Tag: emergency room doctor
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House and Holmes
Stephen McWilliamsDublin, Ireland In David Shore’s award-winning television series House, M.D. (2004–2012), Hugh Laurie played the eponymous Dr. Gregory House. Aficionados have always thrived on tales and legends reimagined, and perhaps House, M.D. is no different. Its narrative may have evoked in its millions of… Read more
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Armenia: History, culture, and medicine
The modern Republic of Armenia is a small country in Transcaucasia that offers stunning mountain and valley views. From its capital, Yerevan, one can see Mount Ararat, now in Turkey, located only about twenty miles from the border between Armenia and Turkey. Mount Ararat is… Read more
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Vladivostok, gateway to the Pacific
Vladivostok is Russia’s largest Pacific port, located on the Sea of Japan at the eastern end of the Trans-Siberian Railway, nearly 6,000 miles from Moscow, but only about 30 miles from the Chinese border and 80 miles from Korea. This gives it a distinctly Asia-Pacific… Read more
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Oliver Goldsmith, mad dogs, and parasites
This dog and man at first were friends;But when a pique began,The dog, to gain some private ends,Went mad, and bit the man. … But soon a wonder came to lightThat showed the rogues they lied,—The man recovered of the bite,The dog it was that… Read more
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Old and alone
Riddhi NaikBambolim, India It was an ordinary day on the medicine ward. As a second-year medical student, my responsibility was to take patient histories, so I approached the bed assigned to me. There I interviewed a 75-year-old man with ischemic heart disease, and he was… Read more
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The sleep room at Chelmsford
Xavier NesbitTasmania, Australia In 1963 in Sydney, Australia, psychiatrist Harry Bailey admitted his first patient for deep sleep therapy at Chelmsford Private Hospital, a small establishment in the northern suburb of Pennant Hills.1 Over the next sixteen years, roughly 1,100 people passed through its sleep… Read more
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When medicine meets verb
Loshini RajentharanLiverpool, United Kingdom “Loshi suka melatah.” A friend said this to me when I was thirteen, pointing out my exaggerated response to being startled. This was not a formal consultation or diagnosis: we were schoolgirls in Malaysia, and melatah belonged to the ordinary vocabulary… Read more
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Hand hygiene, leadership, and knowing versus acting accordingly
Jamar ShawAtlanta, Georgia, United States “Do you really think we’re killing our patients because we’re not washing our hands?” A clinical leader responsible for preventing healthcare-associated infections asked this question during rounds. I remember the disbelief in her question because surely modern medicine had moved… Read more
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Cat zoonoses that infect humans
Domestic cats are usually harmless animals that can occasionally cause serious infections by bacteria, parasites, fungi, and viruses through bites, scratches, contact with their feces, or flies. Their narrow, sharp teeth can deposit pathogens deep into the tissues of those whom they have bitten, allowing… Read more
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Philippe Ricord: A pioneer in venereal disease treatment
Nicolas RoblesBadajoz, Spain Philippe Ricord was born on December 10, 1800 in Baltimore, Maryland. His father had escaped from Marseille during the French Revolution in 1790, but returned to France in 1820. Ricord studied under Guillaume Dupuytren at Hôtel Dieu but fell out with him… Read more
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Dr. Placido Procesi, Giulio Evola, and paraplegia
Avi OhryTel Aviv, Israel Dr. Placido Procesi (1928–2005) was an Italian physician interested in oriental studies and esoteric philosophy.1 Born in Zagarolo, near Rome, he developed interests in Chinese medicine, acupuncture, and homeopathy. He also became deeply involved in traditional Japanese archery, seeing it not… Read more