Tag: Fall 2020
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Macdonald Critchley
JMS PearceEast Yorks, England Macdonald Critchley was a neurologist of elegance and sophistication.1 He was pre-eminently a clinical investigator of disorders of higher mental functions, especially those relating to language. He was the author of many beautifully written scientific papers, books, and delightful personal reminiscences.2 Born in Bristol in February 1900, his childhood ability was…
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Pink and yellow
Govind Krishnan Durham, North Carolina, United States I am wearing pink, I have a rosy glowMy breaths are even, measured, slowThe doctors come and go. Come and go. Come and go.But sometimes they mutter, their heads bowed low. And when they do this, I rest my hands on my growing bellylistening intently, but understanding barely.…
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Presentism
Jayant RadhakrishnanChicago, Illinois, United States The Oxford English Dictionary defines presentism as “uncritical adherence to present-day attitudes, especially the tendency to interpret past events in terms of modern values and concepts.” The term may have been used as far back as the 1870s and applies to acts, beliefs, and people that were acceptable or even…
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The deer trail
Henri ColtLaguna Beach, California, United States “Ezra, get up! It’s a beautiful morning, and you’re sixteen today!” I playfully shook my son’s shoulder. “It’s six o’clock, Dad, what are you doing?” He buried his head under his pillow and slid under the covers. “We’re going hiking, remember?” Every year, rain or shine, we skipped breakfast…
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Derek Ernest Denny-Brown
JMS PearceHull, England Amongst the titans of medicine, it is not easy to pick out those whose footprints will not fade with passing time. Derek Denny-Brown (Fig 1) was one. He was born in Christchurch, New Zealand. After his graduation in medicine from Otago University in 1924, he won a Beit fellowship to study in…
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Too many doctors: The death of Friedrich III
Nicolas Roberto Robles Badajoz, Spain Un médico cura; dos, dudan; tres, muerte segura. One doctor, health; two, doubt; three, certain death. —Spanish saying Friedrich III of Hohenzollern was the second Kaiser of Germany and eighth King of Prussia. After completing his studies, which combined military training and liberal arts, he married Princess Victoria, daughter of Queen…
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The Sorokdo National Hospital of South Korea
Lucy EumNew Brunswick, Canada Hansen’s disease, also known as leprosy, has historically been a highly stigmatized condition.1 For centuries it was thought to be a curse, a punishment for sin, or a hereditary disease.2 It was not until 1873 that a Norwegian scientist, Gerhard Henrik Armauer Hansen, discovered the bacterial cause: Mycobacterium leprae.3 While Hansen’s…
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Dr. Sabina Spielrein: Consequences of feminism and love
Irving RosenToronto, Ontario, Canada While all our lives are eventful, some people tend to experience situations that set them apart. Born in 1885 in Rostov, Czarist Russia, Sabina was the eldest child of prosperous intellectualized parents of Jewish origin. Academically and artistically gifted, by age eighteen she developed alarming behavior. She showed tics, grimaces, body…
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Anatomical descriptions in the Iliad
Maria ChiccoAylesbury, UK The descriptions of battles and duels in the Iliad confer an epic character to its narration. However, beyond dramatic effect, the detailed descriptions of wounds and injuries have attracted the attention and curiosity of generations of readers, especially those with a medical background. Some of the anatomical descriptions appear surprisingly elaborate and…