Tag Archives: Canada

C. Miller Fisher: Stroke in the twentieth century

November 6, 2020

Arpan K. Banerjee Solihull, UK   Stroke, in spite of its serious and widespread impact, had long received little interest from physicians. C. Miller Fisher, one of the twentieth century’s outstanding neurologists and researchers, revolutionized the management of stroke. In this well-researched and readable biography, Louis Caplan, a distinguished Harvard neurologist and former trainee of […]

The most enduring fictional character in literature, Sherlock Holmes, created by a physician

September 2, 2020

Marshall Lichtman Rochester, New York, United States   Figure 1. Basil Rathbone (Sherlock Homes) with pipe and Nigel Bruce (Dr. John H. Watson). A scene from the film “The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes” in 1939. The plots rarely adhered to the Conan Doyle story plots and Inspector Lestrade of Scotland Yard and Dr. Watson were […]

Canadian contributions to the study of pathology

June 12, 2020

Guillermo Quinonez Laurette Geldenhuys Nova Scotia, Canada   John George Adami, Head of the Department of Pathology, McGill University, Quebec, Canada, author of The Principles of Pathology. Wikipedia Canadian and American medicine in general, and pathology in particular, have developed in parallel and in synchrony since the nineteenth century. Despite Canada’s limited population, scientific cultural […]

Review of: Health Humanities in Postgraduate Medical Education: A Handbook to the Heart of Medicine

June 1, 2020

J.T.H. Connor St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada   Health Humanities in Postgraduate Medical Education cover. Source Review of Allan D. Peterkin and Anna Skorzewska, eds., Health Humanities in Postgraduate Medical Education: A Handbook to the Heart of Medicine (New York: Oxford University Press, 2018) The backbone of this innovative and informative collection is comprised of eleven essays […]

Reporting a pandemic

April 8, 2020

Francis Christian Saskatoon, Canada   Nonno watching the news. Jakob Montrasio. Taken on December 21, 2011. From Flickr. CC BY 2.0 Dust to dust and doom delivered by newscasts dripping irony in considered doses of despair; feigning knowledge of ignorance, feigning ignorance of absent panic and knowledge from experts claiming uncertainty.   But the web […]

A surgeon and a gentleman: the life of James Barry

April 3, 2020

Mariel Tishma Chicago, Illinois, United States   Dr. James Barry with John, a servant, and his dog, Psyche. Unknown Artist. c1850.   “Do not consider whether what I say is a young man speaking, but whether my discussion with you is that of a man of understanding.”1 – Dedication of the thesis of James Barry In November of 1809, […]

Bloody segregation: The story of how Charles Richard Drew found life abundantly

February 10, 2020

Amy DeMatt Greensburg, Pennsylvania, United States   Charles R. Drew, “Father of the Blood Bank,” as depicted by Betsy Graves Reyneau. The portrait hangs at the National Portrait Gallery, and, as described by the Gallery, serves as a “visual rebuttal to racism.” Portrait of Charles R. Drew, painted by Betsy Graves Reyneau, 1950, National Portrait […]

Defining donation

January 30, 2020

Ahmad Shakeri Howsikan Kugathasan Toronto, Canada   Money for blood can be another tool we consider in solving shortage. Image: “Today’s blood on an old receipt – merry christmas!” Photo by carloscappaticci, Dec. 24, 2007, on Flickr. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0. Money was tight in college for my roommate and me. I had a book buying […]

Blood on the road

January 29, 2020

Anne Marie Appelgren Málaga, Spain   The modified Ford station wagon, used as a blood transfusion transport in the name of the international Red Cross in Spain 1937. To the right we see Norman Bethune and far right Hazen Sise. “The wounded are dying, searching for blood. Now the blood can move, now the blood […]

Health, wellness, and their determinants

January 28, 2020

Travis Kirkwood Ottawa, Ontario, Canada   Original map made by John Snow in 1854. Cholera cases are highlighted in black. 2nd Ed by John Snow. Public Domain due to age. John Snow is often referred to as the father of modern epidemiology. His work is certainly worthy of this1 and present-day public health2 still strives toward […]