Hektoen International

A Journal of Medical Humanities

Tag: War and Veterans

  • The internalized verdict: Kafka, singlism, and the social architecture of shame

    Scarlett SaittaJonesboro, Arkansas, United States Franz Kafka firmly believed that much of his writing was unworthy, and asked that it be burned after his death. He did not describe this conviction as spontaneous or mysterious. In writing about his father, Kafka traced it to growing… Read more

  • The manifestations of psychological trauma in Virgil’s Aeneid

    Adnan YaqubChelmsford, United Kingdom In the epic poem the Aeneid, Virgil details the journey of the Trojan hero Aeneas to Italy. Beyond descriptions of battlefield violence, the poem explores the emotional suffering of the warriors and of their families, friends, allies, and enemies. Modern psychology… Read more

  • The choreography of madness

    D.P. CurtinNewark, Delaware, United States In the summer of 1518, an otherwise unremarkable peasant woman stepped into the muddy streets of the Imperial city Strasbourg and began to dance. There was no music, no celebration taking place. At first, she danced alone, going on for… Read more

  • The rise and fall of the peptic ulcer

    Physicians have described and treated patients suffering from epigastric pain and gastrointestinal bleeding since time immemorial. In 1793, Matthew Baillie published one of the earliest illustrations of stomach ulcers in The Morbid Anatomy of Some of the Most Important Parts of the Human Body. In… Read more

  • Jam and marmalade

    The practice of preserving fruit with sugar dates to ancient civilizations. What began with honey later evolved into cane sugar, which became a common way to extend the shelf life of harvested fruit. Marmalade is made mainly from oranges, especially bitter Seville oranges, though lemons,… Read more

  • Visceroptosis and other quaint medical theories

    Avi OhryTel Aviv, Israel Frantz Glénard (1848–1920) was a French physician whose work on visceroptosis (a prolapse or sinking of the abdominal viscera below their natural position) in 1885 was once considered of fundamental importance to our knowledge of abnormal anatomical states of the abdominal… Read more

  • Tech neck and the loss of community

    Elizabeth PrempehGermany As a clinician, I see the physical toll of our digital age long before patients realize why they are suffering. More and more cases of “tech neck syndrome” surface in daily practice—patients presenting with chronic neck, shoulder, or hand pain. Often, they report… Read more

  • Bulimia nervosa: The invisible eating disorder

    Although people with bulimia often appear healthy and of normal weight, many endure a relentless cycle of binge eating followed by self-induced vomiting, fasting, excessive exercise, or misuse of laxatives and diuretics. These behaviors are accompanied by emotional distress, distorted body image, and an intense… Read more

  • Christ as apothecary: A genre of allegorical German folk art

    Christopher DuffinLondon, England “By [the Lord’s works] the physician heals and takes away pain; the pharmacist makes a mixture from them.” (Sirach 38:7–8, NIV) When Martin Luther (1483–1546) completed his translation of the Bible into vernacular German in 1534, he used the word Arznei or “apothecary”… Read more

  • Anorexia nervosa: The disease of self-starvation

    Anorexia nervosa is a psychiatric illness characterized by a persistent restriction of food intake, an intense fear of gaining weight, and a distorted perception of one’s body. Its roots extend far into the past. The disease is most common in adolescent girls and young women,… Read more

  • Eating pigs, cows, and horses

    The history of food is also the history of civilization. At some point, every society had to discover which animals it could tame, breed, and domesticate. Pigs, cows, and horses were the best candidates, not only for the meat they would provide but also for… Read more

  • Canine gerontology

    Simon WeinPetach Tikvah, Israel A lifelong friend is like a mirror. The friend reflects, comforts, takes, gives, and worries. Our dog, Matilda, is a lifelong friend. She is a twelve-year-old vizsla who is teaching her Mistress and Master how to grow old with grace. Vizslas… Read more