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The Linacre QuarterlyVolume 31 | Number 3 Article 19August 1964Words ... Medicine or PoisonCatholic Physicians' GuildsFollow this and additional works at: http://epublications.marquette.edu/lnqRecommended CitationCatholic Physicians' Guilds (1964) "Words ... Medicine or Poison," The Linacre Quarterly: Vol. 31 : No. 3 , Article 19.Available at: http://epublications.marquette.edu/lnq/vol31/iss3/19ly begins in fall at the opening of the academic year. The work con­tinues throughout the year and dis­section is usually not completed un­til t'he end of May. During the course of the year all parts of the body are removed and incinerated. At the end of the year all remaining parts, which are mostly skeletal, are incinerated. The ashes are t'hen taken out into the country and sprinkled on a plowed field. On rare occasions we incinerate the remains of one individual separately and turn the ashes over to the family. This is done only when a special request is made." Then what about Christian burial and canon law? And about crema­tion? The Church considers dissection of the body for scientific purposes as final disposition, and therefore does not require deposit of remains in consecrated ground. As regards cremation in this case, the Church tacitly tolerates it for the promo­tion of the Science of Anatomy. ( Cf. Vermeersch, S.J., Theologia Mor­alis, Vol. 3, pp. 5 5 7.) If a priest is present at death he can at once say the ritual prayers for after expiration; otherwise the pastor, who should in all cases be informed, is called to do so. Should such a donation of one's body be made as a provision of one's will? my death to the Marquette Univer­sity School of Medicine· f< scien­tific purposes." Or, of cot ·se, the School of the donor's choice A card that such a donor may car · about wit'h him could read: IN C \SE OF MY D EATH THIS CE TIFIES THAT: I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . have dedicated my body to me· cal re-search and education. At i ,e time of my death immediately nt ify the Department of Anatomy, [ M rquette University School of Medici, c.J Does the Medical School require a release of claim on the b y? Yes. The wishes of one ho has dedicated his body to a vfedical ' School should, of course, be respect­ed by his relatives. But, t , avoid difficulties, . the next of k: 1, with two witnesses, should sigr a RE­LEASE OF CLAIM: "The under­signed, being next of kin hereby release to [Marquette U, iversity School of Medicine J all clair,1 to the remains of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . to be used for scientific purpr ,es." It is to be noted again that if tl:. fam ily heir, or other interested p rty in­sists on transferring the bod, to the church for the funeral servic·es, the party must make all the necessary arrangements with the depirtment of anatomy and an undertaker and pay all the expenses thereof. Other­wise, as mentioned above. there would be no expenses. Why should I do this? No; because there is usually a con­siderable delay before a will is pro­bated. But it should be evidenced by a written instrument, sigm;d by the donor and two competent wit­nesses who know the signature to be that of the donor. The gift may be revoked by the donor at any time during his lifetime. An instrument as mentioned above, would be: · "I herewith state that it is my desire to donate my body immediately after The science of · medicine is im· possible without this study. The medical students who will become physicians through your generosity are mindful of the priceless value of your generous gift. Finally, those who enjoy the fullness of health through the study and research made in fhe anatomy laboratory acknow­ledge their indebtedness to their anonymous unknown benefactor. Reprinted from Our Sunday Visitor ( 1-12-64) with permission of the Editors. 160 LINACRE QUARTERLY Words. Medicine or Poison Apt words have power to suage the tumours of a troubl'd mind.-Milton These words are razors to my wounded heart.-Shakespeare As the anesthetic takes over for major surgery, the patient is thrown into panic. Why? Because an ?P�rat­ing room nurse is softly smgmg, "Nearer My God to Thee." A Tex_as physician, Dr. Charles H. G1llesp1e, tells of other thoughtless words of health personnel-words which st�� at the patience of patients, a surpnsmg number of whom hear every utter­ance while supposedly under general anesthetic: I'm going to shoot him ·now." (Loading the needle in a rifle?) "Hook up the monitor." (Or did he say "monster" ? ) . "A spinal puncture is indicated." (There goes my life sizzling away.) "This just isn't my day." (Has he shattered the blood bottle? Cut in the wrong place? Stopped my air supply?) Too many, says Dr. Gillespie, hu�t patients by failing to watch their language. "If you cannot be reass�r­ing," he advises his colleagues, ' be quiet." When are words better swallowed than injected--0r will verbal salve be preferred dosage form? Is there aq antidote for spoken poison, a m�d­icine to heal wounds from cuttmg remarks, a serum against contagious comments? The questions point up an often-overlooked aspect of medical practice - the "pharmacology" of speech. Patients in real or imagined crisis are inclined to cling to expres­sions from those in the healing arts more than from almost anyone else. AUGUST, 1964 "The same prescription given _by two different physicians helps with one and fails with the other," speech clinic director Paul J. Moses, M.D. reminded a medical audience in San Francisco last fall. "One's suggestive voice makes it work, while the other physician's voice might have a touch of doubt and the medicine fails." Even the way a prescription is· writ­ten could determine therapeutic out­come. Thomas T. Jones, M.D., of Durham, N.C., insists that all too many physicians use negative lan­guage. He suggests, for exan_iple, _th��"One at mealtime for 1nd1gest10n could be more effective if written: "One at mealtime to improve diges­tion." While unmeasured words may take the erratic flight of birds, wordless­ness might be injurious, too. How many times has a physician's s�rug led a patient to believe that a senous �ut manageable ailment is �ope�ess, tng­gering a harmful phrs10log1cal reac­tion? If words are birds, shrugs can be drugs-drugs applied carelessly. A curious illustration of the body's response to verbal stimul! was shown at the University of Mmnesota not long ago. There, psychologists �evi�ed a "laugh index" for students v1ewmg a slapstick film sequence: They_ found that volunteers given epmephnne be­fore the movie laughed louder and longer than did the other st�dents. Epinephrine is a natural secr�tion of persons experiencing fear. This study 161 I I has led Medical Science to note edi­torially that pre-frightened peoplemake better receptors of humor, sothat "any comedian can increase hisaudience response simply by appear­ing immediately after a horror film." Could this be a brainwashing wave of the future: manipulation of envi­ronment to induce a desired reboundfor words to laugh by? For good orevil-or merely for a gag-man's ego-what writer Joseph Conrad Jthe "weird power in a spok, deserves greater respect inas a force whose influencehuman body can be as grea of the most potent drugs. Reprinted with permission from 1964 issue of Medicine at Work by Pharmaceutical Manufacture ation. DOCTOR In every walk_ of life are J?roblems; In my profess10n many I tind s called t word" 1edicine pon the as that e March ublished Associ-The question is-how can I thwart them And leave no pain or grudge behind. ' I must show forbearance-hide my pride, When respect and even justice are denied. Lest atop hard wo.rk and sleepless night, Make me understand the sick Lest I should further pain int'lict, Help me treat their every need With kindest thought and word , 1d deed. I may forget what s  proper and polite. And if impatient I become I myself must reprimand. If due to human frailties Temper gets beyond com'mand. So while I ponder for a solution I arrive at one conclusion: ' To follow Christ all through the day He 1s the truth, the Light, the Way. The Great Physician knows I'm weak And from my heart to Him I speak. Th_e Imes that follow with others I share I titled them "The Doctor's Prayer.""· When at break of dawn I rise each day My God, give me advice I pray ' Each decision that I make You must guide against.�istake . 162 Help me to ease their burdens all The rich, the poor, the great and ·,ma!L �tv� me strength 'mid stress and -train, Until my goal I can attain. If with work I am oppressed. Teach me not to look distressed. A smile, and a cheerful self-contr,>l May save a body and a soul. If I have moments left to spare, My co-workers' job teach me to share. Nor let me wait until they ask That I should help them with a ta�k. If someone shows me disrespect Give me strength to stand erect' And in humility to see ' That You endured the same for me. Then at the end of a tired day �et me wear a smile and say, Dear God, I see You in each one For You I did what I have done."' Richard Cardinal Cushing Archbishop of Boston LINACRE QUARTERLY The Population Increase and Biologic Organization HERMANN ZONDEK, M.D. * For some years there has been a disquieting trend toward emphasis of laboratory and experimental research at the expense of clinical and practical medicine. Many students and young physicians with scientific ambitionsbut few qualifications for research would better serve their chosen pro­fession by engaging in practical medi­cine. The need for them is urgent.One reason for the ever-increasing demand for doctors throughout theworld is the rapid increase in popula­tion. The present world population is about three billion; according to calcu­lations by United Nations scientists, by the end of this centmy the figure will ap proach six billion unless un­foreseen events should slow the growth process. The grave implications of this unprecedented population increase are self-evident; they are of a nutritional, racial, political, economic and, most important, humanistic nature. Never­theless, it has been and will remain the physician's task to preserve the health of the individual, including the feeble and the unfit, and thus to pro­long the life span, even though inSO doing he is contributing to thethreatening increase of mankind. The ?1edical profession has certain inflex­ible laws, and its object is to maintain the human being, that unique, incom­prehensible, dualistic product of crea---tion whose bodily existence is firmly rooted in this earth but who, at the peak of his artistic and scientific ac­complishments, can reach divine heights. Because of the rapid numerical growth of the human race, the indi­vidual is progressively threatened by the danger of losing his personality values and becoming a mere numerical entity. But this devaluated human being needs the devoted care of his doctor more than ever. The thought on interhuman relationships expressedby the stoic philosopher Seneca almost 2000 years ago is eminently true of the modern doctor-patient relationship: "Homo sacra res homini"-man must be sacred to man. The various etiologic explanations which have been advanced for this explosive population increase are be­yond the scope of this discussion. Let us briefly consider the biologic basis. Are not fundamental disturbances at work upsetting those organizing mech­anisms which preserve the balance of mankind? We are justified in accept­ing the existence of such an organizing power, since the multitude of cells comprising organs and organisms and even the individual cell are subject to controlling forces which we term "or­ganization." A million cells bound to-*J?.r .. Zondek a native of Wronke, Germany, was educated at the Universities of Giitttngen and Berlin. 1n 1934 he became Professor of Medicine at Berlin University. �urrently he is president of the Israel Endocrine Society. Since 1940 he has been visit­tng professor at the H ebrew University Medical School in Jerusalem. Dr. Zondek gave :e above as the opening address at the dedication of the Meier Segals'Auditorium of �hJerusalem Academy of Medicine, Jerusalem, Isra el, February 12, 1963; reprinted, tiit permission, from l'ostgrad. Med. 35:221-222, Feb. 1964. AUGUST, 1964 163 ( 

Words ... Medicine or Poison

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