Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Backstories of Medical Writers and Writing

  • Chapter
What Every Medical Writer Needs to Know

  • 1079 Accesses

Abstract

This chapter presents a treasury of stories about writers, both medical and nonmedical, and about the works they produced: the first medical writer, the first medical book printed, and what one writer considers the most-important-ever article in the New England Journal of Medicine. Here are tales of physicians and scientists, such as Joseph Goldberger and Barry Marshall, who engaged in self-experimentation, and wrote about what they found. Also, there are the stories of famously rejected writers, medical writers whose health problems may have influenced their work, medical writers who penned books on religious topics, and pseudonyms used by medical writers.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 64.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Flexner JT. Washington: the indispensable man. Boston: Little, Brown; 1974.

    Google Scholar 

  2. Lewiston Daily Sun, 11 Oct 1928. Available at: http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1928&dat=19281011&id=vxggAAAAIBAJ&sjid=eWYFAAAAIBAJ&pg=4604,938276.

  3. Thatcher M. The path to power. New York: Harper Collins; 1995.

    Google Scholar 

  4. Imhotep-Louvre.jpg. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. Available at: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Imhotep-Louvre.JPG.

  5. Osler W. A series of lectures delivered at Yale University, Apr 1913. Available at: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/1566/1566-h/1566-h.htm.

  6. Kemp BJ. Ancient Egypt. New York: Routledge; 2005.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  7. Langslow DR. Medical Latin in the Roman Empire. New York: Oxford University Press; 2000.

    Google Scholar 

  8. Norman J. The oldest western medical document after the Hippocratic writings, and how it survived the middle ages. Available at: http://www.historyofinformation.com/expanded.php?id=2111.

  9. De medicina V 00117 00000006.tif. This work is in the public domain in the United States and those countries with a copyright term of the life of the author plus 100 years or less. Available at: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:De_medicina_V00117_00000006.tif.

  10. Buckley K. The most important article in NEJM history. Now@NEJM. Available at: http://blogs.nejm.org/now/index.php/the-most-important-article-in-nejm-history/2012/11/01/.

  11. Bigelow HJ. Insensibility during surgical operations produced by inhalation. Boston Med Surg J. 1846;XXXV(16):309. doi:10.1056/NEJM184611180351601.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Smith S. The ether patent. Med Times. 1862;4:83.

    Google Scholar 

  13. Kelly K. Old world and new; early medical care, 1700–1840. New York: Infobase; 2010.

    Google Scholar 

  14. John Hunter by Robert Home (about 1770).png. This work is in the public domain in the United States and those countries with a copyright term of the life of the author plus 100 years or less. Available at: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:John_Hunter_by_Robert_Home_(about_1770).png.

  15. Hunter J. A treatise on the venereal disease. London: G Nicole and J Johnson; 1786.

    Google Scholar 

  16. Wright DJ. John Hunter and the venereal disease. Ann R Coll Surg Engl. 1981;63:198.

    PubMed Central  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Moore W. John Hunter: 1728–93. James Lind Library Bulletin: commentaries on the history of treatment evaluation. Available at: http://www.jameslindlibrary.org/illustrating/articles/john-hunter-1728-93.

  18. Mantegazza P. Sulle Virtù Igieniche e Medicinali della Coca e sugli Alimenti Nervosi (On the hygienic and medicinal properties of coca and on nervine nourishment in general). Ann Univ Med. 1859;167:449.

    Google Scholar 

  19. Beaumont W. Experiments and observations on the gastric juice and the physiology of digestion. Printed by F.P. Allen; 1838.

    Google Scholar 

  20. William Beaumont.jpg. This image is in the public domain because its copyright has expired. Available at: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:William_Beaumont.jpg.

  21. Edwards E. The gruesome medical breakthrough of Dr. William Beaumont on Mackinac Island. Available at: http://mynorth.com/2010/05/the-gruesome-medical-breakthrough-of-dr-william-beaumont-on-mackinac-island/.

  22. Chernin E. Patrick Manson and the transmission of filariasis. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 1977;25:1065.

    Google Scholar 

  23. Manson P. Experimental proof of the mosquito-malaria theory. BMJ. 1900;2:949. Available at: http://www.jameslindlibrary.org/illustrating/articles/john-hunter-1728-93.

    Article  PubMed Central  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  24. Joseph Goldberger 01.jpg. This image is a work of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, part of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, taken or made as part of an employee's official duties. As a work of the U.S. federal government, the image is in the public domain. Available at: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Joseph_Goldberger_01.jpg.

  25. Goldberger J. The relation of diet to pellagra. JAMA. 1922;78:1676. Available at: http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=229937.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Marshall BJ. The pathogenesis of non-ulcer dyspepsia. Med J Aust. 1985;143:319.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  27. Marshall 2008.jpg. The author has released this work into the public domain. Available at: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Marshall_2008.JPG.

  28. Marshall B. Edible vaccines could help eradicate disease in the developing world. The Conversation. Available at: http://theconversation.com/edible-vaccines-could-help-eradicate-disease-in-the-developing-world-2204.

  29. The care of the patient by F.W. Peabody. Cell2Soul: The Humane Health Care Blog. Available at: http://cell2soul.typepad.com/cell2soul_blog/2009/04/the-care-of-the-patient-by-fw-peabody.html.

  30. Peabody FW. The care of the patient. JAMA. 1927;88:877. Available at: http://cell2soul.typepad.com/files/the_care_of_the_patient-1.pdf.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. Peabody FW. Notes on the effect of morphine. Unpublished. Available at: http://cell2soul.typepad.com/cell2soul_blog/files/peabody_on_morphine.pdf.

  32. Frank G(ill) Slaughter, pseudonym C.V. Terry. Available at: http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/slaugh.htm.

  33. Bope ET, Kellerman RD. Preface. Bope and Kellerman Conn’s current therapy 2014. Available at: http://www.mdconsult.com/books/page.do?eid=4-u1.0-B978-1-4557-0296-1..09988-7&isbn=978-1-4557-0296-1&type=bookPage&from=content&uniqId=471542969-2.

  34. Baxter J. A pound of paper: confessions of a book addict. New York: St. Martin’s; 2005.

    Google Scholar 

  35. The story behind MASH. Available at: http://www.amarketingexpert.com/the-story-behind-mash/#sthash.hcQHMAyJ.dpuf.

  36. Podoll K et al. Lewis Carroll’s migraine experiences. Lancet. 1999;353:9161.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  37. Stevenson RL. Dedication: underwoods. New York: Peter Fenelon Collier; 1887.

    Google Scholar 

  38. William Carlos Williams. The Poetry Foundation. Available at: http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/william-carlos-williams.

  39. Williams WC. Paterson. New York: New Directions; 1963.

    Google Scholar 

  40. Shah HM et al. Archie Cochrane and his vision for evidence-based medicine. Plast Reconstr Surg. 2009;124:982.

    Article  PubMed Central  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  41. The oddest book titles. Available at: http://people.sc.fsu.edu/~jburkardt/fun/wordplay/title_oddest.html.

  42. Rosenbaum E. A taste of my own medicine: when the doctor is the patient. New York: Random House; 1988.

    Google Scholar 

  43. Katz N. Prosopagnosia: Oliver Sacks’ battle with “face blindness.” CBSnews.com; 26 Aug 2010. Available at: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/prosopagnosia-oliver-sacks-battle-with-face-blindness/.

  44. Sacks O. The man who mistook his wife for a hat. New York: Touchstone; 1985.

    Google Scholar 

  45. Adeline Yen Mah. BBC. Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/movingwords/celebritychoice/adelineyenmah.shtml.

  46. Hilfiker D. Facing our mistakes. N Engl J Med. 1984;310:118.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  47. Hilfiker D. Healing the wounds: a physician looks at his work. New York: Pantheon; 1985.

    Google Scholar 

  48. Hilfiker D. Watching the lights go out. Available at: http://davidhilfiker.blogspot.com/.

  49. Krauthammer C et al. Secondary mania manic syndromes associated with antecedent physical illness or drugs. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1978;35:1333.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  50. Alexander E. Proof of Heaven: a neurosurgeon’s journey into the afterlife. New York: Simon and Schuster; 2012.

    Google Scholar 

  51. Dittrich L. The prophet: an investigation into Eben Alexander, author of the blockbuster “Proof of Heaven”. Esquire Magazine, Aug 2013; pp. 88–95.

    Google Scholar 

  52. Marie et Pierre Curie.jpg. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. Available at: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Marie_et_Pierre_Curie.jpg.

  53. Goldsmith B. Obsessive genius: the inner world of Marie Curie. New York: Norton; 2005.

    Google Scholar 

  54. Masters WH, Johnson VE. Human sexual response. New York: Bantam; 1966.

    Google Scholar 

  55. Asimov J, Asimov I. How to enjoy writing: a book of aid and comfort. New York: Walker; 1987.

    Google Scholar 

  56. Groopman J, Hartzband P. Your medical mind: how to decide what is right for you. New York: Penguin; 2011.

    Google Scholar 

  57. Simpson E. For Doctor Howard Jones the work never ends. The Virginian-Pilot, 1 Dec 2014.

    Google Scholar 

  58. PSM V50 D093 Thomas Browne.jpg. This image is in the public domain because its copyright has expired. Available at: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:PSM_V50_D093_Thomas_Browne.jpg.

  59. Thomson A. Bodies of thought: science, religion, and the soul in the early enlightenment. New York: Oxford University Press; 2008.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  60. Albert Schweitzer 1965.jpg. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Netherlands license.

    Google Scholar 

  61. Schweitzer A. The quest of the historical Jesus. London: A. & C. Black; 1910.

    Google Scholar 

  62. Collins F. The language of god: a scientist presents evidence for belief. New York: Simon & Schuster; 2006.

    Google Scholar 

  63. Isaacson W. Benjamin Franklin. New York: Simon & Schuster; 2003. p. 95.

    Google Scholar 

  64. Febvre L. The problem of unbelief in the 16th century: the religion of Rabelais. Cambridge, MA: Harvard College; 1982.

    Google Scholar 

  65. Yahr MD. A physician for all seasons: James Parkinson 1755–1824. Arch Neurol. 1978;35:185.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  66. Tigertt WD. An annotated life of Egerton Yorrick Davis, MD: an intimate of Sir William Osler. J Hist Med Allied Sci. 1893;38:259.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  67. Berra T. Charles Darwin: the concise story of an extraordinary man. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press; 2008.

    Google Scholar 

  68. Connor CD. Jean Paul Marat: scientist and revolutionary. New York: Humanities Press; 1997.

    Google Scholar 

  69. Park M. Travels in the interior districts of Africa. London: Cassell; 1893.

    Google Scholar 

  70. Livingstone’s 1871 Field Diary. David Livingstone Spectral Imaging Project. Livingstone Library, UCLA. Available at: http://livingstone.library.ucla.edu/1871diary/index.htm.

  71. Sir Ronald Ross. Photograph. Wellcome V0028781.jpg. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Available at: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sir_Ronald_Ross._Photograph._Wellcome_V0028781.jpg.

  72. Ross R. On some peculiar pigmented cells found in two mosquitoes fed on malarial blood. BMJ. 1897;2:1786.

    Article  PubMed Central  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  73. Power NO. God of comics: Osamu Tezuka and the creation of post-world War II Manga. Jackson, MS: University Press of Mississippi; 2009.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  74. Lau FH et al. Silas Weir Mitchell, MD: the physician who discovered causalgia. J Hand Surg Am. 2004;29:181.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  75. Lee H. Virginia Woolf. London: Chatto & Windus; 1996.

    Google Scholar 

  76. Ellis HH. Sexual inversion. Available at: https://archive.org/details/cu31924013996958.

  77. Ellis HH. Studies in the psychology of sex. First published in 1897. Available at: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/13610/13610-h/13610-h.htm.

  78. Ellis HH. The task of social hygiene. Boston: Broughton Mifflin; 1912.

    Google Scholar 

  79. Havelock Ellis. New World Encyclopedia. Available at: http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Havelock_Ellis.

  80. Poppelwell R. Intelligence and imperial defense: British intelligence and the defense of the Indian empire. London: Routledge; 1995.

    Google Scholar 

  81. Cronin AJ. The citadel. Boston: Little, Brown; 1937.

    Google Scholar 

  82. Woodlief A. Lewis Thomas. Dictionary of literary biography, Vol. 275. Twentieth-Century American Nature Writers: Prose, 2003. Available from: http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/LewisThomas.htm/.

  83. Kubler.jpg. This file has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. This applies worldwide. Available at: http://psychology.wikia.com/wiki/File:Kubler.jpg.

  84. Kübler-Ross E. The wheel of life. New York: Touchstone; 1998.

    Google Scholar 

  85. Gawande A. The cost conundrum—what a Texas town can teach us about health care. The New Yorker, 1 June 2009.

    Google Scholar 

  86. Pear R. Health care spending disparities stir a fight. The New York Times, 8 June 2009.

    Google Scholar 

  87. Maier T. Dr. Spock: an American life. New York: Basic Books; 2003.

    Google Scholar 

  88. Benjamin Spock 1968.jpg. This is a photo taken by Thomas R. Koeniges when working as a staff photographer of LOOK Magazine, and is part of the LOOK Magazine Photograph Collection at the Library of Congress. Their former owner, Cowles Communications, Inc., dedicated to the public all rights it owned to these images as an instrument of gift. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:BenjaminSpock1968.jpg.

  89. List of best-selling books. Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_books.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Family and Community Medicine, Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, VA, USA

    Robert B. Taylor MD (Professor, Professor Emeritus)

  2. Department of Family Medicine, Oregon Health & Science University School of Medicine, Portland, OR, USA

    Robert B. Taylor MD (Professor, Professor Emeritus)

Authors
  1. Robert B. Taylor MD
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2015 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Taylor, R.B. (2015). Backstories of Medical Writers and Writing. In: What Every Medical Writer Needs to Know. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-20264-8_8

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-20264-8_8

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-20263-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-20264-8

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation