In Sam Kean’s The Tale of Dueling Neurosurgeons, he uses historical events to explore the brain’s many components and qualities. Exposing that several scientific advancements of the human brain are a result of some gruesome incidents and tragic stories. The title is in reference to two brain doctors from 16th century Europe, Ambroise Paré and Andreas Vesalius who were called upon after King Henri II was pierced through the eye and skull during a joust in 1559. The story is written with Kean being the narrator of the cases from the past he then follows the story with current information of the related brain structure and its functioning. The cases include strokes, seizures, infectious diseases, and traumatic accidents followed by how the victim
The Tale of Dueling Neurosurgeons definitely provided me with insight into the subject matter. I personally enjoyed reading about the rare ailments that an average person would have no idea about. The features of some of these brain anomalies are quite peculiar, yet they have a scientific diagnosis. I learned about the explanation for phantom limb syndrome and that because the motor cortex and the somatosensory cortex each contain “body map” and when areas share borders the sensations on one can wake up the mental memory of the area lost causing the phantom limb phenomena. I also learned about the mirror therapy that is so simplistic, yet so logical, while at the same time Kean provided historical information about the Civil War while telling this story. Teaching about the method and the myriad of amputations that could be done in just one day. Another thing I found interesting was how Harvey Cushing performed his work. I knew that the pituitary gland was responsible for the growth hormone and the different things that could go awry, but the way he had an assistant break into a funeral to remove the glands of a dead man seemed irrational, but I suppose it proves
The clip that was particularly memorable was the story of both Katie Worrick and Michael Rehbein’s hemispherectomy. From a neurological perspective, it was astounding to watch both these children survive and function without a part of their brain and if that wasn’t enough they were functioning remarkably well from a cognitive point of reference. I did wonder at first why Katie was still not speaking, but realized that her surgery was still recent when the documentary was made. Just like Michael, who took about 2 years after surgery to regain some of his speech after persistently working on it, Katie too could hope for the same. Having said that, I am also aware of Neuroscientist Dana Boatman’s conclusion that results and recovery times vary from child to child. I did try to find out more about the two children featured in this documentary to see how much life had improved, but could not find any documented information except for an answer to a blog about hemispherectomy by Katie’s mom that said, “My name is Janie Warrick and I live in Richmond, VA. My daughter, Katie who is now 17, had a left hemispherectomy Aug. 8, 2000 in Baltimore, Maryland at Johns Hopkins
truly shocking story of his life. In addition, the book not only focuses on the
To me, the challenging part of the book was reading a book on a topic that I do not know much about. I am starting to become familiar with the legal system, however I am nowhere near that of a lawyer. This is why I stumbled at times on some of the legal lingo that the book contained. In addition to that, I did find myself with a better understanding of our legal system. I felt like I was along for the ride on the whole legal process. Also, I would like to note that I thoroughly enjoyed the chapter on the autopsy because I thought it was very interesting how they performed those procedures in that time period. I loved the detail that the author went into when describing how it all took place.
The more we use our brain, the “stronger” it becomes. “Scientists have found that the brain grows more when people learn something new and less when they practice things they already know” (Health & Science, n.d.). In this sense, Dr. Osteen opened up a new world for Dr. Gawande to over come his plateau and to observe his practice from another point of view apart from his usual routine surgeries. His feeling that there was nothing more to learn was merely because his practice involved the same routine and same techniques which didn’t allow for
This requires respect and compassion and prioritizing their comfort and values. I believe that as future physicians, we must be open to the different identities and perspectives of each individual in order to try to understand their beliefs and concerns. This level of empathy allows us to connect with patients on a deeper level and treat them with better quality care. Given this, I was immediately drawn to Georgetown’s Literature and Medicine program. Having taken a similarly named course during my undergraduate career, I recognize how literature, fiction or non-fiction, can create a compelling narrative that draws us into the mind of the writer and the characters. Medically related narratives raise issues that we will be confronted with later on in our careers, such as the respective responsibilities of the patient and physician, the role of medical ethics, and the value of compassion and empathy. This program will help me to become a more reflective and empathetic individual that places the beliefs and comfort of the patient at the forefront of my professional practice, and can competently cater to the needs of a diverse
Through the operation, science was given breakthrough data and opened a whole new world of possibility. “You're accomplishing in days and weeks what it takes normal people to do in half a lifetime.” While intellect isn’t everything, there’s no questioning that it sure is useful. If everyone had intelligence that skied beyond that of modern geniuses, society and general life for anyone and everyone would improve substantially. “Dr. Strauss said that someday thousands of neurosurgeons might be using his technique all over the world.” With a few tweaks in the operation and some technological improvement, the operation’s effects could move from temporary to permanent. As a result, people all over the world, no matter their original intellect level, could be given
Gage survived a freak accident, but had to live with the negative consequences. He was never the same again and his skull never fully healed. The damage done to his brain altered his personality for good. Although this was a terrible incident, it lead to many medical and psychological conclusions and provided evidence for the functions of the different parts of the brain. Gage’s skull and tampering iron can be found at the Warren Anatomical Museum at Harvard University School of Medicine (Costandi,
I enjoyed Michael’s stories and wisdom that he shared with the readers. His advice of following your dreams and happiness, accepting your fate, and the importance of learning and being curious is described in the book. His stories are entertaining and keep the reader’s attention. I think his advice can be beneficial for anyone and especially for someone starting a new journey in life. Michael is inspiring in both in how he deals with his disease and his optimism about life. I like that Michael also encourages his readers to face their fears and to follow their dreams and passions. Michael shares this valuable message throughout the book, we all face difficulties that come up in life that are not always expected, but we can play an important role in how we react to
A tampering rod through the head is how 25-year-old Phineas Gage became the most notable case of Traumatic Brain injury of the 19th century. With more than 1.7 million people each year who sustain an injury, why does this one case become so interesting? The reason behind this is the result of the injury. When Gage had the tampering rod penetrate his skull it completely changed his personality. From a once mild mannered individual to a foul mouth and persistent person, Gage became interesting cases in history. Gage starts us off with our topic of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) because in the US there are around 50,000 deaths, 270,000 hospitalizations, and 1.36 million who are treated and released to go home (Alzheimers Organization, 2014). A TBI is defined when an external mechanical force causes brain dysfunction.
... that it combined the perfect amount of medical history, scientific fact and storytelling; creating a brilliant account that kept me wanting to find out more. It was full of interesting information that helped me to understand more about the cholera epidemic and the views of public health and medical practice of the people in 1854 London.
Lastly, I also learned that nothing ends up how you want it to be. For example, Cheryl loved working with seniors but she decided to leave the hospital and just work in a family clinic van, called Echoing Green. She is the president of a non-profit organization, that takes care of any patient to change problems without them going to the procedure of a hospital. The Doctors ' Diaries is a very interesting film that leads me to understand more what goes on, on an everyday doctor
In 1948 Phineas Gage, an American railroad construction foreman, was involved in a terrible accident during which a tamping iron was explosively forced upwards through his left cheek and exiting the top of his head (Harlow, 1948). He stunned his colleagues by not only surviving the event and swiftly regaining consciousness but by also by walking to a nearby cart. Gage regained many of his physical and mental abilities but remained altered in his personality to the extent that he was considered “gross, profane, coarse and vulgar” (Bigelow, 1851), having previously been considered diligent and pleasant. The curious case of this gentleman with extensive brain damage but nevertheless much retained function has fueled interest and research into the localization of function within the brain. Although the exact nature of Gage’s injuries has been subject to extensive debate (Ratiu et al., 2004), it is generally accepted that a large part of his left prefrontal cortex was damaged, including the medial and lateral orbito-frontal and the dorsolateral prefrontal regions.
Henry Molaison or known as HM contributes to the deep understanding of memory by previous scientists and until now. His case had been a huge research and discussions among the well known scientists during his time and these results in the study of memories. Henry Molaison is living with a severe epilepsy where he need to undergo a surgery as medications were no longer gave him effects for his disease. So, his surgeon William Beecher Scoville suction out both of his hippocampus and when he got recovered from the surgery, his doctor realised that, Henry was having amnesia and seek him for another doctor. What confusing the doctors is that, even though the surgery was a success where Henry seizures decreasing; he is now facing dense memory loss. Then, once it was realized that the hippocampus plays a crucial roles for memory; the surgery of removing hippocampus was then banned for all and this brings to deep study of memory and hippocampus.
The documentary, “Amazing Secrets About the Human Brain” presented by the History Channel, explains how the brain works to people with little to no academic knowledge on the subject. The brain is “the most complicated device” humans have found, so it is certainly a topic of interest to many. In the past few years, knowledge of the brain has grown significantly. The documentary’s goal is to describe the complexity of the brain and how it influences various human behaviors, such as fear, sexual arousal, sports performance, and psychic mediums. With a minor shortcoming, the documentary does a sufficient job of introducing the complexity and workings of the brain to people with little knowledge of the topic.
Dr. Munter's comments: The purpose of this assignment was to relate an event that changed the direction of your life. Not only does this student successfully accomplish this task, he does it with a certain amount of understatement. The instruction “to show, not tell” is beautifully and subtly completed. There is also a nice balance of long and short sentences, unusual similes, and the sense that the author allows the reader to view this event through the eyes of an eight-year-old. Overall, the writing is clean, simple in technique, yet powerful in its message.