Hektoen International

A Journal of Medical Humanities

Tag: code

  • Through hardship comes success—Life of Adolph Kussmaul

    Hina HaqCayon, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Caribbean Adolph Kussmaul was born in Graben, Germany in 1822.1 He came from a long line of physicians and grew up in a beautiful place where miles of lush vegetation stretched out to nurture crops and create homes for… Read more

  • The history of Indian medicine and its impact on modern practice

    Kahan MehtaGotri, Vadodara, India India has a rich tradition of medicine that has evolved over the centuries. One such medical practice is Ayurveda, a system that has been used in India for over 3,000 years.1 Ayurveda has its roots in mythology, and the story of… Read more

  • The ancient history of beer

    Carol ShermanChicago, Illinois, United States Beer is a short word with a long history. According to the World History Encyclopedia, it is the world’s oldest alcoholic drink. The name comes from the Latin “bibere” via the German “bier,” meaning “to drink.”1 The origin dates back… Read more

  • William Sargant

    JMS PearceHull, England After the innovative psychology of Freud, Jung, and Adler there was little progress in knowledge either of psychological or organic mechanisms, or their treatment.1 Few psychiatrists had postgraduate training in clinical organic medicine, but William Walters Sargant (1907–1988) was an exception, trained… Read more

  • Sir William Osler and Oxford

    Göran WettrellLund, Sweden William Osler was one of the most famous physicians and medical teachers of his time. He combined a wide knowledge of clinical medicine and science with humanity and approached patients and people in a humoristic and enthusiastic way.1 Osler has been called… Read more

  • What’s in a name?

    Aaroh DubeyLondon, England “What’s in a name?” Juliet asks the audience in Act 2 Scene 2 of Romeo and Juliet. The play laments the folly of holding onto the past and giving undue meaning to names and titles.1 Outside of Shakespeare, however, things are rarely… Read more

  • Can headless martyrs really walk? The belief in cephalophores in the Middle Ages

    Andrew WodrichWashington, DC “By the temple of Mercury, [he was] beheaded with [an] axe. And anon the body of St. Denis raised himself up, and bare his head between his arms, as the angel led him two leagues … unto the place where he now… Read more

  • Painter Milene Pavlović Barili (1909–1945)

    Mirjana Stojkovic-IvkovicBelgrade, Serbia Milena Pavlović Barili was one of the most avant-garde and interesting personalities of the world art scene in the first half of the twentieth century. Suffering was inextricably linked to her life. Through suffering, pain, and dreams colored with melancholy, she experienced… Read more

  • Ruggero Oddi: Brilliant physician and victim of gaslighting by the Congo Free State

    Eli EhrenpreisSkokie, Illinois, United States When Ruggero Oddi (1864–1913) was a medical student at the University of Bologna, he performed studies detailing the physiology of the biliary sphincter. This work became Oddi’s legacy, setting the stage for modern biliary and pancreatic clinical science. Without Oddi’s… Read more

  • A brief history of ulcerative colitis

    Parnita KesarSouth Carolina, United States The symptoms of ulcerative colitis have been documented since the eighteenth century. From 1745, there is evidence that Prince Charles, the Young Pretender to the English crown, had symptoms consistent with the condition we now know as ulcerative colitis. He… Read more

  • Abraham de Balmes ben Meir, Jewish Italian physician and polymath

    Avi OhryTel Aviv, Israel Abraham de Balmes ben Meir (c. 1460–1523) was a Jewish physician and polymath from the baroque Italian city of Lecce in the south of Italy, where his grandfather had served as personal physician to King Ferdinand I of Naples. He studied… Read more

  • King Wamba’s poisoning with cytisine

    Nicolas Roberto RoblesBadajoz, Spain In AD 409, the Iberian Peninsula was invaded by the Suevi and the Vandals (of Germanic stock) and the Alans (of Asian origin). The Visigoths came next. They had entered into an alliance with imperial Rome with the purpose of ejecting… Read more