Hektoen International

A Journal of Medical Humanities

Tag: Rudolph Virchow

  • Agatha Christie’s first post-mortem

    Stephen McWilliamsDublin, Ireland Aficionados of Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple could do worse than read Carla Valentine’s Murder Isn’t Easy: The Forensics of Agatha Christie.1 In the book’s introduction, we’re reminded that Christie, the “Queen of Crime,” remains the world’s all-time bestselling novelist, outsold only by the Bible and Shakespeare. Valentine describes Christie’s dedication to…

  • A medical visionary

    David GreenChicago, Illinois, United States The year was 1967. My father had just had his prostate removed and was having considerable post-surgical pain. On the fifth post-operative day, he collapsed suddenly and could not be resuscitated. The post-mortem examination showed multiple fresh blood clots in his lungs. I was devastated but should not have been…