Finals season getting to you? Feeling anxious about exams? Are you considering locking yourself in the library until you memorize your textbooks? Before you go to drastic measures, consider trying out some of the following tips and tricks to make studying for finals go smoothly.
Try making some practice exams: Reviewing class notes is a great way to study but after a second or third pass, it can feel like you’re just skimming through the information, rather than taking it in. If you want your studying method to be more active, consider making a practice exam to see if your notes are actually sticking in your memory. If you take questions from old exams, study guides, and assignments, you can make a practice exam that not only covers important concepts but forces you to review your notes as you make it more in-depth. Want to take this tip to the next level? Rope in a friend to make their own practice test and swap with one another.
Flip through some flashcards: Flashcards are a tried and tested method for a reason. If you don’t want to make your own flashcards, Access Medicine provides plenty of flashcards for all sorts of medical topics.
Review pre-printed textbooks and guides: Himmelfarb has plenty of study material in our collection, including guides on various medical topics. Materials are available both digitally and physically, so make sure to pick one that suits your preferred studying style.
Find the right environment: Need a quiet place to study? Have trouble staying on task at home? Try the library! Study better as a group? Our first floor has plenty of space for folks to gather to discuss in teams. Need a quieter environment? If you’re one of our Graduate students, try Himmelfarb’s second floor is for silent study, and our third floor is for quiet study. If you want to go even quieter, feel free to take some of the complementary earplugs at the front desk.
Finals can be stressful but hopefully, with these study tips, you’ll be ready for exams with as little stress as possible!
Henbane, belladonna, hemlock, mandrake, yew – ingredients for a witch’s potion? Or plot devices in a Shakespeare play?
Why not both?
Just like modern crime writers study ballistics and crime scene procedure, Shakespeare studied botany at a near-expert level (or at least we can assume he did, based on the knowledge displayed in his portfolio). Shakespeare scholar Edward Tabor even speculates that the bard not only read the herbals of the time but possibly knew John Gerarde, a leading Elizabethan botanist who lived across the street during Shakespeare’s time in London (pg. 82).
As Tabor documents, many of Shakespeare’s plots culminate around plant poisons: Romeo and Juliet’s dual suicide, the death of Hamlet’s father, the witch’s potion in Macbeth, and so on.
Many of these plants had both positive and negative applications in the renaissance world: as anesthetic, aphrodisiacs, psychedelic, and poison. But have these classic botanicals passed out of modern use? Or do they continue in some form, quacky or otherwise?
In this article, we’ll be looking at the role of plants in Shakespeare and whether they – or their derivatives – have found any home in modern medicine.
Henbane [Hyoscyamus niger]
Hamlet's Ghost: With juice of cursed hebenon in a vial,
And in the porches of my ears did pour
The leperous distillment
- Hamlet, Act I, Scene 5,59-73
One night out on the parapet, Hamlet – literature’s first mopey grad student and the son of the recently deceased king – is visited by his father’s ghost and learns of his fratricidal uncle Claudius, who supposedly poured henbane/hebenon in the dead king’s ear. And while Hamlet never questions how his dad attained this knowledge while sound asleep, he questions most everything else as he investigates literature’s most famous poisoning.
H.C. Selous, 1870. As Tabor reports, Shakespeare’s contemporaries considered the ears a gateway to the rest of the body (pg. 88).
In antiquity, henbane was used as a sedative, containing the narcotic alkaloids scopolamine and hyoscyamine (USDA, The Powerful Solanaceae: Henbane). Shakespeare’s contemporaries understood henbane’s analgesic properties but also its lethality; botanist John Gerarde reports henbane delivering a “sleep deadlie (sic) to the party” (Tabor, 1970, pg. 88). Used also as a hallucinogen, henbane has long been associated with witches because it can induce sense of flight (USDA) and visions of “insane marvels” (Tabor, pg. 88).
Before the German purity laws (Reinheitsgebot) that limited beer to barley, hops, and water, beer was frequently spiked with henbane (USDA). We can only assume that game night was a much wilder time.
Did Henbane Make It?
Yes! The alkaloid hyoscyamine is an antispasmodic isolated from henbane and used to treat cramps, IBS, and other abdominal issues as a GI tract relaxant. And while inconclusive, some researchers have looked into henbane’s potential as an anti-parkinsonian drug. Hyoscyamine is branded as Anaspaz, Ed-Spaz, Levbid, Levsin, Levsin SL, NuLev, Oscimin, Symax Duotab,and Symax SL.
The Garden Poppy [Papaver Somniferum]
Lady Macbeth: I have drugged their possets,
That death and nature do contend about them
Whether they live or die.
-Macbeth, Act II, Scene II, 6-8
Powder of white Poppie seede (sic) given to children in milke or possite drinke (sic), or an alebrew, or rather with a Caudell of Almonds and hempe seeds, causeth them to sleep.
-Langham (pg. 507)
In order to scheme the murder of king Duncan, Lady Macbeth spikes his servants ale, possibly (as some scholars speculate) with the humble poppy seed (Tabor, pg. 86). Known as a soporific, Langham (a contemporary botanist of Shakespeare) reports a recipe for crushing poppy seeds into a drowsy syrup (ibid): seeds that contain morphine and codeine, two powerful opiates, which “remain in the liquid when the seeds are removed” (Mayo Clinic). Such a poppy-derived "drowsy syrup" is referenced by Iago in Othello (Act III, Scene 3, 330). Elizabethans it seems, like the modern rapper, could claim to have “codeine in their cups.”
Still Life with Nautilus Goblet, Willem Claesz Heda, 1642
Opium has played such an outsized role in history that prolonged comment is not needed. From the romantic poets and their Xanadus of earthly delight to Sherlock Holmes slumming in the opium dens, poppy has been used (and frequently abused) to relieve pain and achieve altered states of consciousness throughout recorded history.
Oberon: Yet marked I where the bolt of Cupid fell.
It fell upon a little western flower,
Before, milk-white, now purple with love's wound,
And maidens call it “love-in-idleness.”
Fetch me that flower, the herb I showed thee once.
The juice of it, on sleeping eyelids laid,
Will make or man or woman madly dote
Upon the next live creature that it sees.
-A Midsummer Night's Dream, Act 2, Scene 1, 165-172
An essential ingredient to the plot of A Midsummer Night's Dream, the wild pansy (which supposedly, when applied topically could induce a libidinous frenzy) is used by Oberon, king of the Fairies, to mess with his estranged wife Titania. But of course, hijinks ensue.
While the pansy's many names reflect its folk-aphrodisiac status – names such as heartsease, love in idleness, or johnny jump up (MedicineNet, Heart's Ease) – the Elizabethan herbals do not report any lust-inducing associations with the plant, only its anti-syphilitic properties (Tabor, pg. 84), which, at least by the next century would have been much appreciated.
Shakespeare, therefore, was working within 16th century folk traditions rather than medical knowledge, but this is understandable, considering that Gerarde and Langham's herbals are filled with aphrodisiacs. Consider the innocent sweet potato, which was known to "procure bodily lust with greedinesse (sic) (Tabor, pg. 83). Candied fruits, like dates, were especially potent when "prepared by cunning confectioners" (ibid). The cotton seed was thought to "increase naturall seede (sic)" and, according to Gerarde, were much in use (ibid).
Love potions have been the staple of fairy tales, and while not a poison in the strictest sense, a classic of witch's brews as well. While the tragedies use poisons in their advance towards death, the comedies use herbs in their march towards love. Both show a sustained human interest in wielding substances towards our desired end state.
Did the Pansy Make It?
Well, not exactly. Science may not indicate the pansy's amorous powers, but it continues to be used alternatively to treat skin disorders like eczema (MedicineNet). Moreover, some have researched its potential as an immunosuppressant. Due to the presence of flavonoids and catechins, heartsease probably has anti-inflammatory effects as well (MedicineNet).
Mandrake [Solanaceae]
Cleopatra: Give me to drink mandragora.
-Anthony and Cleopatra, Act I, Scene 5, 4
While less plot-important than the other list-items, mandrake played a central role in medieval and ancient herbology and appears frequently in Shakespeare. A narcotic and soporific, Cleopatra requests mandragora to let her sleep through her lovesickness. Iago also mentions the soporific quality of the mandrake root in the same breath as opium (Othello, Act III, Scene 3, 330). And Juliet demonstrates Shakespeare's awareness of the common mythology, comparing her distress to the mandrake, which could only be uprooted in moonlight, lest its shrieks drive insanity (USDA, Mandrake).
A medieval depiction of mandragora
Like henbane, mandrake had many uses, including as a hallucinogen.
Did Mandrake Make It?
Yes! Mandrake root contains the alkaloid scopolamine, which is FDA approved to treat motion sickness and nausea derived from opiate analgesia (NIH, Scopolamine). Scopolamine is sold as Transderm Scop, Scopace, Maldemar, as well as generically.
Wolfsbane [Aconitum variegatum]
Laertes: And for that purpose I'll anoint my sword. I bought an unction of a mountebank So mortal that but dip a knife in it, Where it draws blood no cataplasm so rare, Collected from all simples that have virtue Under the moon, can save the thing from death That is but scratched withal. I'll touch my point With this contagion, that if I gall him slightly, It may be death.
-Hamlet, Act IV, Scene 7, 141-149
After investigating king Hamlet's poisoning, well, lots of stuff happens, and everyone dies. In this case, Hamlet duels his rival Laertes, who happens to have poisoned his sword. A poison begins the plot, and a poison ends it.
While Laertes does not specify the poison, the leading contender is wolfsbane or aconite (derived from wolfsbane). Elizabethans knew of aconite's poisonous potential, specifically as an arrow poison; Gerarde records swelling, madness, and death within the half hour from introduction (Tabor, pg. 89). Presumably, the plant garners its folk-appellation from its ability to ward off wolves and werewolves (National Poison Control Center, Aconitum napellus (Monkshood): A Purple Poison). The National Poison Control Center reports modern cases of aconite poisoning, some worthy of a true-crime drama.
Autumn weather is here and we’re starting to see hints of fall foliage! In the coming weeks, spend some time outdoors to enjoy the weather and colors, and to capture those amazing photos.
Enter your best photo with a chance to win a PRIZE. All digital photos submitted will be showcased in the online 2024 Himmelfarb Fall Colors Photo Gallery, and prints will be displayed in Himmelfarb Library.
Photo submission dates: Monday, October 14, 2024 – Friday, November 8, 2024.
Who may enter: GW students, faculty and staff affiliated with the School of Medicine & Health Sciences, Milken Institute School of Public Health, and School of Nursing.
Contest photo must be original and taken by the submitter in 2024.
Submitted photos will be displayed in online and print galleries with the photographer's name and photo title.
By submitting an entry, each contestant agrees to the rules of the contest.
Judging:
Photo entries will be judged based on creativity, originality, and overall artistic impact. One winner will be chosen by a prior contest winner and members of the Healthy Living @ Himmelfarb Committee.
*Himmelfarb Library reserves the right to cancel the contest or modify rules at its discretion. Himmelfarb Library reserves the right to reject any entrant whose entry appears off-topic or violates the rules.
The PA program, ranked in the top five in the US, lasts 24 months, the PA/MPH program is 36 months. The Washington, DC location of the program makes the PA program an excellent place for PAs in training to take part in an annual leadership and advocacy summit sponsored by the AAPA, and to avail themselves of other opportunities to visit Capitol Hill to advocate on health policy.
When asked about three things that people might not know about the PA profession, Bart Gillum shared the following thoughts:
"We are now "Physician Associates." In 2021 the American Academy of PAs voted to change the name from physician assistant to physician associate. While some states and institutions have already adopted the name, the new title is still in progress. Adopting the new name has been slow due to the requirement of state laws and healthcare institutions to be updated. In the meantime, you might continue to hear physician assistant and physician associate or even just PA interchangeably."
"Unlike physicians who undergo residency training for a specific specialty, PAs have the unique ability to move between medical specialties without additional formal training. A PA can work in areas such as cardiology, emergency medicine, or dermatology and switch to another field. This provides more flexibility for those who want to work in a variety of settings throughout their career."
"While PAs are most prevalent in the US. PAs or PA-like professionals are present in about 15-20 other countries, including Canada, the UK, Australia, The Netherlands, Germany, South Africa, and New Zealand. Other countries are currently exploring incorporating PAs in their healthcare systems."
Don't forget to thank a physician assistant this week -- their important work expands patient access to healthcare. Tune in to both Good Morning America and the TODAY show on Friday morning, October 11, for a chance to see PAs representing their profession!
With October upon us, comes celebration of spooky season. The classic signs of Halloween approaching are here: theaters show scary movie marathons for those who want thrills and frights, skeleton and ghost decor begins to grace front yards and debate over what to wear for the event itself reaches a fever pitch. But witches, ghosts, and ghouls weren’t always reserved for just Halloween. In fact, some legends were born out of explanations for very real phenomena that used to strike terror across villages.
One particular example comes to mind. The year is 1788. Your friend has fallen ill recently. She’s lost a lot of weight, she has a fever, and her skin is growing paler by the day. She has even started coughing up blood. Even worse, these symptoms mimic that of her late brother, who died a few months previously. Thankfully, a neighbor has identified the culprit and knows the solution: dig up her brother’s corpse, cut out his heart, and burn it.
Wait, what? As strange as it sounds, this was a real series of events that happened in New England. Before the Germ Theory of disease, people needed explanations for the spread of disease. While bad air (Miasma Theory) or the four humors were potential explanations, when it came to the disease known as tuberculosis, vampires were offered as a potential explanation (1).
The original legend was brought over by immigrants from European countries (2). While the exact way vampires worked depended on the region, the general idea was that those who died came back to drain life from the living, often their family members. Given how tuberculosis spreads, family members did become ill, especially given members of one family might share the same bed. Digging up the corpse of the deceased family member was seen as a way to stop the illness and put it to bed at last. Given the cold winters in the region, sometimes bodies would be well preserved when they were dug up, further playing into the idea that the dead were feasting on the living. While the burning of organs didn’t actually do anything, in the face of an invisible illness, it provided those afraid with a feeling of some agency.
The vampire legend doesn’t arise solely from tuberculosis, but some hallmarks of the blood suckers can be traced to the pathogen: the pallor vampires are known for, along with sleeping in coffins. Other aspects of the mythical monster are hypothesized to come from other illnesses. Vampire’s aversion to light (photophobia), running water and biting others may all originate from rabies cases. Those afflicted with rabies can showcase these symptoms, and those who wrote early vampire stories may have drawn inspiration from the deadly disease (3). Symptoms of the genetic disease porphyria have also been attributed to perhaps inspiring the myth as it also causes issues with being in the sun (4).
Thankfully, we eventually figured out the real culprit behind tuberculosis wasn’t the walking dead, but a bacterium, and that we could defeat it with antibiotics, not wooden stakes. But it’s important not to judge those who believed in the vampire theory too harshly. They had figured out the contagious part of the disease. They only misattributed the vector.
So this October, remember where part of the fear of vampirism comes from. It’s not fangs, or gothic mansions, or poor book adaptations. Instead, think of those who latched onto the legend as an explanation, who knew something deadly was spreading, but didn’t know where to look or where it would strike next.
1. Blanding M. Vampire panic gripped New England in the 1800s. the real evil was in the air. Boston Globe (Online). Oct 27 2023. Available from: https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/vampire-panic-gripped-new-england-1800s-real-evil/docview/2882529806/se-2.
2. Groom N. UNEARTHING THE DEAD: Medicine and Detection, Body and Mind. In: The Vampire. A New History. Yale University Press; 2018:23-40. doi:10.2307/j.ctv6gqxp2.9
3. Gómez-Alonso J. Rabies: a possible explanation for the vampire legend. Neurology. 1998;51(3):856-859. doi:10.1212/wnl.51.3.856
4. McGrath J. Are vampires real? scientists have linked diseases and decomposition to all the historical tropes of nosferatu. Business Insider. Oct 21, 2023. Available from: https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/are-vampires-real-scientists-have-linked-diseases/docview/2879550637/se-2.
With September in full swing, folks might find themselves short on downtime as exams and courses wind into full gear. Thankfully, this month’s medical media recommendation from our new Scholarly Communications and Metadata Librarian, Brittany Smith, is a sitcom that might be easy to sneak watching an episode during a tight schedule.
Known for its humor and heart, Scrubs is a sitcom that ran from 2001-2010 that follows a group of interns and continues throughout their residency at Sacred Heart Hospital(1). While the show centered around its lead J.D, it also spent time building out its extended cast such as fellow residents Turk and Reid, nurse Carla Espinosa, Doctor Cox and the mysterious Janitor. Winning multiple awards, the wacky series wasn’t afraid to get silly despite the medical setting; there was even an entire episode that was a musical.
Despite the zany antics, what really made Scrubs a treat to watch was its heart. The show “wrestled with the humanity of the characters in a meaningful way,” said Smith. Both patients and the physicians are shown as real people, and when Scrubs tackled those moments, it did so with empathy and thought. Some examples include a doctor struggling with OCD, the loss of a fellow staff member, and how losing patients can impact those who care for them (2).
Scrubs can be streamed on multiple streaming services online.
Every country’s medical system works slightly differently. While here in the United States we can face frustrations related to insurance, high costs and other issues, that doesn’t mean other medical systems have no issues. For today’s installment of Medical Media, librarian Deborah Wassertzug recommends a television series that takes a look at the system across the pond: the National Health Service of the United Kingdom.
This is Going to Hurt is a limited series television show from the UK, based on a memoir of the same name. Both the memoir, written by former doctor Adam Kay, and the television show, focus on the issues, struggles and experiences of junior doctors working in a National Health Service hospital, specifically their work on the obstetrics and gynecology ward.
For those used to medical television that takes place in the United States, there is a lot of new terminology to get used to. For example, instead of residency, the UK has Doctor Specialty training (1). Despite these changes in terminology, the issues facing doctors will likely be familiar to those aware of the challenges medical professionals face in the United States: burnout, stress, overwork, and funding shortfalls. The show also tackles serious issues related to mental health issues and work-life balance among doctors, a trend also seen in the United States (3). One episode juxtaposes a private maternity hospital with an NHS hospital and raises the question of whether there are safety issues associated with “going private.”
The show isn’t entirely serious: there are lighthearted moments and its genre is likely best described as a black comedy. According to Wassertzug , the show juxtaposes hilarious scenes with serious things people go through in medical settings, to great effect. Due to the involvement of Kay, the show is generally accurate when it comes to the dirtier aspects of medicine, so things do get a little messy.
John Tenniel, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Did you know that several medical terms find their etymological origins in classic literature? Let this list inspire your next read!
First up, we have Pickwickian syndrome, which gets its name from Charles Dickens’ novel The Pickwick Papers. Officially called “obesity hypoventilation syndrome,” Pickwickian syndrome is defined as the combination of a high body mass index, high levels of carbon dioxide in the blood, and disordered breathing during sleep (Masa et al., 2019). Despite its name, Pickwickian syndrome refers not to main character Samuel Pickwick, but rather to the supporting character Joe, whose main personality traits are eating a lot of food and falling asleep constantly. The term Pickwickian syndrome originated in a 1956 case report in the American Journal of Medicine.
Next, there are several psychological conditions that bring to mind the experiences of literary characters. You might have heard of Alice in Wonderland syndrome, in which the patient has distorted perceptions of the size and shape of their body (Blom, 2016). The term was first coined by John Todd in 1955 in reference to the growing and shrinking Alice experiences when she consumes magical treats in Lewis Carroll’s classic Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.
Another term taken from children’s literature is Peter Pan syndrome. This is an unofficial diagnosis, not recognized in the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual). It refers to adults who are socially immature and have trouble facing adult responsibilities. They wish that they would never have to grow up, like the eternally young Peter Pan from J. M. Barrie’s stories. Dan Kiley coined the term in his bestselling 1983 book The Peter Pan Syndrome: Men Who Have Never Grown Up.
Of course, the great playwright William Shakespeare makes an appearance on this list. Othello syndrome describes a paranoid delusional jealousy in which the patient becomes certain that their partner is cheating on them (Kataoka & Sugie, 2018). In Shakespeare’s play Othello, the antagonist Iago uses trickery to convince Othello of his wife Desdemona’s infidelity, leading to tragic consequences.
Our last entry is a bit different, but interesting enough to merit inclusion on this list. Doctors might complain about a patient by calling them a gomer. A gomer is someone who is frequently admitted to the emergency room but does not actually require medical care, or more broadly, as the Oxford English Dictionary defines it, “a difficult or disagreeable patient, esp. an elderly one.” Although the definitive origin is unclear, Samuel Shem popularized the term in his 1978 novel The House of God, in which he states that the word is an acronym of “Get Out of My Emergency Room.” Shem was a practicing psychiatrist, and his novel is about the disturbing experiences of a group of interns at a fictionalized version of Boston’s Beth Israel Hospital.
So what will you be reading next?
References
Bickelmann, A. G., Burwell, C. S., Robin, E. D., & Whaley, R. D. (1956). Extreme obesity associated with alveolar hypoventilation; a Pickwickian syndrome. The American journal of medicine, 21(5), 811–818. https://doi.org/10.1016/0002-9343(56)90094-8
Kataoka, H., & Sugie, K. (2018). Delusional Jealousy (Othello Syndrome) in 67 Patients with Parkinson's Disease. Frontiers in neurology, 9, 129. https://doi.org/10.3389/fneur.2018.00129
Masa, J. F., Pépin, J. L., Borel, J. C., Mokhlesi, B., Murphy, P. B., & Sánchez-Quiroga, M. Á. (2019). Obesity hypoventilation syndrome. European respiratory review: an official journal of the European Respiratory Society, 28(151), 180097. https://doi.org/10.1183/16000617.0097-2018
Todd J. (1955). The syndrome of Alice in Wonderland. Canadian Medical Association Journal, 73(9), 701–704.
One of the most frequent questions we get at the library in recent months is in regards to A.I. What is A.I? Is A.I the future? Are we all about to be replaced by robots? In this month's comic strip, we simplify A.I. in order to make sense of what's realistic, what's plausible and what's still science fiction.
Comic written and drawn by: Rebecca Kyser
Citations:
1.Christian B. The Alignment Problem : Machine Learning and Human Values. W.W. Norton & Company; 2021.
