Tag: Winter 2025
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From bedside to bench: The discovery of calmodulinopathy
Göran WettrellLund, Sweden As a pediatrician specializing in pediatric cardiology, I met in 1982 a twelve-year-old-boy with syncope when playing football. He had four previous episode of losing consciousness during physical activity and once during a fire alarm. His resting ECG was normal but his long-term ECG registration revealed exercised-induced ventricular extrasystoles of increasing complexity.…
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A “semi-slaughter and a scandal of surgery”: The first documented tracheostomy in history
Matthew TurnerHershey, Pennsylvania, United States Surgical tracheostomy has been known to humans for thousands of years. The ancient Hindu book of medicine, the Rig Veda, dating to approximately 2000 BC, discusses the healing of throat incisions; the ancient Egyptians may have been aware of the technique as well. According to legend, Alexander the Great used…
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Portraits of William Hunter by Reynolds, Chamberlin, and Ramsay
Stephen MartinThailand The Hunterian in Glasgow University and The Royal Academy, London, have three portraits of the anatomist Dr William Hunter.1,2 They make a particularly interesting group with personalized, cryptic symbols and plain emblems of anatomy and the Enlightenment. Despite some discussion,3 their specific icons have never been analyzed. Portrait by Sir Joshua Reynolds Reynolds…
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Chevalier Jackson, MD: Patient safety champion
Alan Jay SchwartzPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania, United States Docents guide and educate the visitors at the Mütter Museum of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia while they view the vast array of exhibits. One exhibit in particular is valuable for its historical message. The Chevalier Jackson, MD, (1865–1958) collection displays more than 2,300 foreign objects retrieved by its…
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The tragedy of the Shah of Shahs
The story of the last Shah began with his father, Reza Khan, a military commander who seized power in 1925 and established the Pahlavi dynasty. His son, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, ascended to the throne in 1941 during World War II; the British and Soviets forced Reza Shah’s abdication because of his German sympathies. The early…
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Greeneland revealed
John BrooksCheshire, United Kingdom Whether or not bipolar disorder enhances artistic expression is a contentious topic.1 Graham Greene (1904–1991), a renowned twentieth-century author, believed that his illness was an essential part of the material of his novels.2 As a troubled teenager, he underwent psychoanalysis following a bout of depression. In his more mature years, he…
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Early depictions of reconstructive surgery: The tubed pedicle flap
Ariana ShaariRutgers, New Jersey, United States The history of head and neck reconstruction is as rich as it is complex. Reconstructive techniques in this domain are broadly categorized as local pedicle flaps, regional flaps, and free flaps.1 These methods trace their origin to ancient practices, with renowned surgeon Sushruta’s use of the forehead flap for…
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Helen Rosaline Ashton: Physician and author
Arpan K. BanerjeeSolihull, England Medicine has long been a fertile training ground for those who abandon their profession to become writers. Their number includes Anton Chekhov, William Somerset Maugham, John Keats, Mikhail Bulgakov, William Carlos Williams, and Arthur Conan Doyle. Helen Ashton has been largely forgotten as one of these medically trained authors. She was born on…
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Belmont DeForest Bogart (1867–1934): Cardiac surgeon and father of a famous actor
Avi OhryTel Aviv, Israel Bogart–Bacall syndrome (BBS)1,2 is a voice disorder caused by abuse or overuse of the vocal cords; people who speak or sing outside their normal vocal range can develop it. Symptoms are chiefly an unusually deep or rough voice, or dysphonia, and vocal fatigue. The syndrome is named after the famous actor…
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The history of operating on the abdomen (laparotomy)
For many centuries, “laparotomy” (derived from the Greek “lapara”, “flank or soft part”, and “tome”, “to cut”) was considered extremely dangerous and rarely attempted. There is a poorly documented report on Jacob Nufer, an Austrian or Swiss veterinarian or even pig farmer, who around the year 1550 saved the life of his wife by removing…