By Robert Gianotti , MD, Todd Cutler, MD and Patrick Cocks, MD
Welcome. We are proud to present the first installment of a new section dedicated to exploring the roots of common medical terminology. We hope this will give you a chance to incorporate a historical perspective into your daily practice and to reflect on the rich and often unexpected stories lying at the heart of our profession. This is our ode to the days of the giants…..
It was the winter of 1933 and something…
Mark D. Schwartz and Julia Hyland Bruno
Jeanne Calment rode her bicycle until age 100, quit smoking at 117, and died in 1977 at 122 years of age in Arles, France. This news-worthy story raises some questions: Why do we age at all? Why don’t we live forever? And many of us are asked by our patients, is old age a disease we can cure?
First, some useful distinctions: Aging is getting…
Mark Schwartz MD
Why do we age? Why is congestive heart failure so common? Why do so many of us wear glasses? Why is there a menopause? Why must we sleep? Why do we get febrile when infected?
Medical students, trainees, and physicians are drawn to questions of how the body works, so your likely first response to these intriguing questions is to think about pathophysiologic answers. These proximal, mechanistic explanations form the conceptual and cognitive framework for our…
