Tarantism: crazy cult or desperate disease?

Carry me to the sea if you wish to cure me. To the sea, to the sea, thus my beloved loves me. To the sea, to the sea, as long as I live I shall love thee. To most modern physicians, the dancing manias (choreomania) are a curious but highly memorable historical phenomenon. Largely confined […]

The story of Cinchona: from myth to medicine

Where Andes hides his cloud-wreathed crest in snow, And roots his base on burning sands below; Cinchona, fairest of Peruvian maids, To Health’s bright goddess, in the breezy glades Of Quito’s temperate plains, an alter reared, Trilled the loud hymn, the solemn prayer preferred Inaugural Dissertation upon the Cinchonas, their History, Uses and Effects, Hooker […]

Medicine and The Count of Monte Cristo: Monsieur Noirtier De Villefort

M. Noirtier was sitting in a large wheelchair where they put him from morning till evening, in front of a mirror which reflected the whole apartment and allowed him to see who was coming in or going out, and what was happening around him, without attempting any movement: this was something that had become impossible […]

Medicine and The Count of Monte Cristo: Abbé Faria

A man was lying in the middle of the room, in a circle drawn on the ground with a piece of plaster from the wall, almost naked, his clothes having fallen into tatters. He was drawing very precise geometrical lines in the circle and appeared as absorbed in solving his problem as Archimedes when he […]

Medicine and The Count of Monte Cristo: Dumas and a clinical revolution

‘That is as if you were to wish on the physician nothing but migraines, measles and wasp stings, only ailments that are skin-deep. If, on the contrary, you wish to see me as crown prosecutor, you should wish on me those fearful illnesses that bring honour to the doctor who cures them.’ The Count of […]

Astro-pathogens, exo-infections and xeno-medicine (plus a physician’s approach to panspermia)

Maybe a pathogen from outer space will wipe out all intelligent life on Earth. Perhaps it already has. In any case, what sort of virus might it be? Adenovirus (I-don’t-know-virus). Learning objectives 1. Explore the current thinking behind pathogen viability outside Earth 2. Consider the panspermia hypothesis and potential relationship to pandemics 3. Reflect on […]

The Sick Child: Edvard, empathy and expertise

Can physicians discover empathy and derive clinical expertise from art? Let’s try with The Sick Child by Edvard Munch. Learning objectives 1. Utilise The Sick Child to try and discover empathy 2. Reflect on the meaning of clinical expertise 3. Consider how experiences of illness can be expressed through art Edvard Munch (1863-1944) is perhaps […]

Dangerous diamonds from Benvenuto to Bollywood (the myths and medicine of diamond ingestion)

Is it dangerous to lick a diamond? Can I die from swallowing a diamond? What happens if you eat diamond dust? Is diamond harmful or helpful for health? These are some of the questions about diamond ingestion and toxicity that appear on the internet. Isn’t the answer clear cut? Learning objectives 1. Explore the origins […]

‘The Doctor’ by Fildes. Part 3: the trouble with telemetry

The ‘doctor-patient relationship’ is a problematic term. What exactly is it? Would Fildes iconic image leave the observer with a different taste if instead it portrayed the parents propping up a smartphone next to their poorly child? Learning objectives 1. Review how The Doctor has stood the test of time 2. Consider the impact of […]

‘The Doctor’ by Fildes. Part 2: Poverty and propaganda

Ring, my friend, I said you’d call Doctor Robert Day or night he’ll be there any time at all Doctor Robert Doctor Robert, The Beatles Learning objectives 1. Continue our exploration of ‘The Doctor’. 2. Reflect on how images and their use shape societal expectations. 3. Think about how the medical profession will manage […]