Hektoen International

A Journal of Medical Humanities

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

  • The scorn of slow stitches

    Anthony GulottaBethesda, Maryland, United States As a third-year medical student on my first surgery rotation, I had been standing consecutively for almost three hours. Until now, I had stood silent, watching as the attending surgeon excised a gangrenous gallbladder. Then, my focus was rapidly disrupted. “Over here!” bellowed the… Read more

  • Pippi Longstocking: Escapist fiction for children, a clinical case description, or a feminist icon?

    Howard FischerUppsala, Sweden “Think for yourself is the mantra she whispers in children’s ears. Don’t believe the teachers, the police, the child welfare workers…”1– A resumé of Pippi Longstocking’s philosophy Pippi Longstocking (or Pippi Långstrump in the original Swedish) is a fictional nine-year-old girl. She… Read more

  • Physic

    JMS PearceHull, England Amongst the General Medical Council records of 300 medical specialties hides “physician”, a word we all use with but little thought about its origins. Samuel Johnson defined physician as one who professes the art of healing.1 He also included physician as A… Read more

  • Vespasian toilets

    Titus Flavius Vespasianus became Roman emperor in AD 69 following the death of Nero and the brief reigns of Galba, Otho, and Vitellius. Remembered for his conquest of Judea and the destruction of the Jerusalem temple by his son Titus, Vespasian set about to restore… Read more

  • The grim horrors of the orlop deck

    Richard de GrijsSydney, Australia The often awe-inspiring works of art immortalizing historic naval battles usually belie the harsh reality of war. Amidst clouds of billowing, black smoke and the deafening roar of cannon fire, sailors faced the real danger of life-threatening injuries. Injured sailors were… Read more

  • Women’s equality in the Viking era: The tooth tells the truth

    Howard FischerUppsala, Sweden Women had “relatively free status” in Norway, Sweden, and Denmark during the Viking Era (700–1000 AD), based on the criteria of economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, health and survival, and political empowerment.1,2 For instance, paternal aunts, nieces, and granddaughters had the… Read more

  • The death of the Serenissima (1797)

    To approve [Napoleon’s] demands, the Great Council was called for Friday 12 May. From soon after sunrise the people of Venice had been congregating in the Piazza, just as they had done countless times before in the city’s history. In the past, however, they had… Read more

  • Spoonerisms

    JMS PearceHull, England The name of the Rev. William Archibald Spooner (1844–1930), warden of New College Oxford 1903–24, is preserved, some would say hallowed, for his involuntary invention of a verbal curiosity. Many found it amusing and the eponym Spoonerism came into colloquial use in… Read more

  • Napoleon’s final illness

    JMS PearceHull, England Napoleon Bonaparte was born on the French island of Corsica on August 15, 1769. His colorful life, illnesses, and military exploits have been extensively recorded.1 On 17 October 1815, after the forty-five-year-old Napoleon’s famous defeat near Waterloo, the allies banished him to… Read more

  • Death of the Prudent Prince, Medici Grand Duke Ferdinando II

    Sally MetzlerChicago, Illinois, United States The day of May 27, 1670, bore witness to the death of Ferdinando II, a man lauded as a most prudent prince and admired by his European peers. His reign was termed as a “prolonged and pleasant autumn, the taste… Read more

  • Honeymoon rhinitis: My love is like a red, red nose

    Howard FischerUppsala, Sweden “I’m pretty sure that…you will admit that a good rousing sneeze…is really one of life’s sensational pleasures.”– Robert Benchley (1889–1945), American humorist “Honeymoon rhinitis” is a condition that includes nasal congestion, sneezing, and rhinorrhea (runny nose) during sexual arousal or sexual intercourse.1,2… Read more

  • Healing beyond the sterile chamber

    Brody FoglemanSpartanburg, South Carolina, United States A senior resident once shared with me: “Patients don’t heal in the hospital; they get sicker. Our goal is to stabilize, medically optimize, and discharge.” Though I was surprised by such a statement, it became truer the more patients… Read more