Hektoen International

A Journal of Medical Humanities

Tag: Mostafa Elbaba

  • History of ectopic kidney

    Mostafa ElbabaDoha, Qatar “There are many errors in the development of the kidneys which are of great surgical and pathologic interest. Most of these errors are easily explainable by the remarkable evolutions which attend the development of the urinary apparatus. If anyone doubts the utility of a careful study of this subject, let him contemplate…

  • History of sodium in medicine

    Mostafa ElbabaDoha, Qatar In humans, sodium controls the balance of fluids in the body and the absorption of nutrients in the alimentary tract. Sodium is also involved in nerve impulse transmission and cell membrane electrical activity. Significant changes in the sodium level prevent cells from carrying out those physiological functions, disrupting what is known as…

  • The discovery of urea and the end of vitalism

    Mostafa ElbabaDoha, Qatar In history, ancient chemistry is known as “alchemy.” It is different than modern chemistry since it was mixed with philosophy and pseudoscience, although it is considered a protoscience. Alchemy failed to explain the nature of matter and its transformations. However, by experimentation and recording the results, alchemists set the stage for modern…

  • The discovery of heparin

    Mostafa ElbabaDoha, Qatar The sulfated glycosaminoglycan known as heparin is the most common anticoagulant used in clinical medicine. Its therapeutic role is to increase antithrombin activity. While its physiologic role in humans is not fully understood, heparin is stored and secreted from mast cells at sites of tissue injury and is believed to provide local…