Tag: Journal
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Katherine Anne Porter and the 1918 influenza epidemic
Cristóbal S. Berry-CabánFort Bragg, North Carolina, United States In Pale Horse, Pale Rider, Katherine Anne Porter weaves the horrors of the Great War, the 1918 influenza pandemic, and the near-death experience of a young woman in love with a doomed American soldier into a memorable novella.1 Porter was born on May 15, 1890, in the…
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Sir Roderick Glossop: Wodehouse’s “eminent loony doctor”
Paul DakinNorth London, UK P.G. Wodehouse is one of the greatest comic authors of the twentieth century. He wrote nearly a hundred books containing a fascinating array of characters. Many inhabited the confined geography of 1920’s London and country houses, with occasional trips to New York or the French Riviera. This was the world Wodehouse…
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Lament to measles
Nazan BilgelBursa, Turkey I am the sorrowful, dull winter sunResting silently on the naked branches of the treesWarming and soothingVillages, roads, and mountain stones.I saw a village far awayBehind the mountains, you couldn’t know So described the poet Ceyhun Atuf Kansu himself when he saw so many dying children because of measles.1 Although a simple preventable…
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Muslim women healers of the medieval and early modern Ottoman Empire
Nada DarwishAlan S. WeberDoha, Qatar Although known only through court documents, legal proceedings, and references in the writings of male practitioners, the tabiba—a female practitioner of folk medicine, midwifery, and gynecology—was an important member of the medical community in the Ottoman Empire (1299–1923). The existing historical record unfortunately obscures the important role that women physicians, nurses,…
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End-of-life care and contingent vs. non-contingent duties
Ronald W. PiesBoston, Massachusetts, United States Introduction Mr. Joseph B, a 70-year-old widower and retired college professor, is hospitalized in the final stages of metastatic pancreatic carcinoma. His doctors estimate that he has “three or four weeks” to live. The patient is well aware of his prognosis, and, as he puts it, “I have come…
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Changes in childbirth in the United States: 1750–1950
Laura KaplanNew York, New York, United States For most of American history, pregnancy, labor and delivery, and post-partum have been dangerous periods for mother and child. However, starting slowly in the late 18th century and accelerating into the late 19th century, labor and delivery radically changed. Initially new medical interventions, such as forceps and anesthesia,…