Tag: gastrointestinal tract
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The diverticulum of Meckel
Johann Friedrich Meckel the Younger, a German anatomist, identified and described Meckel’s diverticulum in 1809, building on earlier observations by Fabricius Hildanus in the sixteenth century. The diverticulum is the most common congenital abnormality of the gastrointestinal tract, found in about 2% of the population. It is a pouch or bulge in the small intestine…
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Nicholas Senn, the great master of abdominal surgery
Nicholas Senn was a man with an extraordinary capacity for work, an innovator, always trying new methods, even new experiments that he first conducted on himself. Born in 1844 in St. Gaul, Switzerland, he came to America when he was eight years old. His family settled in Ashford, Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, then at…
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A perfect day
Mike EllmanChicago, Illinois, United States Hematology rounds start with chalkboard presentations. After posting the admission date, the laboratory results, the hospital course, and our recommendations, we hunch over microscopes to view the blood smears and bone marrow aspirations before marching en masse to the patients’ rooms. As the senior resident in charge, I direct this…