Hektoen International

The belief that sacred imagery provides hope is not a relic of history; rather, it aligns with modern clinical findings regarding the power of images to impact patient outcomes. Visual art can positively affect clinical measures such as stress levels and blood pressure. Read more by Marilyn Napolitano: bit.ly/4sFthR7

Why did Charles Darwin drop out of medical school? He studied medicine at Edinburgh University from 1825–1827. He did not attend many classes, spending much of his time collecting specimens of flora and fauna, and in his second year he studied Natural History. Read more by Richard Brown and Thalia Garvock-de Montbrun: bit.ly/4mf3LR0

The paradox of seeing more as you see less is the hallmark of Charles Bonnet Syndrome, named after the Swiss naturalist who in 1760 described a haunting intersection of ophthalmology and neurology, in which patients with visual impairment experience hallucinations despite not being psychiatrically or psychologically impaired. Read more by Ceres Alhelí Otero Peniche: bit.ly/4cmzYCu

📝DEADLINE APPROACHING! Illinois community college students could win $5,000 in Hektoen Horizons' scholarship contest! The deadline is April 28, 2026, at 12 PM (noon) CST. Get the details: hekint.org/illinois-commu…

Join us in a springtime symposium on Charles Darwin. Our latest issue covers the story of natural selection, his voyages on the Beagle, his life-long symptoms and attempted cures, and his brilliant but eccentric grandfather Erasmus Darwin. hekint.org

Takotsubo syndrome, also known as “broken heart syndrome,” represents one of the most striking examples of the emotional and psychosomatic aspects of medicine: bit.ly/48n8UAy

"Robotics and navigation will save lives and improve outcomes. But as we move forward, we must find a way to preserve the “analogue heart” of our craft. We must remind the next generation that the most important instrument in the room is not the one plugged into the wall—it is the hand that knows how to listen to the steel." Read more by surgeon Dr. Yogesh Salphale: bit.ly/4v0ufcW

In contrast to today’s clinical, minimalist hospital buildings, the Ospedale Santo Spirito in Rome merged beauty and functionality. A large pipe organ provided comfort to the ill—an early incidence of the belief in the use of music as a healing agent. In 1620, the Ospedale appointed renowned organist Girolamo Frescobaldi. Frescoes adorned the walls of the hospital ward, narrating the hospital's history and the lives of its founders. bit.ly/4dLAsDd

Prone to illness throughout his life, Emperor Augustus suffered from bronchiectasis, asthma, tuberculosis, and diarrheal disease. Whereas Tiberius, according to Suetonius, was in better health and was wary of doctors. But he had poor vision, suffered from bowel colic, and possibly had gallstones. He had skin problems thought to have been caused by herpes simplex infection, and he had depressive episodes. Read more: bit.ly/4bIKiDi

Music can powerfully express grief, as demonstrated by the American singer/songwriter Sufjan Stevens (b. 1975) in his song “Casimir Pulaski Day.” Casimir Pulaski Day, a local historical celebration in the state of Illinois, now marks for Stevens the day his young friend lost her life to a terminal illness. Read more: bit.ly/3PX7JBt. [Image: Stevens, Pabst Theater, Milwaukee, 2006. Photo by Joe Lencioni (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa…]

Spanish physician Francisco Javier de Balmis led an expedition in 1803 to Spanish America and in 1806 to the Philippines and China, where he immunized thousands of people against smallpox. Balmis thus spearheaded the first international vaccination campaign in history, saving millions of lives. Read more by Dr. A. Banerjee: bit.ly/3NRebcI. [Image: Balmis balcony, Domus museum, La Coruña (Spain), a tribute to the people of the expedition].

Agatha Christie (1890-1976) served as a nurse and pharmacist in World Wars I and II. Her medical experience and scientific knowledge flavored her detective novels, replete with fingerprints, trace evidence, wound impressions, bloodstain pattern analysis, and forensic toxicology. Read more by Dr. Stephen McWilliams: bit.ly/4s2IVFT. [Image: Christie as a nurse, 1915].

Do eclipses portend misfortune and disorder in government? In Shakespeare’s King Lear, the Earl of Gloucester warned: “These late eclipses in the sun and moon portend no good to us.… In cities, mutinies; in countries, discord; in palaces, treason…” Read more by Dr. Edward Tabor: bit.ly/4bhqKH9

Can mental illness engender creativity? Vaslav Nijinsky (1889-1950), among the most talented ballet dancers of all time, was once diagnosed as “a confused schizophrenic with mild manic excitement.” Learn about his struggles and fascinating life by Dr. Stephen McWilliams: bit.ly/471nf58

In Alcalá de Henares, Spain, stands the Antezana Hospital, one of the oldest continuously operating hospitals in Western Europe, where St. Ignatius of Loyola worked as a nurse in 1526. From its founding in 1483, the Hospital's mission was clear: to provide physical and spiritual assistance to those most in need. Read more by Dr. Mojca Ramšak: bit.ly/4lvVJ5J

Haseki Hürrem Sultan, wife of Sultan Süleiman the Magnificent, commissioned a new medical complex in Istanbul, the Haseki Sultan Külliyesi, that cared for the poor, the sick, and the vulnerable. Presaging our modern-day wellness sanctuaries, in 1551, patients received treatment, meals, and spiritual guidance all under one roof. Read more by Farah Jasarevic: bit.ly/3NbxCN9

Grunya Sukhareva, born in Kyiv in 1891, earned her medical degree at a time when women in medicine faced formidable institutional barriers, yet she became a leading authority in child psychiatry and was a pioneer in the field of autism. Read more by Martine Mussies: bit.ly/4b0s0hM

Was the Mona Lisa depicted in Leonardo da Vinci’s painting suffering from a medical condition, or perhaps simply bored and tired of posing? bit.ly/3Vh868g

We are honored to welcome Dr. Cory Franklin, former ICU chief at Chicago’s Cook County Hospital and a steady voice through the darkest days of COVID, to the Hektoen COVID‑19 Monument Commission. From caring for the hospital’s first AIDS patients to guiding Chicago through the COVID pandemic with his astute editorials in the Chicago Tribune, his compassion saved countless lives. Dr. Franklin’s book, with Dr. Robert Weinstein, is a must read: The COVID Diaries, 2020-2024: bit.ly/4aW6vyH. Please help us honor the frontline and essential workers who risked everything for us. Plant a tribute today in our Virtual Memory Garden: t.co/y34dU9iDga.

Periods of great upheaval, fear, and anxiety have precipitated a proliferation of monsters in the art of the peoples experiencing it, as shown by the work of Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1798-1891). bit.ly/2Qga33X