Search

The multidisciplinary voice clinic

In his inimitable way, Nick Gibbins tells us why the voice clinic is the highlight of his week – and his very own field of dreams. The voice clinic has come a long way in the last 40 years. The...

Hubert Struycken and his monochord: when otologists still played the violin

It is almost impossible to imagine audiometry today without electronic tone generators, digital electronics or computers. At the beginning of the last century, however, the otologist relied on much simpler tools: a pocket watch, a tuning fork, or a Galton...

Medical racism and the surgical ‘correction’ of the nose in Brazil

Anthropologist Professor Carmen Alvaro Jarrín has conducted extensive research into plastic surgery practice in Brazil. Here, she explains why social and cultural ideas about race may shape rhinoplasty objectives for patients and surgeons in the country. Health professionals worldwide are...

Beyond ‘sticky floors’ and glass ceilings’: eight women department and society leaders share their stories

In the United States and Canada, there have been a total of 12 women otolaryngologists who have achieved high positions of leadership. Eight of these women were interviewed for this piece. Each woman’s responses were thoughtful and truthful. Common themes...

Freud’s Friend, Fliess

Wilhelm Fliess, a Berlin rhinologist, was for many years Sigmund Freud’s closest friend and confidant. He was born in Poland in 1858. In 1887, he visited Vienna for postgraduate studies, and met the famous psychoanalyst, Freud [1]. They were immediate...

Allergy – what’s in a name?

Allergy is defined as an “abnormal immune reaction to an ordinarily harmless substance” [1], however the meaning of the word has taken many forms since its introduction in 1906 by Austrian Paediatrician and Immunologist, Clemens von Pirquet [2]. Combining his...

History of ENT - Freud's Friend, Fliess

Wilhelm Fliess, a Berlin rhinologist, was for many years Sigmund Freud’s closest friend and confidant. He was born in Poland in 1858. In 1887, he visited Vienna for postgraduate studies, and met the famous psychoanalyst, Freud [1]. They were immediate...

Reflected glory: the race to claim the laryngeal mirror

“None of today’s young doctors can start to imagine the feeling of professional helplessness and despair that prevailed before the invention of the laryngeal mirror. Thousands of people died, whom we were not able to help, or even bring relief...

OBITUARY: Bernard Colman (1924-2020)

Bernard Colman at his leaving party at the old Radcliffe infirmary in 1989, which was his retirement year. Born above a corner shop in Wolverhampton on 17 October 1924, Bernard Colman entered Wolverhampton Grammar School in 1933 but left early...