Tag: Book review of “All manner of ingenuity and industry”: a bio-bibliography of Dr. Thomas Willis 1621-1675
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Dialysis
Saher LalaniToronto, Canada for Bapu He is eighty and on dialysis.Bound to machines andfrequents the hospital. He gasps while coughing.All I can do is give himwater and some tissue. He wipes his mouth, seatedupright, resting in a chair.Then, silence ensues. He points to the table.Remember… Read more
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“Get well soon”: Rapid recovery in two children’s novels
Emily BoyleDublin, Ireland The sudden recovery of paralyzed patients is as thrilling as it is unlikely and has often been memorably portrayed in books and film. Some paralysis, such as occurs after spinal cord injury, is permanent. However, gradual physiologic recovery from a paralyzing condition… Read more
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Herophilus, the true father of anatomy?
Philip LiebsonChicago, Illinois, United States Although Andreas Vesalius has been considered the modern father of anatomy, long before his time there lived a Greek anatomist and physician, Herophilus (?335–255 BC), who was accused of human vivisection. He may be the true father of anatomy because… Read more
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From “punch drunk” to chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE)
James L. FranklinChicago, Illinois, United States At a critical moment in the second act of Terrance Blanchard’s opera Champion, based on the life of the boxer Emile Alphonse Griffith, Emile’s trainer Howie Albert asks the fighter, whose boxing career is in a steep decline, if… Read more
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William P. Murphy Jr., MD: Physician-inventor
Howard FischerUppsala, Sweden “…An unqualified success.”– Dr. Murphy on the testing of blood bags during the Korean War It is perhaps no coincidence that the son of the physician who revolutionized the treatment of pernicious anemia should likewise have been an inventor. By the time… Read more
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A migrant worker’s journey to becoming a brain surgeon
Saahas KumbamuSt. Johns, Florida, United States A year ago my parents gifted me Becoming Dr. Q: My Journey from Migrant Farm Worker to Brain Surgeon,the autobiography of Dr. Alfredo Quiñones-Hinojosa, co-written by Mim Eichler Rivas. The book chronicles the remarkable journey of Dr. Q from… Read more
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Measles again
JMS PearceHull, England “Measles is tearing through the UK, spooking health chiefs and parents alike.”– Daily Mail, 25 Jan 2024 Measles is notoriously infectious. Ninety percent of people exposed to an infected person will contract the disease. In many countries, because of misguided anti-vaccine activists,… Read more
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The musical and medical journey of Jean Sibelius
Michael YafiChaden YafiHouston, Texas, United States The Finnish composer Jean Sibelius (1865–1957), one of the twentieth century’s greatest composers, was known for his ability to capture the stark beauty of his country’s landscapes through his unique, austere musical style. Born into a family with diverse… Read more
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Did Chopin die from tuberculosis?
Philip LiebsonChicago, Illinois, United States Frederic Chopin, remembered for his brilliant piano works, suffered from a chronic illness leading to a short life of only thirty-nine years. Yet he lived longer than Mozart, Schubert, Mendelssohn, or George Gershwin. Born in a suburb of Warsaw, he… Read more
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On Hortons among history
Avi OhryTel Aviv, Israel I believe I met Dr. Richard Horton, editor of The Lancet, in 1999 in Glasgow during the two-day symposium on Medicine & Literature on the 400-year anniversary of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow. On that occasion, I… Read more
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Spirit possession in Jewish folklore: The dybbuk
Howard FischerUppsala, Sweden In the folklore of both Eastern European and Mediterranean Jews, a certain kind of possession was considered a real threat. A demon called a “dybbuk” was a malicious, possessing spirit, believed to be the soul or ghost of a dead, sinful person.… Read more
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Tea with Walter de la Mare by Russell Brain
JMS PearceHull, England “The little nowhere of the brain” Many physicians have dabbled in literature and the arts, or as “medical truants” have abandoned medicine for such ventures. A unique collaboration of medicine and literature was the friendship and exchange of diverse stories and speculative… Read more