Hektoen International

A Journal of Medical Humanities

Tag: gallbladder

  • The history of operating on the abdomen (laparotomy)

    For many centuries, “laparotomy” (derived from the Greek “lapara”, “flank or soft part”, and “tome”, “to cut”) was considered extremely dangerous and rarely attempted. There is a poorly documented report on Jacob Nufer, an Austrian or Swiss veterinarian or even pig farmer, who around the year 1550 saved the life of his wife by removing…

  • A gastrointestinal quartet

    These four individuals, despite their promising, euphonious names, did not write great operas. They were mere anatomists and worked on the area where the pancreas and gallbladder ducts meet to enter the duodenum. The most senior of the group was the German Johann Georg Wirsung (1589–1643). While working in Padua in 1642 and dissecting an…

  • A series of messages

    Fung Kam YanHong Kong It was a Sunday. I sat outside the ward in my white coat, my eye protection fogging up, trying to catch my breath through the KF94 mask. My grandmother was inside, also struggling to breathe. The nurse said that only two visitors were allowed because of COVID-19 restrictions. It did not…