Hektoen International

A Journal of Medical Humanities

Tag: Uppsala

  • Of lice and men

    Howard Fischer Uppsala, Sweden   Head louse clinging onto strands of human hair. Scanning electron micrograph by Kevin Mackenzie. Wellcome Collection. CC BY 4.0. “By consistently tormenting them / with reminders of the lice in their children’s hair, the / School Physician first brought their hatred down on him / But by this familiarity they…

  • Dr. Marilyn Gaston’s lifesaving research

    Howard Fischer Uppsala, Sweden   Sickle cell anemia. Illustration by BruceBlaus on Wikimedia. CC BY-SA 4.0. “[W]e can seize the opportunity to honor the too-often-neglected accomplishments of [B]lack Americans in every endeavor throughout our history.”1 – President Gerald Ford, 1976   Marilyn Gaston, MD (b. 1939), grew up in a poor family, with both parents…

  • Book review: The Big Necessity: Adventures in the World of Human Waste

    Howard Fischer Uppsala, Sweden   Common problem: a water well (foreground) is in close proximity to a pit latrine (brick building at the back), leading to groundwater pollution. Crop of photo by Kennedy Mayumbelo, 2006. SuSanA Secretariat on Flickr, via English Wikipedia. CC BY 2.0. Its title might seem frivolous, but this book is serious,…

  • Help from the horseshoe crab

    Howard Fischer Uppsala, Sweden   Horseshoe crab. Crop of photo by Didier Descouens, 2009, via Wikimedia. CC BY-SA 4.0. The horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus) has not changed in more than 450 million years. It has been called “a living fossil.”1 It is, in fact, not a crab at all, but an arthropod, more closely related…

  • Dr. Mikhail Bulgakov and morphine

    Howard Fischer Uppsala, Sweden   Centers for Disease Control Public Health Image Library. Public domain. “During the years of war and revolution it was hard to find a hospital without morphine-addicted patients.”1 – Vladimir Gorovoy-Shaltan, physician specialist in addiction medicine   Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov (1891–1940) was a Russian physician, novelist, and playwright. He earned his…

  • International adoption of Greek “orphans”

    Howard Fischer Uppsala, Sweden   Child refugees from Macedonia, Greece, 1948. Retouched from the original held by the State Archives of the Republic of Macedonia (DARM). Via Wikimedia. No known restrictions on publication or modification. “He’s only a pawn in their game.”1 – Bob Dylan   Between 1950 and 1962, 3,200 Greek children were adopted…

  • Movie review: Bisturi: La Mafia Bianca

    Howard Fischer Uppsala, Sweden   Surgeons operating aboard the USS Harry S. Truman. US Navy photo via Wikimedia. Public domain. “Medicine is power. It makes us giants.” – Dr. Daniele Valotti in Bisturi: La Mafia Bianca   Bisturi: La Mafia Bianca (1973) is an understated, well-acted, and critical “doctor movie.” Unlike The Hospital, it is…

  • The Barbie doll syndrome

    Howard Fischer Uppsala, Sweden   1959 first edition Barbie doll. Barbie copyright held by Mattel. Barbieologin on Wikipedia, CC BY 3.0. Fair use. “In all the years I’ve been a therapist, I’ve yet to meet a girl who likes her body.”1 – Mary Pipher, PhD, clinical psychologist   In 1959, the Mattel toy company introduced…

  • Tattoos in the twentieth century

    Howard Fischer Uppsala, Sweden   “It was in 1972 and you didn’t really go around showing tattoos or talking about them… And now all of a sudden it has become the thing to do.”1 – Cher, American singer, actor   Sailor being tattooed by a fellow sailor aboard USS New Jersey in 1944. Photo by…

  • Movie review: Where Does it Hurt?

    Howard Fischer Uppsala, Sweden   Peter Sellers in 1971. RR Auction. Via Wikimedia. Public domain. “This film is dedicated to the honest, sincere MDs—whose lives are dedicated to the sacred Hippocratic oath. Will these three doctors please stand up?”   This dedication sets the tone of Where Does It Hurt? (1972). Unlike the 1971 film…