A physician's commentary on current issues in medicine, clinical research, health and wellness.

The bilious oil hemorrhaging from the bowels of the Earth, coupled with the usual stressors of life, makes me feel sad and pessimistic of late. And while I’m still pretty sure that ignorance, intolerance, and our polluting routines will be our ruin, I also search for ways to retain optimism and hope. Amid the constant [...]

Someone close to you died, was sick, or you simply figured out that humanity could be wicked, fallible, and miserable. But instead of recoiling into cynicism and solitude, you decided to embrace the suffering of the human condition. Fundamentally you hoped to change things, to protect others, to make the world of the infirm a [...]

“And your mother, how is her health?” I asked the cheerful young woman who had come in for a physical examination. She was draped in a blue paper gown under which her naked alabaster skin seemed translucent. Her branching veins coursed like roots close to the surface as they returned indigo blood to the warmth [...]

The zombie is an undead, shambling, flesh-hungry monster with a particular appetite for human brains. Although an uncommon sight in the doctor’s office, it behooves the astute physician to gain some familiarity and expertise in the medical care of zombies should one appear for an impromptu “check up.” Universal precautions are of utmost importance when [...]

This week’s compilation of medical blogging highlights is up at Gruntdoc.com. Read through his collection of great links from the past week. I’ll be hosting next week’s Grand Rounds. Please send me an email with a link to your best writing, or a link to another medical blogger whom you think wrote something worthy! drcharles.examining [...]

I’d like to propose a new condition into the medical lexicon: Cellphonophobia – the fear that using a cell phone causes bodily harm, usually associated with avoidant behaviors that equate electromagnetic radiation with contagion. Cellphonophobia is related to the obsessive-compulsive spectrum of disorders rather than those of the anxiety classification. Sufferers worry about being tainted [...]