James Miranda Steuart Barry (c. 1789 – 25 July 1865)

James Barry, ca. 1823.
James Barry, ca. 1823.

I am publishing Dr. James Barry’s post today, Jan 28, even though we do not truly know the day he was born. Over his life, Dr. Barry changed the “when” as often as the “where”, but historians believe it must have been today.

A military surgeon in the British Army, Barry served in South Africa before rising the ranks, culminating in Inspector General, the highest military medical rank. He opened military hospitals across the British Empire, often defying austerity orders by the Crown, and was generally not an easy person to work with if you were his commanding officer.

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Dr. Gabriele Barbara Maria Possanner von Ehrenthal (27 January 1860 – 14 March 1940)

Dr. Gabriele Possanner
Dr. Gabriele Possanner

Dr. Posanner grew up capital-R Rich. As the daughter of a wealthy financial minister of Austria, she moved often and was educated by some of the best private tutors money in Austria could buy.

As a naturally inquisitive albeit a little spoiled young lady, it was decided (for her) that she should become a teacher herself. She graduated in 1887 but was barred from studying further to become a full teacher, since women were not allowed to attend Universities in Austria until over a decade later.

Disillusioned, she moved to Geneva and later Zurich, first as a socialite, then attending medical school, which was open to women. However, to graduate she had to show a Swiss High School diploma (Matura), her private school diploma was not recognized. So, in 1890, she went back to High School (at 30 years old), completed her diploma there, and returned to Zurich, where she graduated as an MD in 1894.

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Wilder Penfield (January 26, 1891 – April 5, 1976)

Parts of this series are supported by the British Society of the History of Medicine.

He invented new methods to map the brain. He perfected wake-patient brain surgeries. He began the work that explains hallucinations and brought forward the framework showing how deja vu works. He started the field of neuropsychology.

Yet, if you asked Wilder Penfield what his most memorable moments were, he always responded with “that would have been the time we were torpedoed by the Germans and the time we won the Cup with Princeton.”

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JAM’s Back

Just.a.medic is back. No matter how much it stung to lose over a million subscribers, there’s nothing like getting back onto the horse.

To be clear, YouTube did not delete the channel. I removed it after I had been permanently demonetized, restricted from trending and other areas, and become, more or less, the bomb dropping ground for anything from homeopaths to pissed off DOs who really disliked being told that their spinal subluxation bullshit belongs into the world of woo woo voodoo and not modern medicine.

A video I wanted to make for 2 years and then some… What is the difference between Neurology, Neuropsychology, Psychiatry, and Clinical Psychology?

Since I am starting new (50 subscribers, 936’842 to go), I’d love a like, subscribe, comment. Mostly comment. Seriously, comments make me happy.

Home Office

How do YOU work? What’s your home office like? It’s been a year and a bit since the world changed, dinosaurs started dying out, and remote work and learning became the new normal.

Photograph of my home office, desk work setup, monitor in the center, laptop to the right, iPad to the left. Books on shelves.

Food and other deliveries slowly seeped into high street and fine dining, today Michelin starred restaurants deliver and, instead of complaining about Amazon, high street and local retailers offer WhatsApp or Messenger based same-day order and deliver, beating the Seattle Monster at its own game (and surviving).

Some local watering holes have started cocktail and drink delivery services, our local kiosk walks over to drop off cigarettes, rolling papers, and even cheap cell phones and SIM cards (the “everything I need to order some weed from my supplier safely” pack).

This is me:

  • MacBook, iPad.
  • iPhone connected to Mac via HDCamera for OBS as webcam
  • Logitech c930e as backup if I need my phone during calls
  • Razer Seiren X as Mic (best balance between quality and sturdiness)
  • Logitech Z200 Speakers
  • Logitech MX Master 3 mouse
  • Books (95% medicine)
  • Some tchotchkes to make me feel a little bit more comfortable
  • plastic flora, because I suck at keeping plants alive
  • Dozens of delivery service menus
  • The tie that was cut during Mardi Gras as it is tradition in Germany

I intentionally did not clean up or arrange my desk. If I am working from home, this is how I work.

Playing DOOM on a pregnancy test

Not strictly med-tech, but close enough and freaking awesome. Someone played DOOM on a pregnancy test.

Ok, ok, it’s not quite on the test strip. Instead, the maker (noted hardware mastermind Foone Turing) found out the pinout for the pregnancy test’s display and connected a Holtek HT48C06 to it, which can be used to run the code and connect a keyboard.

The HT48C06 is a RISC processor, something everyone knows about these days thanks to Apple’s M1 departure from complex set processors. RISC was invented by Acorn, decades ago, and powered the best computer ever, the Archimedes. I wanted that thing so bad, but since they were expensive and not available most anywhere, I never got one.

Still, this is no small feat, another entry in the list of “things people have played Doom on,” and perfectly captures the combination of excitement, anticipation, dread, and frustrations that have been poured into those tests over the years.

Also note the “Internet Explorer” button.

By the way: file under “late to the party” but I’ve got a job, you know, and am slow anyways.

Adrenaline

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

I’ve been doing medicine for a minute. In less lucid moments I even call myself a medical professional (usually I call myself a shit/fan separation specialist, tasked with preventing the former from hitting the latter).

It is thus, that I ask of you: if you ever feel dumb or ignorant again, if there’s a moment where you doubt your brain’s capacity to deal, remember this:

It took me until last night, in a semi-wake stupor (have not slept for a few days, finals and migraine and all), to realize why adrenaline is called adrenaline.

Now, most modern medical literature refers to it as epinephrine, and that makes it even worse.

Image of adrenal gland sitting on top of the kidney.

This is the adrenal gland. Which is also its old name, modern text books call it by its proper name: suprarenal gland. And that makes it another step worse.

Turns out, we call adrenaline “adrenaline” because it is produced near (ad) the renal system (from latin “renes,” kidneys, above in dark red). Epinephrine? From Latin epi- “upon” and “nephros” from Greek nephrós, “kidney.”

Yeah, I would have been able to tell you that adrenaline is mostly produced in the adrenal medulla of the suprarenal gland. I’d probably try to sound smart and tell you, that 2-6% of adrenaline in the body is produced in the medulla oblongata of the brain.

But, damn, how can you use a word for 20+ years and never realize where it comes from? See, you’re not so dumb!

They are selling the Casa Magica, and I am sad…

During my first Camino, I had a majorly shitty day coming from Puente La Reina. It was only day four, so my body was still adjusting to the walking and coming down from the Pyrenees had done a number on my foot. In addition, some pilgrims had decided to party deep into the night and sleep wasn’t a friend until very late, leading to me getting up late.

My head was hurting, my feet too, and the weather was warm but muggy.

In Villatuerta I made the conscious decision to find the next available albergue, drop my stuff, and go to sleep. That albergue was the Casa Magica.

There were hammocks, a pop-up pool, a meditation room, and everyone was calm, relaxed, and friendly. Rather than hitting the hay, I found myself in the yard, discussing Midsommar with some Swedes, food with a few Frenchmen, and having a beer with a Grandmother from Spain.

At some point, the bell rang and dinner was served. Four courses, all vegetarian, with a massive paella as the main course.

I left much, much, happier than I’d arrived.

I stopped twice more. Every time, Casa Magica made me happy. The owner was friendly, the food was amazing, the people stopping there were the kind that did not just power through a guidebook’s stage recommendations, and besides, it was the stop before the wine fountain, which added some extra bonuses since Casa Magica sleepers arrived out of cycle and didn’t have to wait as long.

The Casa is for sale. Another victim of the pandemic, I presume, or the owners simply got tired. Who knows? But the fact remains, that with the Casa another beautiful icon of the Camino disappears…