Hektoen International

A Journal of Medical Humanities

Tag: thalidomide

  • On culinary tasting and a genetic syndrome

    Avi OhryTel Aviv, Israel Laurent Grimod de La Reynière1,2 (1758–1837) studied law in Lausanne and on returning to Paris made his name by writing reviews for the Journal des théâtres in 1777–78 and some for the scandal chronicle Correspondence secrète, politique et littéraire. He survived the French revolution “partly because Danton and Robespierre liked him,…

  • The Metropolitan Hospital of London

    The Metropolitan Hospital was founded in 1836 to provide medical care to the indigent of London’s East End, with two physicians and three surgeons offering their services free of charge. In 1885 the hospital was moved to Kingsland Road. In 1896 two six-bed wards on the ground floor were reserved for Jewish patients, a Jewish…

  • Helen Taussig: Founder and mother of pediatric cardiology

    Colin PhoonNew York, United States On November 29, 1944, a landmark operation arose from the collaboration of three pioneers: Alfred Blalock, Helen Taussig, and Vivien Thomas.1 Now carrying the eponym of the Blalock-Taussig shunt, this was the first “blue baby” operation done during a remarkable early era of heart surgery. Its concept and success resulted…