Correspondence
Case 21-2003: Permission for Postmortem Examination
N Engl J Med 2003; 349:1482-1483October 9, 2003
- Article
To the Editor:
The Case Records on the 72-year-old man with giant-cell arteritis (July 10 issue)1 include a comment from a house officer: “As one of the house officers caring for this patient, I developed a relationship with him and his family. Probably one of the hardest things I have ever had to do was to ask him, before the final deterioration of his condition, if he would permit us to examine his brain after he died.” This perspective struck me as both unusual and refreshing in a case report.
The inclusion of this statement, especially in the context of a thorough discussion of the pathogenesis of disease, illustrates the ongoing challenge and importance of the more relational and humanistic parts of medicine. It is clearly essential to master these aspects of care for their own intrinsic value. As is indicated by the fact that this man's illness and the pathological findings serve to educate all of us, the humanistic side of medicine can also lead to a better scientific understanding of disease.
1 ReferencesJoshua M. Hauser, M.D.
Buehler Center on Aging, Chicago, IL 60611
j-hauser@northwestern.edu 1
Case Records of the Massachusetts General Hospital (Case 21-2003). N Engl J Med 2003;349:170-180
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