Hektoen International

In his 1632 painting The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Tulp, Rembrandt focused on the hand. The hand was admired for its mechanical ingenuity and as evidence of humanity’s God‑given superiority over animals, as the physical counterpart of the mind, as both were instruments for using other instruments—the joint application of reason and the hand was held to be responsible for creating human civilization. bit.ly/3UrK2nM

South African physician C. Louis Leipoldt (1880-1947) was a man a century ahead of his time with his views on the dietary causes of educational impairment, the evils of racism, and the abominations of misogyny. He was also an incisive journalist, skilled botanist, brilliant poet, and astounding novelist. bit.ly/4BJ9eqE

In an era when disease and premature death were common, Jane Austen's writing often implied that a good life required resisting excessive preoccupation with one’s health. To this day, the cause of her death remains a mystery; speculations include Addison’s disease, Hodgkin’s disease, lupus, typhus, tuberculosis, and gynecological complications. bit.ly/4zifdRz

Lincoln seems to have had a full-blown case of variola major—classical smallpox—which had a mortality rate of up to 30%. This thinking is based on the presence of a rash, an illness of three weeks' duration, and the diagnosis of smallpox by the consultant physician. bit.ly/4sIqDvzI

When George Washington developed laryngitis and shortness of breath in 1799, his doctors used poultices, enemas, and opened his veins to remove almost half of his blood in 12 hours. He is shown on his deathbed in a painting recently dubbed Death by Malpractice. bit.ly/47AEKt1