Table Of ContentWhite Coat Tales
White Coat Tales
Medicine's Heroes, Heritage,
and Misadventures
Robert B. Taylor, MD
~
Springer
Robert B.Taylor, MD
DepartmentofFamily Medicine
School ofMedicine
OregonHealth & Sciences University
Portland, OR97239
USA
Libraryof Congress Control Number: 2007928818
ISBN: 978-0-387-73079-0 e-ISBN: 978-0-387-73080-6
Printed on acid-free paper.
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This book is dedicated to my family:
Anita, who has lovingly, but critically, reviewed
every page I ever wrote,
and
Our daughters, Diana and Sharon, who have
patiently listened to my stories over the years and
who have always supported my writing,
and
Ourgrandchildren, Francesca, Elizabeth, Jack,
and Annie, who are our hope for the future, and
who always make us proud.
Preface
Ifyou wanttounderstandtoday,youhavetosearchyesterday.
PearlS.Buck (1892-1973)
Ibeginthis bookwith apremise: Ifthereisahumanendeavorthatisricher
in tradition,culture,andidiosyncrasiesthanmedicine,I don'tknowwhatit
is. What you are about to read presents some of these treasures-tales of
the epic scientific discoveries as well as some behind-the-scenes medical
anecdotes. In the pages that follow, you will find a selection of medicine's
scientific triumphs, clinical curiosities,insightfulaphorisms, inventivemne-
monics,imaginativemyths,andoccasionalblunders. In short,thebooktells
what physicians didn't learn in medical school, but probably should have.
But the book is not intended solely for physicians. The tales that follow
should be enlightening for all involved in medicine, including the diverse
panorama of health professionals, and also anyone who has ever been a
patient in a doctor's office or hospital.
What is different about this book that sets it apart from other books
about medical history, lists of word origins, catalogs of clinical errors, and
thelike?Firstof all,thevariousitemsin this book-suchastheprobability
thatsurgeonJohnHunter(1728-1793) accidentallyinoculatedhimselfwith
syphilis as part of an experiment-"His autoinoculation seems to have
confusedgonorrheawithsyphilis ..."(I)-ortheacronymto rememberthe
muscles of mastication (it's BITEM)-are discussed in the context of
themes rather than as alphabetical lists. Themes found in various chapters
includetheheroictraitsandpersonalfoiblesofthegiantsofmedicalhistory,
diseases and syndromes with historic footnotes, retrospective diagnoses of
famous personsinhistory,andsomemedicaltriviathathelpshumanizeour
heritage.
Secondly, the book is intended to be a primer, and I have not sought to
be exhaustively comprehensive. Instead, the book describes a selection of
whatIconsidertobenoteworthyandintriguingitems. Asexamples,modern
cancer chemotherapycan trace its origins to the battlefields of World War
vii
Vll1 Preface
I (2), and the burial place of physician-scholar Moses Maimonides was
determined in 1204when his body was placed on a donkey that was then
allowed to wander freely in Galilee (3). In the 19th century, Joseph Lister
had no handinformulating Listerine,but he didhave an opinionaboutthe
product. By presenting only what I consider the most fascinating items, I
am spared the quest for completeness that can make a book both ho-hum
and far too long.
The book is reflective, and as the sole author, I share some personal
insights. These include instances when various items were significant in
medical training and clinicalpractice,including when Ifirstlearned aclini-
cal concept or an aphorism that later helped make a difficultdiagnosis, or
when a tidbit ofmedical lore has led me to search out afact that, perhaps,
made me a better doctor, in both the healer and teacher sense of the
word.
This book was fun to write; it should be read for pleasure. But because
wephysicians alwaysneed to be doing something "useful," the readermay
also learn some things that are clinicallyhelpful. For example, should we
patch a corneal abrasion? Can the patient with congestive heart failure
safely receive beta-blockers? What is the serotonin syndrome and why
should physicians know about it? You willfind the answers in this book.
Inevitably, a few intrepid souls will want to dig deeper; for them, I have
listed the sources used to locate and confirm entries in the text.
The keypersonswhoassistedwiththisbookwere mywifeand colleague,
Anita D. Taylor, M.A.Ed., who offered numerous useful suggestions, and
Coelleda O'Neil, who helped in many phases of manuscript preparation.
For me, preparing this volume has afforded countless happy hours rum-
maging about reference sources trying to find,for example, who first said,
"When you hear hoofbeats, look for horses, not zebras," and the 14th
century logical principle that this aphorism reprises. (See chapter 7 on
MedicalAphorisms.)Andwhydidthe medieval epidemicofgangrenecome
to be called St. Anthony's fire and how is this historical entity related to
medical practice today? (See chapter4on Medical Words and Phrases.) In
fact, I have been collecting items for this book for three decades, and
now-in semi-retirement-I have the chance to bring them together and
share them with you.
Foryou,thereader,perhapsthisbookwillprove tobeonlythe beginning,
and reading the pages that follow willprompt you to continue your study.
Pick up a book in the reading list, search a medical connection in history
on the Internet, learn the origin of a newly encountered medical word, or
track anaphorismtoitssource. Inshort, Iurgeyoutoexpandyour horizons
by learning more about medicine's heroes, heritage, and misadventures-
the White Coat Tales that we allshare.
RobertB. Taylor, MD
Portland, Oregon
Preface ix
References
1. Garrison FH. A History of Medicine, 4th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Saunders;
1929:347.
2. Cancer Research UK Web site. Available at: http://www.cancerresearchuk.org.
Accessed May21,2007.
3. RosnerF.TheMedical LegacyofMoses Maimonides.Hoboken,NJ:KTAVPub-
lishing;1998.
Contents
Preface vii
About This Book xiii
Part One Heroes, Diseases, and Remedies 1
1 Heroes in Medical History 3
2 Diseases That Changed History 31
3 Drugs and Other Remedies 51
Part Two The Heritage and Culture of Medicine 65
4 Medical Words and Phrases 67
5 Whose Syndrome? Stories ofMedical Eponyms 87
6 Medical Abbreviations, Acronyms, Euphemisms, Jargon,
and Slang 103
7 Medical Aphorisms 119
8 Memorable Medical Quotations 136
Part Three ClinicalNotes and Medical Misadventures 151
9 Famous Persons asPatients 153
10 Short Tales of Serendipity, Curiosities, Medical Trivia,
Authorship, and Speculation 175
xi
xii Contents
11 Misadventures: Myths,Misinformation, Blunders,
and Wrongdoing 199
12 Now and Future Practice 231
Bibliography 247
Index 251
