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Murder most foul, strange and unnatural

Hamlet, written by William Shakespeare at the very beginning of the 17th century has definite otological interest. The whole play is about young Prince Hamlet’s revenge for his father’s murder. The king is killed by Hamlet’s wicked uncle, who then...

ENT and the Titanic

One otolaryngologist who perished on the ill-fated voyage of the RMS Titanic on 15 April 1912 was Dr Ernest Moraweck, a prominent physician with an interest in ENT (and ophthalmology), living in Frankfort, Kentucky, USA [1]. Moraweck was an inventive...

Themistocles Gluck – the true father of laryngectomy

Most head and neck surgeons and ENT-specialists may know that the first laryngectomy for cancer was performed by Billroth on 31 December 1873. Billroth´s assistant, Vincenz Czerny, had outlined the operation in experimental surgery on dogs in 1870. Three years...

From Hippocrates to COVID-19: sniffing out the disease

The ancient Greek physician, Hippocrates, used the ‘art of smell’ to diagnose diseases around 400BC. He also formulated miasmatic theory, which posited that disease is caused by bad smells. Bad air was strongly believed by many physicians to be the...

Vicarious (nasal) menstruation

Hippocrates himself is known to have said that when a woman’s menses are due, but instead of the usual vaginal menstrual flow, she has a haemorrhage from the nose, then this is a sure sign of pregnancy [1]. Artist’s impression...

History of ENT - Murder most foul, strange and unnatural

Hamlet written by William Shakespeare at the very beginning of the 17th century has definite otological interest. The whole play is about young Prince Hamlet’s revenge for his father’s murder. The king is killed by Hamlet’s wicked uncle, who then...

Churchill, Stephen Poliakoff’s dad and a KGB-bugged hearing aid

Winston Churchill was prime minister of the United Kingdom on two occasions: firstly from 1940 to 1945 and then from 1951 to 1955. He was famed for his acute wit, insight and leadership qualities that helped him navigate the British...

A legendary ‘parotid adenoma’: teaching aid or trophy? & The stapes: a classical heresy

A legendary ‘parotid adenoma’: teaching aid or trophy? A wander through the glass cases of the newly refurbished Hunterian Museum at the Royal College of Surgeons in London presents a particularly impressive sight to any ENT surgeon. The salivary adenoma...

Early Egyptian medicine: nasal trauma and surgery in the Edwin Smith Papyrus

In ancient Egypt, with its towering pyramids and bustling cityscapes along the Nile, there existed a deep-rooted civilisation that excelled in more than the grandeur of monumental architecture. Frequent wars and battles shaped Egyptian society, not only defining its political...

How can we be SMART with virtual consultations?

At the beginning of 2020, video conferencing and phone consultations accounted for less than 1% of all consultations. Now it is probably 70%. Whilst there are many remote consultation solutions available, Tina Marshall describes what the ideal solution should look...

Bettear: one start-up’s journey to bridging a technological gap in pursuit of auditory accessibility

Imagine your disappointment if you have been looking forward to seeing your favourite grunge band play live at the Dog and Duck for weeks. Your family is bored of you constantly playing their greatest hits. But when you turn up...

Physician health and wellness amidst a global pandemic

Dr Westerberg attended a workshop on Physician Wellness hosted by Dr Osler a few years ago at our Canadian Society of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery meeting. The list of symptoms of stress and burnout resonated as typical of almost a...