Hektoen International

A Journal of Medical Humanities

Tag: Pain Treatment Center at Stroger Hospital

  • Domenico Scarlatti: The Baroque revolutionary

    The Baroque composer Domenico Scarlatti (1685–1757) is regarded today as one of the most original and influential figures in the history of keyboard music. Though not as famous in his own time as Johann Sebastian Bach and George Frideric Handel—all born in the same year!—his… Read more

  • Criminal physicians

    Avi OhryTel Aviv, Israel Several doctors in history achieved notoriety for committing murders or for participating in reigns of terror. They range from the British murderer Hawley Harvey Crippen (1910)1 to Joel Le Secournec,2 convicted in France for crimes against hundreds of victims. The surgeon… Read more

  • Edvard Grieg (1843–1907)

    In the spring of 1860, a seventeen-year-old student Norwegian student at the prestigious Leipzig Conservatory developed a severe case of pleurisy. He ultimately survived a disease which killed most patients in the pre-antibiotic era, but its consequences were permanent and devastating. A destroyed left lung… Read more

  • William Harvey’s neurology

    JMS PearceHull, England This distinguished physician, the greatest physiologist the world has seen, and the brightest ornament of our College.—William Munk1 William Harvey (1578–1657) was born in Folkestone, Kent, and attended King’s School Canterbury before proceeding to Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge. He graduated MD… Read more

  • Tchaikovsky: His medical life and his death

    Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840–1893) composed wonderful symphonies, operas, and ballets, but suffered greatly during his life from an array of medical and psychological issues. His letters and diaries reveal a lifelong struggle with emotional problems that modern medicine would likely classify as depressive or bipolar… Read more

  • The liver in culture and literature

    The liver is the largest internal organ in the body. Dark and heavy with blood, it was often viewed as the seat of the soul, the source of passion, a tool to predict the future, or a symbol of suffering and resilience. In Greek mythology,… Read more

  • The silence between us

    Yara AbukhaledMemphis, Tennessee, United States It was just after 2:00 a.m. when the mother rushed into the emergency department, her son cradled in her arms. He was ten years old, barely conscious, his face streaked with soot and tears. His legs were blistered and raw,… Read more

  • That we are all bastards

    Frank González-CrussíChicago, Illinois, United States The indelicate and seemingly insulting phrase that I have chosen as a title for this piece comes from Shakespeare. The great bard, in Cymbeline (II, iv), makes Posthumus say: … We are all bastards.And that most venerable man, which IDid… Read more

  • The Cardiff Giant: Archaeology’s biggest hoax

    Zachary SorensenChicago, Illinois, United States On the morning of October 16, 1869, two laborers, Gideon Emmons and Henry Nicols, began the back-breaking work of digging a new well at the farm of William “Stub” Newell in Cardiff, New York.1 After removing several feet of earth,… Read more

  • Book review: Our Brains, Our Selves

    Arpan K. Banerjee Solihull, England The world of popular science publishing is replete with neurologists who have been fascinated by the workings of the brain gleaned from the study of neurological disorders in their patients. Famous recent writers of this genre include Oliver Sacks, whose… Read more

  • Medical monuments throughout history

    Humanity’s fight against disease finds its expression in monuments that serve as enduring historical markers. They document medical progress and recognize those who devoted their lives to significant advances. Throughout history, civilizations erected temples for sacred healing rituals. The ancient Greeks dedicated temples to Asclepius… Read more

  • Pigeons and doves

    The deeper you get into pigeons, the more complicated they get. Are pigeons the same as doves? What are squab and what are quail? Which may you eat, which may you feed, and which may you shoot? It seems to depend on where you live.… Read more