Hektoen International

A Journal of Medical Humanities

Tag: Spring 2010

  • Neighbors

    Johanna ShapiroIrvine, California Death is not my lover– that would be morbid –nor even my best friend– though some say he can be that –He is merely becomemy near neighborhaving taken up residence next doorWe are friendlyin a cool sort of waySometimes we wavewhen we are pulling out from our drivewaysI off to my workhe…

  • A web of days – This is a test – Not again

    Joannie Stangeland Poet’s statement Joannie Stangeland wrote these poems for a friend who was fighting breast cancer. Her friend didn’t need help with cooking or driving—and Joannie wanted to support her in some way, so she wrote. What began as one poem flooded into a collection of about 20, and the poems helped Joannie to…

  • An Eliotian journey through suffering

    Francesco EniaPalermo, Italy A cold coming we had of itjust the worst time of the yearfor a journey and such a long journeythe ways deep and the weather sharp– TS Eliot, “Journey of the Magi” The dizziness again … stunning images … A child with no hope of a cure, affected by dilated cardiomyopathy, looks…

  • Plague Sydney 1900

    Barry R. CatchloveSydney Introduction Bubonic plague has been the most feared disease throughout history. Most people are aware of its ravages but see it as a pestilence of the middle ages. Few are aware that it remains a disease of the twenty-first century, is endemic in many parts of the developed and underdeveloped world, and…

  • The castrati: a physician’s perspective, part 1

    James L. Franklin Chicago, Illinois, United States   A modified version of this paper was presented on March 1, 2010 to the Chicago Literary Club. “The castrati: a physician’s perspective” will appear in two installments. The first one in this issue details the history, sociology and musical history relevant to the rise of the castrato in…

  • Doctor Moore on 18th century medicine

    Einar PermanStockholm, Sweden John Moore (1729-1802) was a Scottish physician, who traveled extensively in Europe and published several books about his travels.1,2 He was also an astute observer of people, customs, and places, and his opinions were often ahead of his time, particularly in matters of contemporary medicine and the medical profession. His book, Medical…

  • Rethinking public health law and ethics—A regional perspective

    Nadav DavidovitchBeer Sheva, Israel Public health emerged as an organized discipline during the 19th century with the goal of improving the health of a nation as a whole. While its initial interests centered on infectious diseases, sanitation, and hygiene, its current health scope has grown to include issues such as health promotion, the rise of…

  • Reader’s response: Is it ethical to bring religion into medicine?

      JMS PearceLondon, England Dr. Patrick Guinan raises many important issues in his paper “Is it ethical to bring religion into medicine?” in Hektoen International, Volume 2, No 1 – Winter 2010. He says that “a new religion called complementary or alternative medicine is threatening his territory.” Though I share his implied views of these…

  • Informed choice versus informed consent

    George L. SpaethPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania, USA Before initiating an action that may harm a patient, it is customary to obtain informed consent, with the generally accepted purpose of respecting the patient’s autonomy and protecting the person initiating the action: “Obtaining patients’ consent . . . demonstrates respect for patient autonomy and should help prevent legal action…

  • Lithotripsy: a historical review

    Rabie Abdel-HalimRiyadh, Saudi Arabia Although lithotripsy1 is often looked on as a modern discovery, its roots may be traced back to antiquity. Yet there is little mention of lithotripsy in Greek medical writings, perhaps because of Hippocrates’s injunction to avoid cutting for the stone2 (Cumston, 1968). This silence lasted for several centuries (Dimopoulos, Gialas, Likourinas,…