White Coat Tales (eBook)

Robert Taylor is  well known and highly regarded in the field of Family Medicine. Dr. Taylor has more than 14 years in private practice and 26 years in academic medicine.

Title Page 3
Copyright Page 4
Dedication Page 5
Preface 6
References 8
Table of Contents 9
About This Book 11
Reference 13
Part One Heroes, Diseases, and Remedies 14
1 Heroes in Medical History 15
Beginning the Journey 15
An Overview of Key Events 16
Persons, Medical Advances, and Dates 16
Completeness and Relevance 16
From Superstition to Science 17
Primitive, Egyptian, Chinese, and Babylonian Medicine 17
Primitive Healers and Mind-Body Medicine 17
Ancient Egyptian Medicine: A Comprehensive Approach to Medicine (Beginning ca. 2900 BCE) 18
Ancient Chinese Medicine: Herbal Treatment and Acupuncture (Beginning ca. 2700 BCE) 18
Ancient Babylonian Medicine: The Code of Hammurabi (Beginning ca. 2250 BCE) 19
Greco-Roman Medicine (ca. Fifth Century BCE-Fifth Century CE) 19
Ancient Grecian Medicine: Hippocrates and Scientific Observation (Beginning ca. 460-377 BCE) 19
Ancient Roman Medicine: Public Health Measures (ca. First Century BCE-SOO CE) 20
Galenic System of Medicine: Claudius Galen (129-200 CE) 20
The Middle Ages (Fifth to 14th Century) 21
Critical Observation: Rhazes (850-923) 22
Systemization of Medicine: Avicenna (980-1037) 22
Scholarly Approach to Disease: Moses Maimonides (1135-1204) 22
The Renaissance and Reformation (15th and 16th Centuries) 22
Iatrochemistry: Paracelsus (1493-1542) 23
Wound Care: Ambroise Pare (ca. 1517-1564) 23
Anatomic Dissection: Vesalius (1514-1564) 24
The Seventeenth Century 24
Circulation of the Blood: William Harvey (1578-1657) 24
Classic Descriptions of Disease: Thomas Sydenham (1624-1689) 25
The Discovery of Microorganisms: Anton van Leeuwenhoek (1632-1723) 25
The Eighteenth Century 26
Prevention of Scurvy: James Lind (1716-1794) 26
Surgery as an Experimental Science: John Hunter (1728-1793) 26
Digitalis Therapy of Dropsy: William Withering (1741-1799) 27
Smallpox Vaccination: Edward Jenner (1749-1823) 28
The Nineteenth Century 29
Ether Anesthesia: William T.G. Morton (1819-1868) 29
Hand Washing: Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis (1818-1865) 29
Public Health Activism: John Snow (1813-1858) 30
Germ Theory of Disease: Louis Pasteur (1822-1895) 31
Surgical Antisepsis: Joseph Lister (1827-1912) 31
X-rays Discovered: Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen (1845-1922) 31
Discovery of Radium: Marie Curie (1867-1934) and Pierre Curie (1859-1906) 32
Patient-Centered Medicine: William Osler (1849-1919) 32
The Twentieth Century 33
Legitimization of Psychiatry: Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) 33
The First "Magic Bullet": Paul Ehrlich (1854-1915) 34
U.S. Medical Education Reform: Abraham Flexner (1866-1959) 34
Pellagra Explained: Joseph Goldberger (1874-1929) 35
Discovery of Insulin: Frederick Banting (1891-1941) and Charles H. Best (1899-1978) 36
Discovery of Penicillin: Alexander Fleming (1881-1955) 36
Polio Vaccine: Jonas Salk (1914-1995) 37
Human Immunodeficiency Virus Identified: Luc Montagnier (1932-) and Robert Gallo (1937-) 38
The Twenty-First Century 38
Human Genome Map: The International HapMap Consortium (2005) 38
Traits, Heroes, and Villains 39
Giants: Commonalities and Differences 39
Not All Were Physicians 39
Curiosity, Persistence, and Recklessness 39
Larger Than Life 40
Rejection 40
Writings 40
Quotations and Eponyms 41
Longevity 41
The Villains 41
References 42
2 Diseases That Changed History 43
The Great Epidemics 44
Plague 44
Smallpox 46
Malaria 48
Syphilis 50
Influenza 53
Tuberculosis 54
Selected Short Tales of Times When Disease Influenced History 57
Black Death: One Positive Outcome 57
Yellow Fever and Slavery in America 58
Scurvy and Captain Cook 58
Syphilis and Captain Cook 58
Typhus and Napoleon's Russian Campaign 59
Measles and Its Travels 59
Hemophilia, Queen Victoria, and the Russian Monarchy 60
Hypertension, Heart Failure, and the Grand Alliance 60
References 61
3 Drugs and Other Remedies 63
Opium and Its Derivatives 63
Ergot 65
Quinine 67
Barbiturates 68
Aspirin 69
Penicillin 70
Short Tales About Selected Remedies 71
Vitamins 71
Amines 72
Nitrogen Mustard 73
Isoniazid 73
A Potpourri of Drug Names 74
References 74
Part Two The Heritage and Culture of Medicine 76
4 Medical Words and Phrases 77
About Medical Words 77
Origins 79
Mythology 79
Some Word Roots That Helped Me Survive Anatomy 81
Places in the Medical Dictionary 82
Words From Other Languages 83
Metaphoric Words 84
Echoic Words 85
Descriptive Phrases 86
Confusion, Controversy, and Misadventures in Medical Etymology 88
Artery 88
Asphyxia 88
Belladonna 89
Catarrhal Jaundice 89
Caucasian 89
Claudication 89
Gonad 90
Hypochondriasis 90
Innominate Artery 90
Hysteria 90
Orthopedic 91
Mad 91
Phrenic 91
Western Blot Test 91
Etymologic Curiosities in Medicine 92
References 96
5 Whose Syndrome? Stories of Medical Eponyms 97
Honorific Names of Diseases, Syndromes, Treatment Methods, and More 98
Five Eponymous Diseases Likely to Endure 101
Pickwickian Syndrome 102
Down Syndrome 103
Parkinson Disease 104
Alzheimer Disease 104
More About Eponyms 105
Eponymic Diseases, Syndromes, and Drugs 105
Cesarean Section 105
Ondine's Curse 106
Nicotine 106
Listerine 106
Huntington Chorea 107
Sister Mary Joseph Node 108
Hallervorden-Spatz Syndrome 108
Patients Immortalized in Eponyms 108
Pott Fracture 108
Hunterian Chancre 108
Mortimer Disease 109
Christmas Disease 109
Hartnup Disease 109
Daltonism 109
Legionnaires Disease 109
Lou Gehrig Disease 110
Eponyms With Intriguing Origins 110
References 111
6 Medical Abbreviations, Acronyms, Euphemisms, Jargon, and Slang 113
Abbreviations 113
Commonly Used Medical Abbreviations 114
Disease Abbreviations 114
Diagnosis and Treatment Abbreviations 114
Abbreviations With Several Possible Meanings 116
Abbreviations That Might Be Hazardous to the Patient's Health 117
Acronyms 118
Medical Acronyms That Are Sometimes Helpful 118
Clinical Trials and Acronyms 119
Acronymic Medical Argot 120
Acronyms as Medical Mnemonics 121
Anatomic Acronymic Mnemonics 123
Acronymic Mnemonics in Clinical Practice 123
Medical Euphemisms, Jargon, and Descriptive Slang 125
Euphemisms 125
Medical Jargon and Descriptive Slang 126
References 128
7 Medical Aphorisms 129
About Aphorisms 129
Aphorisms, Maxims, Proverbs, and Epigrams 129
Primum Non Nocere 131
Three Timeless Aphorists 132
The Aphorisms of Hippocrates 132
The Aphorisms of Moses Maimonides 134
The Aphorisms of Sir William Osler 135
Other Clinical Aphorisms 138
About Diagnosis 138
About Treatment 140
Timeless Clinical Aphorisms 141
Other Selected Medical Aphorisms 142
About Doctoring 142
Academic Medicine Aphorisms 143
Some Humorous Aphorisms 144
References 145
8 Memorable Medical Quotations 146
Quotations Attributed to Some of Medicine's Heroes 147
What Our Heroes Said 147
Greco-Roman Medicine 147
The Middle Ages 148
Renaissance and Reformation in the 15th and 16th Centuries 148
The Seventeenth Century 149
The Eighteenth Century 149
The Nineteenth Century 150
The Twentieth Century 151
Thoughts About Quotations 152
Nature 152
Observation Evolves to Become Research 152
Empiricism to Systemization to Specialization 153
Treatment and Prevention 153
Humility 154
Allusions to Humankind 154
Some Thoughts Worth Remembering: About Medicine, Life, Death, and Doctoring 154
About the Art of Medicine 154
Medicine as an Art 154
Medicine and Experience 155
Practicing the Art of Medicine 155
About Life, Health, Disease, and Death 156
Life and Health 156
About the Doctor 157
Some Humorous Quotations About Medicine 159
References 159
Part Three Clinical Notes and Medical Misadventures 161
9 Famous Persons as Patients 162
Illnesses of Noteworthy Persons 163
Gout 163
Agoraphobia 164
Huntington Disease 164
Depression and Bipolar Disorder 165
Epilepsy 166
Parkinson Disease 167
Alzheimer Disease 168
Migraine Headache 169
Diabetes Mellitus 170
Breast Cancer 171
Examining the Heath of U.S. Presidents 171
History and the Health of Leaders 171
Selected u.S. Presidents: Their Illnesses and Injuries 172
George Washington (1732-1799) 172
Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) 172
Andrew Jackson (1767-1845) 172
William Henry Harrison (1773-1841) 173
Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) 173
Grover Cleveland (1837-1908) 173
Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924) 173
Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945) 174
Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890-1969) 174
John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) 175
Retrospective Diagnosis and Famous Persons 175
Through the Retrospectroscope 175
Medical Reconsideration of Historical Events 175
King Tutankhamun (ca. 1358-1340 BCE) 175
King David the Great of Israel (ca. 1011-971 BCE) 176
St. Paul of Tarsus (ca. 3-62 CE) 176
Joan of Arc (1412-1431) 177
Ivan IV, First Tzar of Russia (1530-1584) 177
King George III of England (1738-1820) 177
Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) 178
Meriwether Lewis (1777-1809) 178
Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) 179
Charles Darwin (1809-1882) 179
Florence Nightingale (1820-1910) 180
Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) 180
William Howard Taft (1857-1930) 180
Albert Einstein (1879-1955) 181
Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945) 181
References 181
10 Short Tales of Serendipity, Curiosities, Medical Trivia, Authorship, and Speculation 184
Serendipity and Some Fortuitous Advances in Medicine 184
Cellini and Mercury as a Treatment for Syphilis 185
Hahnemann, Homeopathy, and Immunizations 185
Simpson and Chloroform Anesthesia 186
Osler and His Move to America 186
Halsted and Surgical Gloves 187
Roentgen and the X-ray 187
Richet and Anaphylaxis 188
Van den Bergh and His Reagent 188
The Medical Student, the Nurse, and Mercurial Diuretics 189
Hopps and the Cardiac Pacemaker 190
Curiosities in Clinical Medicine 190
Koro 190
Morgellon Disease 191
Jumping Frenchmen of Maine 191
Kochleffel Syndrome 191
Kabuki Syndrome 192
ACHOO Syndrome 192
Triskaidekaphobia 193
Medical Trivia: Odd Facts That Recall Our History 193
Diseases 193
Heberden, Jenner, Hunter, and Angina Pectoris 193
Scurvy 194
Gout 194
Syphilis and the Malaria Parasite 195
Infectious Mononucleosis 195
Drugs and Other Ingestants 195
Mandrake 195
Ginseng 196
Quinine 196
Bengay 196
Dopamine Agonists 197
Martinis and Dark Chocolate 197
Medical Trivia About Some Memorable Persons 197
Leopold Auenbrugger 197
Percival Pott 198
Benjamin Franklin and Gout 198
Charles Darwin 198
Thomas Jefferson and John Adams 198
Mark Twain 199
Abraham Lincoln 199
Adolf Hitler 199
John, Paul, George, and Ringo: The Beatles 199
Medical Writing 200
Speculation: Could It Really Be True? 202
Hippocrates and His Writings 202
The Great Plagues, Jesus Christ, and the Rise of Christianity 203
Plague, Agrarian England, and Sheep 204
Yellow Fever and the Louisiana Purchase 204
Hookworm and the U.S. Civil War 205
References 205
11 Misadventures: Myths, Misinformation, Blunders, and Wrongdoing 208
Medical Myths 208
Abracadabra 208
Bullet Baby 209
Penis Captivus 210
X-ray Eyes 210
Tuberculosis and Vampirism 211
The Risks of Being Ahead of Your Time 211
Saltpeter as an Antaphrodisiac 211
Florence Nightingale and Syphilis 212
How Sir Alexander Fleming Saved Winston Churchill's Life-Twice 212
Naming of Rifampin 213
AIDS and Polio Vaccine 213
Medical Myths on the Internet 214
Leptospirosis and the Coke Can 214
Dihydrogen Monoxide Dangers 214
Ogling Breasts Makes Men Live Longer 215
Antiperspirants, Breast Cancer, and More 215
More Internet Myths 215
Misinformation and Misconceptions 216
The Caduceus Symbol and the Aesculapian Staff 216
Chilling Evidence and the Common Cold 217
Patient "Zero" 217
Things We Once Thought Were Beneficial 218
Diethylstilbestrol 218
Thalidomide 219
Phenacetin 219
Routine Episiotomy During Childbirth 219
Irradiation of Acne 220
Stimulants for the Aged 220
Other Interventions Now Out of Favor 220
Practices Open to Question 221
Things We Once Thought Harmful 221
Beta-Blockers and Heart Failure 221
Watchful Waiting in Otitis Media 222
Back to Sleep 222
Families in Hospital and Birthing Rooms 222
A Few Others 222
The Jury is Out 222
Medical Blunders 223
John Hunter and the Hunterian Chancre 223
Bleeding, Purging, Leeches, and the Standard of Care 223
Charles II of England 224
Benjamin Rush and Malaria 224
George Washington and the Death of the President 224
President James A. Garfield and the Menace of Too Many Experts 225
Cocaine Misuse by Physicians 225
Typhoid Mary and Bureaucratic Mismanagement 226
Lubeck and the BCG Vaccine 227
Eleanor Roosevelt and the Treatment of Tuberculosis 227
Freedom for Psychotic Patients in the U.S. 227
The Tired Trainee, the Serotonin Syndrome, and Resident Work Hour Rules 228
Care Gone Wrong: Frauds, Quacks, and Rogues 228
John Hunter and the Giant 229
Franz Mesmer and the Magnetic Institute 229
Lydia Pinkham and Her Vegetable Compound 230
Robert Koch and His Secret Remedy 230
The Cereal Doctors 231
Sylvester Graham 231
John H. Kellogg 231
C.W. Post 232
Classic Quackery 232
Whispering Physicians 232
James Graham 233
John R. Brinkley 233
Albert Abrams 233
Iridology 234
Fake Cancer Cures 234
Laetrile 234
Other Bogus Cancer Cures 235
Thomas Dover, the Pirate Doctor 235
Joseph Guillotin 236
Compromising Trust in Physicians and Scientists 236
Inappropriate Human Experimentation 236
Scientific Fraud 237
References 237
12 Now and Future Practice 240
Recommended Reading 240
Osler's Recommendations 241
Taylor's Recommendations 241
Landmarks in Medical History 243
Europe and Greece 243
Kos 243
Epidaurus 244
Baths of Caracalla 244
Anatomy Theater in Padua 244
The Hunterian Museum in London 244
Semmelweis Museum in Budapest 245
The Handleless Pump in London 245
Pasteur Museum in Paris 245
Asia and the Middle East 245
Traditional Chinese Medical College 245
The United States 246
Ether Dome 246
National Library of Medicine 246
Museum of Questionable Medical Devices 246
Other Medical History Museums and Sites 246
Thoughts Upon (Almost) Completing the Manuscript for This Book 247
1. The Age of Self-Experimentation Is Over 247
2. In the Future, Most Discoveries That Change the Course of Medical History Will Be Made by Teams 247
3. Chance Still Favors the Prepared Mind 248
4. Medicine's Linguistic Treasury Continues to Grow 248
5. A Medical Scholar Can Do a Lot of Research Quickly on the Internet Not Everything Found There Is Accurate
6. Some of the Heroes Described in This Book Lived and Died During My Lifetime 249
7. The Best Days of Medical Advances Are Ahead of Us 250
8. Until Medical Schools and Residencies Offer Courses in Medical History, Culture, and Linguistics, There Will Be a Need for Books Like This 250
9. Some Medical Truths Are Best Learned From Patients, Not From Books 250
10. Physicians Enjoy the Trust and Privilege We Do Today Because of the Dedication and Sacrifice of Generation of Healers That Have Gone Before Us-Only a Few of Whom Are Described in These Pages 251
Medicine's Future and Yours 251
Tomorrow's White Coat Tales 251
Tomorrow and You 252
References 253
Bibliography 255
Index 258

"6 Medical Abbreviations, Acronyms, Euphemisms, Jargon, and Slang (p. 103-104)

Medical scientific terms are the meat and potatoes of clinical discourse. Abbreviations, acronyms, euphemisms, jargon, and slang are the condiments. They add flavor to what might otherwise be multi-syllabic discussions. These sometimes arcane, occasionally insightful, communication tools allow us to convey information in a shorthand manner, often in ways unintelligible to the non-medical person, at least so we think.

Abbreviations

In medicalese, an ELF is not a strange little man in green tights; the term refers to elective low forceps or to endoscopic laser foraminotomy. PET is positive electron tomography, not a domesticated animal. SPA is not where one goes for a relaxing massage; it stands for serum prothrombin activity (or one of nine other possibilities). This chapter is not intended to be useful in a clinical sense. It is not the place to go when pondering the meaning of PNSP (penicillin-nonsusceptible Streptococcus pneumoniae) or BOD (burning on urination).

The clinically helpful book on abbreviations (ABRs) is Medical Abbreviations, by Neil M. Davis, currently in its 13th edition (1). Davis insightfully subtitles his book 28,000 Conveniences at the Expense of Communication and Safety. This section is for enrichment, to help us understand the context and scope of medical abbreviations. I begin with the method used by medical writers to create abbreviations. In the previous paragraph, I created an abbreviation for the word "abbreviation"- ABR. (This abbreviation is not in Dr. Davis latest book, but perhaps he will include it in the 14th edition.) Now, by custom, for the remainder of the chapter I can use either the full word "abbreviation" or the shorthand ABR that I have created.

This all works very well when a chapter or an article is short and when there are not too many ABRs. Reading becomes tiresome when the author uses many unfamiliar ABRs whose solitary explanations are scattered throughout pages of text. Consider the following sentence from a published chapter on obstetric complications: "DCs in the presence of a positive FFN triples the risk of PTB." This sent me scrambling to confirm that DCs meant uterine contractions, FFN is fetal fibronectin, and PTB stands for pre-term birth."