Hektoen International

A Journal of Medical Humanities

Tag: World War II

  • A real world of not-so-real blood

    Kelsey RuudSpokane, Washington, United States Sarah Smith* thought today would be like any other day. She would take her kids to school, then go to her job as an office secretary. But Sarah never made it. Passing through an intersection, Sarah’s car was hit when another driver ran a red light. Paramedics arrived at the…

  • Norman Bethune’s mobile blood transfusions

    Irving RosenToronto, Ontario, Canada Norman Bethune was born in Ontario’s cottage country in 1895 to missionary parents who influenced him to try to improve conditions for mankind. This resulted in his drive to elaborate grandiose plans that were often unrealized. One important exception was a Spanish sojourn that provided him with a unique opportunity as…

  • Should primary hyperaldosteronism be renamed Litynski-Conn Syndrome?

    Gregory RuteckiLyndhurst, Ohio, United States Michael Litynski M.D. was born in 1906 in Lodz, Poland. As a physician during World War II, he joined the Polish Resistance. He treated resistance fighters and was active during the infamous Warsaw Uprising in 1945. Dr. Litynski was also awarded the Yad Vashem medal for his brave efforts on…

  • Theo’s marvelous medicine

    Joseph deBettencourtChicago, Illinois, USA On a cool December day in 1960, a nanny was pushing an infant in a stroller down 85th Street in New York City. Stepping into the road, the nanny saw a taxi whip around the corner and before she could react, the stroller was struck by the taxi and knocked into…

  • Leaving nothing to the imagination: Casualties Union and post-war first aid training

    Jessica DouthwaiteLondon, UK In 1940, a new method for training the emergency services in casualty rescue emerged from the demands of the Second World War.1 Until then, rescue training was perfunctory —neither concerned with recreating representative conditions for trainees, nor taking account of the quality of victims’ experiences. Due to the exigencies of the war,…

  • Wyeth and the symbolism of immobility

    Kierstin UtterDetroit, Michigan, United StatesKyle UtterNew York, New York, United States Andrew Wyeth completed his most iconic work, Christina’s World, in 1948. The painting came at a critical time, when post-World War II everyday Americans were beginning to purchase mass-produced automobiles. The ability to quickly move from city to suburbs was gaining paramount importance. Life…

  • Psychological preparation for war: Early life experiences

    Jack RiggsMorgantown, West Virginia, United States I suspect that few early life experiences fully prepare one psychologically for the realities of war. Mine certainly did not. However, my introduction to post-traumatic stress and moral injury, frequent war sequelae, occurred at home while I was growing up. When I was nine years old, my younger brother…

  • St. Mary’s Hospital, birthplace of penicillin

    Anabelle S. SlingerlandLeiden, NetherlandsKevin BrownLondon, England On April 23, 2018, Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge left the Lindo Wing of St. Mary’s Hospital in London with their new baby boy. Fans of the Royals, who had been camping outside St. Mary’s for weeks, and the crowds and photographers who had gathered for the…

  • Women changing medicine

    Lesley CampbellDarlinghurst, New South Wales, Australia This is my account of three generations of women doctors in my family who in different times and different places were subjected to persecution or at least discrimination because of their race, religion, and gender. The account is written in the hope that society in general and medicine in…

  • Nutritional disruption in the Marshall Islands

    Carley TrentmanKansas, United States When one mentions World War II, vivid images come to mind. The controversial decision to use the atomic bomb in Hiroshima and Nagasaki marked the end of the war in 1945. Subsequent testing of  hydrogen bombs occurred in the 1950s on the Marshall Islands, where “Ivy Mike” and “Castle Bravo” were…