Hektoen International

A Journal of Medical Humanities

Tag: Lung

  • Dr. Marilyn Gaston’s lifesaving research

    Howard FischerUppsala, Sweden “[W]e can seize the opportunity to honor the too-often-neglected accomplishments of [B]lack Americans in every endeavor throughout our history.”1– President Gerald Ford, 1976 Marilyn Gaston, MD (b. 1939), grew up in a poor family, with both parents working at low-wage jobs. She graduated from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine in…

  • From woodpeckers to Auenbrugger

    James Franklin Chicago, Illinois, United States In learning the art of physical diagnosis, every medical student is taught the technique and application of percussion. Percussion involves placing the palm and fingers of one hand on the patient and using the tip of the third finger of the other hand as a hammer, striking the distal interphalangeal…

  • Silent no more

    Susan KaplanChicago, Illinois, United States I hear a cough in the dark. Like all mothers, I am exquisitely attuned to any sound from my children in the middle of the night. A few more coughs. Silence. More coughing. I get out of bed and go into Benji’s room to check on him. The cough has…