Hektoen International

A Journal of Medical Humanities

Tag: maritime medicine

  • A hole in the head and a world of skill

    Richard de GrijsSydney, Australia In the dim confines of a ship’s sickbay during the golden age of piracy, the sound of waves might have been interrupted by the rasp and twist of a surgical drill biting into bone. Trepanning—the act of boring into the skull to relieve the pressure on the brain following head trauma—was…