Hektoen International

A Journal of Medical Humanities

Tag: The King’s-Evil and sensory experience in Richard Wiseman’s Severall Chirurgicall Treatises

  • Roots and routes

    Prasad IyerSingapore Dr. Arjun Mehta stood at the balcony of his Mumbai apartment, gazing out at the chaotic tapestry of the city he once called home. The cacophony of honking horns, aroma of street food, and vibrant saris in the bustling streets below stirred a… Read more

  • Doctor, physician, leech, and surgeon: A history of names for medical practitioners

    Edward TaborBethesda, Maryland, United States Four English words have been used for centuries to refer to medical practitioners: “doctor,” “physician,” “leech,” and “surgeon.” Each of these has unique origins. “Doctor” comes from “docere” in Latin meaning “to teach”1; thus, calling someone a “doctor” is etymologically… Read more

  • Paleopharmaceuticals from fossil amber

    José de la FuenteCiudad Real, Spain Amber is fossilized plant resin commonly used for jewelry, decoration, and in the study of fossil inclusions.1,2 The largest sources of amber are found in Myanmar (formerly Burma; Burmite, Cretaceous, ca. 99 million years ago [mya]) and the area… Read more

  • The lives and artistry of the Pissarro dynasty

    George WeiszSydney, Australia Reviewing the lives of famous people is mostly rewarding and only disappointing when it changes our views of admired idols. Apart from his painting, the so-called “dean” of the Impressionist art movement is of interest for several other reasons. What more can… Read more

  • Alain G. Cribier, MD, aortic stenosis, and TAVI

    Daniel GelfmanIndianapolis, IN In 2024, the world of interventional cardiology lost one of its greatest innovators: Alain Cribier, MD (1945–2024). Called the father of “structural heart disease” treatment and described as “larger than life, he was a Renaissance man, fluent in English and French, knowledgeable… Read more

  • Don’t stop me now: The positive effects of music in post-stroke rehabilitation

    Silvia MasciTerni, Italy Stroke is a clinical syndrome characterized by sudden onset of neurological deficit that persists for more than 24 hours or leads to death. Based on etiology, a distinction is made between ischemic stroke (65–90%) and hemorrhagic stroke (intracerebral hemorrhages 10–25%, subarachnoid hemorrhages… Read more

  • William Heberden

    JMS PearceHull, England Virtuous and faithful HEBERDEN, whose skillAttempts no task it cannot well fulfil,Gives Melancholy up to nature’s care,And sends the patient into purer air.—William Cowper in his poem “Retirement” It is difficult to avoid eulogies of the outstanding humane compassion and clinical accomplishments,… Read more

  • Tattoo stories

    Alan BlumTuscaloosa, Alabama, United States A century before reality TV, there were circus sideshows, and one of the star attractions was the tattooed lady. Betty Broadbent was the most famous. The 1939 song “Lydia, the Tattooed Lady,” written by Yip Harburg and Harold Arlen and… Read more

  • Book review: Frames of Minds: A History of Neuropsychiatry on Screen

    Arpan K. BanerjeeSolihull, England In this fascinating book, author Eelco Wijdicks traces the history of psychiatry and neuropsychiatry in cinema. From the beginnings of commercial film in Paris in 1895, directors and screenwriters have told medical stories, both as entertainment and as a medium for… Read more

  • The truth about the Mad Hatter

    Stephen McWilliamsDublin, Ireland Few works of fiction are as original as Lewis Carroll’s masterpiece Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Replete with singular characters such as the White Rabbit, the King and Queen of Hearts, the March Hare, the somnolent Dormouse, and the infamous grinning Cheshire Cat,… Read more

  • Morphine in the life and works of Catalan painter Santiago Rusiñol (1861–1931)

    Vicent RodillaValencia, Spain Morphine was discovered by the German pharmacist Friedrich Wilhelm Sertürner, who in 1804 isolated it from opium and named it “morphium” after Morpheus, the Greek god of dreams. He noted that high doses could lead to psychiatric effects and that the pain… Read more

  • Headlessness and sensibility

    Frank Gonzalez-CrussiChicago, Illinois, United States April 15, 2019, was an ill-starred day. Parisians watched with horror as huge flames broke through the roof of Notre Dame Cathedral in a conflagration that threatened to reduce that precious jewel of gothic architecture to a heap of smoking… Read more