Hektoen International

A Journal of Medical Humanities

Tag: Winter 2025

  • Mimetic medical terminologies inspired by the plant world

    Saty Satya-MurtiSanta Maria, California, United States Plants have long inspired humans. Early natural scientists were struck by similarities between structural anatomy in animals and the botanical arrangements of plants. Bent tree trunks, spreading foliage, forested canopies, and curvaceous tendrils inspired them to draw artistic comparisons, both obvious and imagined, between plants and animals. Phenomenologists coined…

  • Book review: A history of vaccines and anti-vaxxers

    Arpan K. BanerjeeSolihull, England Infectious diseases have been a scourge throughout human history. The first recorded epidemic was of the plague that occurred in Athens from 430–427 BC, chronicled in the writings of Thucydides in his History of the Peloponnesian War. In nineteenth-century Britain, tuberculosis, scarlet fever, diphtheria, typhoid, measles, smallpox, and cholera were major…

  • Brigadier General Clara Adams-Ender: A transformational nurse leader

    LaTonya JonesChicago, Illinois, United States One of the most coveted military awards is the Army Expert Field Medical Badge (EFMB). It is awarded to soldiers who demonstrate excellent performance of common military tasks while simultaneously exhibiting an expert level of proficiency in applying basic medical care in the field.1 All branches of the military medical…

  • Notable nurses in World War I

    Sonali BhansaliChicago, Illinois, United States Nurses have made important contributions in all aspects and eras of healthcare, including war time. Jane Rignel, Linnie Leckrone, and Irene Robar are three nurses who were recognized and awarded for their work on the front lines in France during World War I. Rignel was the chief nurse who supervised…

  • Massaging the baby

    Erin FroschCork, Ireland The centuries-old practice of baby massage has been used as early as 2670 BC in China1 to promote bonding between parent and child and demonstrate affection through physical touch, words of affirmation, and quality time. It has been passed down from generation to generation in cultures across Africa, Asia, and the South…

  • Multiple personalities are taking over me

    Prekshya ParajuliLouisville, Kentucky, United States In a world where days unfold with habitual grace,I find myself caught in a strange, erratic chase.Not half an hour past, yet hunger calls again,A craving that burns despite my daily strain. Eight hours a day, I toil without much complaint,But today, mere hours in, exhaustion paints my faint.A friend…

  • Leonardo’s Vitruvian Man, a self portrait?

    JMS PearceHull, England Amongst Leonardo da Vinci’s (1452–1519) unrivalled masterpieces are the Mona Lisa (c. 1503), The Last Supper (c. 1495–1498), Salvator Mundi (c. 1499–1510), and the Vitruvian Man (c. 1490). All have been subject to countless commentaries and learned descriptions.1,2 Just as the fictional works of novelists often include (albeit subconsciously) aspects of their…

  • Complicating leprosy in the late medieval West

    Juliana MenegakisSt. Andrews, Scotland Starting in the 1990s, Demaitre, Rawcliffe, and Touati revived the study of medieval leprosy, countering the traditional view that lepers were excluded from mainstream society.1 Traditionalists argued that medieval Europeans were inspired by Leviticus, which instructs priests on how to examine and cleanse people with a “defiling skin disease,” traditionally interpreted…

  • Carriages in history and medicine

    Avi OhryTel Aviv, Israel In Ezekiel 1:4-28 there is a reference to a big cloud with a strong wind and fire flashing from it. Inside the cloud, four wheels touched the ground, and all the wheels looked as if they were made from a clear, yellow jewel.1 Various museums, such as the Museum of Science…

  • 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.…