Tag: Winter 2026
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Princes of Physicians: Avicenna and Maimonides
James MarcumWaco, Texas, United States Islamic and Jewish scholars, such as Al-Kindi (801–873 CE), Ali ibn Sahl Rabban al-Tabari (c. 838 – c. 870 CE), Al-Razi (865–925 CE), Al-Ghazali (1058–1111 CE), and Ibn-Rushd or Averroes (1126–1198 CE), among others, had a major impact on western Medieval medicine.1 Two of the most prominent scholars, however, are…
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“Medical Mannerism” (1520–1580)
Mannerism in art is characterized by the work of innovators who tried new approaches to their discipline—such as Pontormo, Rosso Fiorentino, Parmigianino, El Greco, Spranger and Goltzius. Physicians, by contrast, remained rooted in the ancient humoral theory of Hippocrates and Galen, continuing to understand health as a balance between the four bodily humors, making diagnoses…
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Tibet: History and medicine
Situated 14,000 feet above sea level, the vast Tibetan plateau has been inhabited by humans for at least 21,000 years. Adapted to extreme altitude and cold, early nomadic pastoralists hunted, herded, traded, and developed routes linking Tibet with other parts of the world. Their early religion was animistic. Mountains, rivers, and sky phenomena were regarded…
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I, Baldwin: Leper king of Jerusalem
Óscar Lamas FilgueiraValencia, Spain Baldwin IV (1161–1185), known as “the Leper King”, was king of Jerusalem during the late twelfth century. Despite developing leprosy in childhood, he ruled during a period of intense military and political instability and personally led his forces to a decisive victory against Saladin at the Battle of Montgisard in 1177.…
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Robin Williams: Death from Lewy body dementia
Mary Ellen KellyDublin, Ireland When the death of Robin Williams was announced on August 12, 2014, the world shed a tear. The passing of the acclaimed and adored actor came as a shock to many, the announcement by the Marin County sheriff’s office having specified that the cause of death was suicide and that Mr.…
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Charles Bonnet Syndrome: The landscape of my mind
Ceres Alhelí Otero PenicheMexico City, Mexico Today I awoke feeling hopeless, disconnected from my body and from my thoughts. All I could sense was the void that my loss of vision represented. I kept thinking how beautiful it would be to see clearly as I opened my eyes. Then suddenly the room began to distort.…
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Shostakovich and the simian serenade
Desmond O’NeillDublin, Ireland One of the fascinations of medical humanities is the two-way traffic between artists and scientists with cutting-edge aspects of science, technology, and medicine. A signal example is the heady ferment of scientific experimentation in the Soviet Union. One of the more exotic experiments was the effort by Professor Ilya Ivanov to hybridize…
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Mercurochrome
James L. FranklinChicago, Illinois, United States It’s easy to spot a boy… He smells of licorice, he smells of mice, Of Mercurochrome, and vanilla ice.—Ogden Nash, A Boy is a Boy (1961)1 Visiting the World Heritage Ngorongoro Conservation Area on a safari expedition in Tanzania in 2018, I managed to scrape my shin against a sharp rock and…
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The chemistry of coffee and the paradox of balance
Rao UppuBaton Rouge, Louisiana, United States Coffee is more than a daily stimulant; it is a quiet lesson in biological balance. The long-running debate over whether coffee is “good” or “bad” increasingly shows that, for most people, moderate intake—about one to three cups a day—sits comfortably within that balance. Coffee also carries cultural meaning, reminding…
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Thoughts in a hospital elevator
Anthony PapagiannisThessaloniki, Greece It is New Year’s Eve, the last day of the year, and as I ride the hospital elevator down to the underground car park, oddly but not inexplicably I think about life and death. Ever since I started medical practice, at the end of each year, I go through my records and…