Tag: Spring 2026
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Death, part of life itself: Vision of a surgeon
Miguel Vassallo PalermoElena Sophia HernandezJosé Manuel GarcíaRhayniveth SequeraKeldrin PáezCaracas, Venezuela Since the dawn of humanity, humans have tried to find meaning in death. People often fear the dying process itself, what comes after death, and the unknown.1 Feelings of powerlessness lead us to surround death with beliefs, rituals, and cultural expressions. From a religious point…
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Theopompus of Chios and public health in antiquity
Theopompus was a Greek historian and rhetorician who lived from c. 380 to 315 BCE. He was not a physician, yet his works offer a window into how the ancient Greeks understood health, disease, and contagion. Born on the Aegean island of Chios in c. 377 BCE, he spent his early youth in Athens with…
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Dronacharya: A father, a teacher, and a human
Rao UppuBaton Rouge, Louisiana, United States The epics of ancient India, particularly the Mahabharata, one of the two major Sanskrit epics, offer enduring insights into human nature. Among them, Dronacharya, a revered teacher of warfare and royal preceptor to the Kuru princes, stands out as reflecting both the strengths and limits of a teacher. Dronacharya’s…
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Memento mori and ora pro nobis: Finding healing in sacred art
Marilyn NapolitanoScottsdale, Arizona, United States A storied connection exists between religion and medicine. The first hospitals were monasteries and convents, where holistic care tended to spiritual needs alongside those of the body. From the Middle Ages on, religious orders played a major role in the founding of medical institutions. Between 1866 and 1926 alone, nuns…