Hektoen International

A Journal of Medical Humanities

Tag: pathophysiology

  • Learning the vocabulary of medicine (and other foreign languages)

    Edward TaborBethesda, Maryland, United States Both of my parents were physicians, and their discussions were often medical. One weekend when I was about four years old, I listened to one such conversation at lunch and interrupted to ask, “When I grow up, will I be able to speak the language you speak?” They paused to…

  • Jorge Luis Borges: Brilliant blindness

    Nicolas Roberto RoblesBadajoz, Spain Penumbra de la palomallamaron los hebreos a la iniciación de la tardecuando la sombra no entorpece los pasosy la venida de la noche se adviertecomo una música esperada y antigua,como un grato declive. Twilight of the dovethe Hebrews called the initiation of the afternoonwhen the shadow does not hinder the footstepsand…

  • Burnout: Are we looking at it through the wrong lens?

    Elizabeth CerceoCamden, New Jersey, United States The epidemic of burnout seems to afflict ever more populations as it insidiously creeps into the workplace of everyone from nurses to teachers, from medical students to seasoned clinicians, from Amazon to Apple. As physicians, we are trained to identify a condition, make a diagnosis, and prescribe a treatment.…

  • Verdi and Velázquez: Perceptive sensitization in clinical medical education

    Daniel V. SchidlowFlorence GeloPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania, United States “Observe, record, tabulate, communicate. Use your five senses. Learn to see, learn to hear, learn to feel, learn to smell and know that by practice alone you can become expert.”—Sir William Osler (1849–1919) A group of third-year medical students enters the office, anxious to move on to the…

  • Neuroanatomy: A transition in understanding and observation

    Charlene OngSt. Louis, Missouri, United States Western medicine’s understanding of neuroanatomy over the last several millennia has reflected the dynamic cultural values and social norms regarding the human body and its function. The journey that culminated in accurate and reproducible representations of the brain required a tolerance of human inquiry, advances in preservation technology, and…