Musing of a Contemporary Pathologist

Category Education

Medical Trivia #5: Johannes Lijdius Catherinus Pompe van Meerdervoort; a story of serendipity

Jeopardy category: Medical trivia Jeopardy answer: Johannes Lijdius Catherinus Pompe van Meerdervoort, the Netherlands Correct response: Who established the foundation for modern medical practice in Japan and from what country was he?   Many writers—generally of a certain (relatively advanced)… Continue Reading →

Adages, aphorisms and more …

Favorite aphorisms, adages, sayings and quotes – (mostly learned, a few made up) – collected over many years … aphorism: a terse saying embodying a universal truth or astute observation. adage: a traditional saying expressing a common experience or observation…. Continue Reading →

Medical trivia #4: Billroth and Brahms

                          Using language to convey the magic of Brahms would be like using a wooden classroom ruler to measure the speed of light.          … Continue Reading →

A President Lies in State

  John F. Kennedy lying in state, November 24, 1963 On Friday, November 22, 1963, 55 years ago, I was a third-year medical student sitting in a lecture room on the second floor of Freedmen’s Hospital, Washington, D.C. The lecture… Continue Reading →

The Dying Cadaver

The Spring 2018 issue of Rutgers Magazine, the magazine for alumni of the State University of New Jersey (Kate, my wife, is a Rutgers graduate), includes a one-page article, A High-Tech Anatomy Lesson, describing how medical students can be taught… Continue Reading →

Medical Trivia #3: Hadrian’s Earlobe

            The Roman Emperor Hadrian (Publius Aelius Hadrianus Augustus) was born in Italica-Hispanica (modern day Seville, Spain) in 76 CE and died at his villa in Baiae, an ancient Roman town on the Gulf of Naples,… Continue Reading →

Three long steps to Montpelier

Montpelier, the capital of Vermont, is a small, surprisingly vibrant city in the middle of the state, between Burlington and Woodstock. The north branch of the Winooski River runs right under State Street and also under some of the buildings… Continue Reading →

Medical Trivia #2: Cyrano de Bergerac and microscopy

In 1897 the French poet and dramatist, Edmond Eugène Alexis Rostand (1868-1918) wrote what would be his most popular work, the romantic play Cyrano de Bergerac. Rostand was born in Marseille and his father was a renowned economist and poet…. Continue Reading →

Laufer’s Rules with Comments

Igor Laufer (1944-2010) was a distinguished, renowned and beloved gastrointestinal radiologist at the University of Pennsylvania, largely responsible for the development and refinement of double-contrast barium studies of the GI tract. Igor and I first met in the early 1980’s… Continue Reading →

Medical Trivia #1: Sutton’s Law

There are many “laws” in science reflecting past observations and scientific proofs that have been shown to be either completely true or at least highly reliable. Many of these laws bear someone’s name. Some required understanding of complex scientific principles… Continue Reading →

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