Tag: Dental Institute of the University of Vienna
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Physician associates and independent prescribers
JMS PearceHull, England A recent high-profile death in London has led to doctors’ concerns about medical associate professions.1,2 A thirty-year-old woman died from a pulmonary embolism after seeing a physician associate (PA). This led to the case being discussed widely in the media, on social… Read more
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Medical misinformation and “The Bellman’s Fallacy” in the Internet Era
Edward TaborBethesda, Maryland, United States “The Bellman’s Fallacy” is a form of biased thinking in which something is believed to be true because it has been repeatedly stated. Its name comes from the Bellman in Lewis Carroll’s “The Hunting of the Snark,” who says, “What… Read more
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Ingmar Bergman reading psychiatry and psychology texts
Eelco WijdicksRochester, Minnesota, United States Ingmar Bergman’s films are existentialist cinema. Cineastes revere his work, despite its allegedly problematic treatment of women and his unapologetically misogynistic and sexist protagonists. His personal life was just as complicated as his films; he married five times and had… Read more
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Dr. Gerhard Hansen – A great discoverer
Howard FischerUppsala, Sweden “No great discovery was ever made without a bold guess.”—Isaac Newton Leprosy, from the Greek lepis, meaning scaly, has been known since antiquity. The disease was widespread in continental Europe and in Scandinavia, reaching its peak prevalence in the twelfth century.1 Leprosy… Read more
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Cabbage, kraut, and sauerkraut
Scurvy is an ancient disease mentioned in the writings of Hippocrates and Pliny.1 It became particularly prevalent in the early days of the long exploring voyages, the Age of Sail, when an estimated two million sailors are believed to have died from it, more fatalities… Read more
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John Allan Wyeth
Avi OhryTel Aviv, Israel The 1952 book The Scalpel, the Sword by Ted Allen and Sydney Gordon is the story of Dr. Norman Bethune (1890–1939), a Canadian chest surgeon who made important contributions in the fight against pulmonary tuberculosis, as well as surgical contributions to China during… Read more
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Announcing the Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prize, one of the most prestigious honors in the world, recognizes outstanding contributions to the welfare of humanity. It was established by the will of Alfred Nobel, a Swedish inventor, scientist, businessman, and author. Born in 1833 in Stockholm, Nobel held over 350… Read more
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Joseph Conrad and medicine
Joseph Conrad wrote some of the most renowned novels of the twentieth century. Born in Poland in 1857, he entered the French marine service in 1874, and in 1878 began to work on English ships, eventually commanding his own ship and traveling to distant and… Read more
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The Truman delusion: All the world’s a stage
Howard FischerUppsala, Sweden “All the world’s a stage / And all the men and women merely players”– William Shakespeare, As You Like It, Act 2, Scene 7“You know you’ve made it when you have a disease named after you.”– Andrew Niccol, writer of The Truman… Read more
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A Hispanic amulet against disease in infants
Edward TaborBethesda, Maryland, United States In my pediatric residency at a New York City hospital many years ago, I noticed that half of my Hispanic infant patients, as well as some toddlers, wore a small black and red amulet that their parents hoped would protect… Read more
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Blaming Tuskegee for present ills
Adil MenonChicago, Illinois, United States The USPHS Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male is United States medical history’s most tragic example of the road to Hell being paved with good intentions. In the early 20th century, the Public Health Service and the… Read more