Hektoen International

A Journal of Medical Humanities

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

  • A cesarean section in Uganda in 1879

    Howard FischerUppsala, Sweden “A strange story indeed, almost too good to be true.”1 Until the end of the nineteenth century, a cesarean section to deliver an infant was considered to be an operation with much risk and little success. In England, some physicians “doubted if… Read more

  • Matthew Baillie (1761–1823), anatomist and physician

    Born in Scotland in 1761, Matthew Baillie was taught to read and write at the age of five. He studied Greek and Latin at the local school, at Glasgow University (1774), and at Balliol College in Oxford (1778). In 1780, he began to work in… Read more

  • The secrecy behind JFK’s autoimmune disease

    Jude TunyiColumbus, Ohio, United States Most Americans are familiar with the life and death of John F. Kennedy (JFK), but they may not know about his celiac disease and autoimmune polyglandular syndrome (APS) type 2. Neither condition has been proven by autoantibody tests, but from examining… Read more

  • Tales of a sickler

    Phebe SalamiGwagwalada, Abuja, Nigeria This piece is a work of fiction inspired by real-life stories of sickle cell disease. There are a thousand and one ways to tell a story. I guess this is just another one of those ways, my own way of telling… Read more

  • The myth of knowledge

    Chloe LeeSingapore Legend has it that aeons ago on the Island of Colchis hung a magical Golden Fleece that could heal any disease. Modern medicine has proposed a new explanation for this incredible tale: Colchicum autumnale, a flowering plant now used to produce colchicine. Since… Read more

  • The birth of Oliver Twist

    From the book by Charles Dickens, chapter one: “Although I am not disposed to maintain that being born in a workhouse, is in itself the most fortunate and enviable circumstance that can possibly befall a human being, I do mean to say that in this… Read more

  • Synesthesia, empathy, and the “art” of medicine

    Maeve PascoeCleveland, Ohio, United States “Do my name next!” people would exclaim as I tried to explain that I am not “doing” anything, I merely perceive things differently. Not many medical conditions double as parlor tricks, but the benign condition of synesthesia is unique in… Read more

  • Depression in Little Miss Sunshine

    Emily AtashkariDublin, Ireland The 2006 film Little Miss Sunshine1 follows the dysfunctional Hoover family as they journey from Albuquerque, New Mexico, to Redondo Beach, California, in their old Volkswagen van to bring seven-year-old Olive to the Little Miss Sunshine beauty pageant. One member of the… Read more

  • Thomas Curling (1811–1888)

    George DuneaChicago, Illinois, United States The appointment of young Thomas Blizard Curling as assistant surgeon at the London Hospital through the influence and recommendation of his uncle, Sir William Blizard, raised eyebrows and caused at least some resentment, for he was barely twenty-one years old… Read more

  • Henry Fielding’s Tom Jones: Feeding fevers

    Sally MetzlerChicago, Illinois, United States For years, physicians and pundits have deliberated the merits of starving or feeding a fever. Even the novel Tom Jones by Henry Fielding (published in 1749) presents a lengthy discourse on the recommended treatment of fever in regard to nutrition.1… Read more

  • John E. Fryer, M.D.: A majority of one

    Howard FischerUppsala, Sweden “Any man more right than his neighbors constitutes a majority of one.”– Henry David Thoreau Homosexuality was defined as a psychiatric disorder in 1952, in the first edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) of the American Psychiatric Association (APA).1 Because… Read more

  • I’m not a good man or a bad man, I just follow orders

    Luisa Alanís SáenzMexico City, Mexico “Shoot, they told me. I obeyed.I’ve always been obedient. By obedienceI conquered my high rank…I’m not a good man or a bad manI just follow orders”1– José Emilio Pacheco (my translation) In 1942, a man designed efficient plans to transport… Read more