Hektoen International

A Journal of Medical Humanities

Tag: Review of Health Humanities in Postgraduate Medical Education: A Handbook to the Heart of Medicine

  • Franz Boas (1858–1942): Titan of Anthropology

    Hailed as the “Father of American Anthropology”, Franz Boas was well ahead of his time in challenging prevailing racial theories and promoting an understanding of diverse human cultures. He influenced a generation of younger scholars who followed his way of thinking, greatly contributing to the… Read more

  • James Robinson: First anaesthetic in England

    JMS PearceHull, England The dramatic benefits of ether anesthesia spread astonishingly quickly from the New World to the Old.1-3 James Robinson (1813–1862), a Guy’s Hospital trained dental surgeon, practiced at 14 Gower Street. A few doors away lived Francis Boott, an American expatriate physician. The… Read more

  • Book review: Casanova and Enlightenment

    Arpan K. BanerjeeSolihull, England The eighteenth-century polymath Casanova is best remembered today for his amorous adventures. Sadly, his considerable contributions in a variety of fields of learning are often forgotten. Giacomo Casanova was a linguist, soldier, clergyman, entrepreneur, mathematician, diplomat, and conman. He spent time… Read more

  • Remembering George

    Anthony PapagiannisThessaloniki, Greece It is early morning on New Year’s Eve, and as I am about to get up from a good night’s sleep, I remember George. There were three of us who had graduated together from the same high school class half a century… Read more

  • Book review: The Woman Who Revolutionised Nurses’ Training: The Life and Career of Rebecca Strong

    Arpan K. BanerjeeSolihull, England When asked to name a famous nurse from the past, the most common name that rolls off people’s lips is nearly always Florence Nightingale. Sadly, many other pioneering nurses from yesteryear remain forgotten in spite of major contributions to their profession.… Read more

  • Making a difference in the AIDS epidemic

    Sandro VentoPhnom Penh, Cambodia Enzo entered the room with hesitancy. A nurse drew his blood, then moved him to where a young doctor was waiting, looking serious. As he asked Enzo to sit down, he inspired confidence. Enzo answered his initial questions with few words,… Read more

  • Science, wine, and music in Asti

    Avi OhryTel Aviv, Israel Back in 1993, while spending a sabbatical in Long Island, a few medical colleagues suggested we meet at a special Italian restaurant called Asti. The restaurant was located at 13 E. 12th St. in Greenwich Village, NYC. It was a unique… Read more

  • María de las Mercedes, the Spanish Romantic queen

    Nicolas RoblesBadajoz, Spain Ya Mercedes está muerta,muerta está, que yo la ví,cuatro duques la llevabanpor las calles de Madrid. Mercedes is already dead,she’s dead, I did saw her,four dukes were her carryingthrough the streets of Madrid.—Popular Spanish song María de la Mercedes de Orleans y… Read more

  • Tonsillectomy, then and now

    The story of tonsillectomy can be traced back to antiquity. As early as 2000 BC, Ayurvedic doctors used primitive tools and herbal remedies to remove their patients’ pus-laden tonsils. In Roman times, Cornelius Celsus (25 BC–50 AD) shelled out tonsils with only his fingers, Galen… Read more

  • Invitation to tea

    Sandra GaynorChicago, Illinois, United States Kena motioned for me to come up to her apartment. I had driven her home from the knitting circle, as I did every Wednesday. This was the third time she had asked me to “come up for tea,” and so… Read more

  • Sulfonamides: The first synthetic antibacterial agents

    Few discoveries in medicine have a more interesting history than the introduction of the sulfonamides into clinical medicine.1 I feel somehow part of this process only because, having suffered from some febrile illness as a little boy, I distinctly remember being given a medicine that… Read more

  • They made their own insulin: The story of Eva and Viktor Saxl

    Ellen DavisChapel Hill, North Carolina, United States Eva Saxl not only saved her own life by making insulin during World War II, but together with her husband Viktor, saved the lives of over 400 people with diabetes in war-torn Shanghai. Her life story has remained… Read more