Jun 29 The brilliant brothers behind the Mayo Clinic By Dr. Howard Markel Although Will Mayo rose to become an assistant in surgery and a demonstrator in anatomy at Michigan, one of his professors told him he would never succeed in medicine. Continue reading
May 05 How Nellie Bly went undercover to expose abuse of the mentally ill By Dr. Howard Markel Nellie Bly's investigative work became a classic in the annals of psychiatry and a cogent warning against inhumane treatment of the mentally ill. Continue reading
Apr 12 Franklin D. Roosevelt’s painfully eloquent final words By Dr. Howard Markel FDR’s health finally gave out after years of carrying the weight of the United States, and ultimately the free world, on his muscular shoulders. Continue reading
Jan 11 This surgeon general’s famous report alerted Americans to the deadly dangers of cigarettes By Dr. Howard Markel On this day in 1964, Dr. Luther Terry released an earth-shaking, 150,000-word report entitled, "Smoking and Health."… Continue reading
Nov 10 For Dostoevsky, epilepsy was a matter of both life and literature By Dr. Howard Markel There were points in his life when Dostoevsky wrote he was grateful for his seizure disorder because of the “abnormal tension” the episodes created in his brain, which allowed him to experience “unbounded joy and rapture, ecstatic devotion and completest… Continue reading
Sep 13 How Walter Reed earned his status as a legend and hospital namesake By Dr. Howard Markel Born on this day in 1851, Walter Reed proved the theory that mosquitoes transmitted yellow fever to human beings. Continue reading
Aug 18 How Dr. Kellogg’s world-renowned health spa made him a wellness titan By Dr. Howard Markel Just as his Michigan peers Henry Ford and Thomas Edison ruled over their vast empires of automobiles and electricity, Dr. John Harvey Kellogg was the industrial king of wellness, giving the nation a thorough cleansing from the grime and sickness… Continue reading
Aug 08 How the massive, pioneering and embattled VA health system was born By Dr. Howard Markel Over the past 96 years, the Veterans Administration -- now with over 1,700 care facilities serving more than 8.76 million veterans annually -- has experienced a roller-coaster ride of accomplishment, public opinion, resource allocation and criticism. Continue reading
Jul 18 Presidents get sick and die. What happens next hasn’t always been clear By Dr. Howard Markel The Constitution describes the legal transfer of presidential power to the vice president if the former resigns or dies while in office. But this guiding document does little to describe what happens if the president becomes seriously ill, or who… Continue reading
Aug 05 Column: Marilyn Monroe and the prescription drugs that killed her By Dr. Howard Markel Long before the opiate and opioid epidemics struck American life with such resounding force, there were plenty of other prescription drugs abused to excess with deadly results. Hollywood icon Marilyn Monroe consumed, if not abused, a great deal of them. Continue reading