Sunday, December 18, 2011

Lessons on humor from the December issues of the Canadian Medical Association Journal




















This morning National Public Radio had a three-minute Weekend Edition segment about how the December issues of that normally serious magazine poke fun at medicine.

In 2006 they explained how we are able to overeat at holiday dinners: Room for dessert: an expanded anatomy of the stomach.

Some articles parody dense jargon, like the 2010 one on: The anemic maternal proxy and the seven resident stakeholders (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs), and a 2001 Case report: microcardia secondary to chronic adrenocortical insufficiency (Dr. Seuss’s Grinch).

Other stories for children were scrutinized generally in 2003: Head injuries in nursery rhymes: evidence of a dangerous subtext in children’s literature. Winnie the Pooh was analyzed both a decade ago: Pathology in the Hundred Acre Wood: a neurodevelopmental perspective on A. A. Milne, and more concisely last year: Pooh has an addiction issue.

Last year I blogged about their 2005 article analyzing: Incidence of and risk factors for nodding off at scientific sessions. In 2005 they also described using a Super Soaker to dislodge ear wax: A novel method for the removal of ear cerumen. (Don’t try this at home - a direct hit will puncture the eardrum).

Finally, back in 2004 they considered many occupational hazards that Santa encounters during his annual circumnavigation: Referral request for S. Claus.

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