Hektoen International

A Journal of Medical Humanities

Tag: William R. Albury

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    THE GLORY OF FRANCE Published in September 2019 H E K T O R A M A   .     ARCHITECTURE AND THE FRENCH HOSPITAL       Parisian hospitals, like those in many European capitals, are the results of years of accretion. Hôtel-Dieu, the oldest Parisian hospital, was founded by Saint Landry in…

  • Historical reflections on cause, responsibility and blame in medicine

    William R. Albury New England, Armidale, Australia   Debauchery and disease In the early years of British settlement in Australia the colonial authorities regarded drunkenness as one of the major evils of the day. Their preoccupation with this social problem was mirrored by the concern of the colony’s medical men with drunkenness as a cause…

  • From changelings to extraterrestrials: depictions of autism in popular culture

    William R. Albury New England, Armidale, Australia   While evolution of the modern concept of autism dates from the middle of the twentieth century, evidence suggests that behaviors which are now considered autistic have occurred in the human species since its prehistoric origins (Spikins). The cause of autism is unknown, and its diagnosis can be…

  • The model for Albrecht Dürer’s Praying Hands

    William R. Albury George M. Weisz New South Wales, Australia   Figure 1 Praying hands, c. 1508, Albrecht Dürer Brush drawing on blue primed paper Albertina Museum Vienna, Austria The image of Praying Hands by Albrecht Dürer, painted on an altarpiece in the sixteenth century and destroyed by fire in the seventeenth century, has come down to…

  • Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and medicine: A triumph over infirmity

    William R. Albury George M. Weisz New South Wales, Australia   Fig. 1 – Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec The “Toulouse-Lautrec Syndrome” Renowned 19th century French painter Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec’s most obvious association with medicine is through his bone disease. The condition from which he probably suffered was first described in 1954 by the French physician Robert…