Tag: George Dunea
-
A Polish tragedy and a case without a diagnosis
On the morning of September 1, 1939, German troops attacked Poland without a declaration of war. Two weeks later, on September 17, while Poland was defending itself in the west, the Soviet Union attacked from the east. This two-pronged attack was too much for Poland to handle. On October 6, 1939, its last troops surrendered.…
-
Chlorosis, the green anemia of young women
Chlorosis was one of the most common diseases affecting adolescent girls and young women in Europe and North America during the 17th to 19th centuries. Its main features were a pale or greenish appearance, fatigue and weakness, shortness of breath, palpitations, loss of appetite, and amenorrhea or irregular menstruation. Fanny Price in Mansfield Park, Madame…
-
Eggplants: History and science
The eggplant belongs to the genus Solanum of the nightshade family Solanaceae, along with the tomato and potato. Botanically it is a fruit, specifically a berry, though it is treated like a vegetable in the kitchen. Also belonging to the Solanum genus are chili peppers, as well as the poisonous Atropa belladonna and Datura stramonium (jimson weed).…
-
Johannes Lange of Heidelberg
Johannes Lange of Heidelberg is sometimes credited with being the first to describe what later became known as “chlorosis” but that he called morbus virgineus, the disease of virgins. Born in Silesia in 1485, Lange went to study philosophy at the University of Leipzig, but later found he was more drawn to medicine and migrated…
-
“Medical Mannerism” (1520–1580)
Mannerism in art is characterized by the work of innovators who tried new approaches to their discipline—such as Pontormo, Rosso Fiorentino, Parmigianino, El Greco, Spranger and Goltzius. Physicians, by contrast, remained rooted in the ancient humoral theory of Hippocrates and Galen, continuing to understand health as a balance between the four bodily humors, making diagnoses…
-
Tibet: History and medicine
Situated 14,000 feet above sea level, the vast Tibetan plateau has been inhabited by humans for at least 21,000 years. Adapted to extreme altitude and cold, early nomadic pastoralists hunted, herded, traded, and developed routes linking Tibet with other parts of the world. Their early religion was animistic. Mountains, rivers, and sky phenomena were regarded…
-
The doctors of Thomas Hardy
In his widely read novels, Thomas Hardy describes life in late nineteenth-century England, when truly effective medical remedies were exceedingly few and doctors were greatly limited in what they could achieve. Conditions were worse in rural areas, where poverty was an additional factor in determining the outcome of illnesses. Although doctors in Hardy’s novels typically have…
-
In praise of speleology
As freshmen at the university, we were advised to join a society or club in order to expand our horizons through what later became known as a liberal education. So, my classmate Pete convinced me to join the speleological society and suggested we should explore the Jenolan Caves, a major tourist attraction in New South…
-
The rhinoceros, threatened by extinction
Introduction Five rhino species survive across Africa and Asia. They are distinguished by their massive size, thick protective skin, and horns composed of keratin—the same protein as found in human hair and nails. The rhinos once roamed the savannas in large numbers but in more recent years have become the victims of climate and habitat…
-
The hippopotamus in science and medicine
The broad-backed hippopotamusRests on his belly in the mud;Although he seems so firm to usHe is merely flesh and blood. Flesh-and-blood is weak and frail,Susceptible to nervous shock […]—TS Eliot, “The Hippopotamus” When a patient once asked me whether hippopotami ever suffer from high blood pressure, I dreamed that night I was sitting in my…