist with my low blood volume but they look terrible with my summer dress. Secondhand, $12 on eBay, a 1940s cut with flowers and cap sleeves. The compression socks remind me of ancient old ladies and while I am a year shy of half a century, I am still…