The Clinical Etymologist

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of The Clinical Etymologist, we explore a common clinical paradox—anemia in the presence of abundant iron. Through a real bedside conversation, we move beyond memorized lab patterns and uncover the physiology that explains them. What does it mean when ferritin is high, yet the patient remains anemic? Why does the body hide iron during inflammation, and what role does hepcidin play in this process? Together, we follow iron’s journey—from absorption to storage—a...

Send us Fan Mail In today’s episode, we explore how an overlooked organ can reveal a neurologic emergency. We question whether every “mechanical fall” is truly mechanical. We trace the hierarchy of micturition — from pons to sacrum. And we see how careful listening at the bedside leads to diagnosis.

Send us Fan Mail Some time ago in a teaching hospital far, far away, a familiar IV bag sparked an unfamiliar question. Why does a fluid that contains lactate not worsen lactic acidosis? Why is it safe in septic shock — and even preferred? And why do its electrolytes matter more than most of us were ever taught? In this episode of The Clinical Etymologist, we follow an emergency department encounter to unpack the physiology, history, and misconceptions behind Lactated Ringer’s.

Send us Fan Mail Some time ago in a teaching hospital far, far away… A new call shift had just been announced, and our clinical etymologist found himself preparing for another unpredictable day. It felt fitting—almost poetic—that it was November 19th, the anniversary of the Gettysburg Address. Little did the Clinical Etymologist know that this call would bring together etymology, Greek legend, and the physiology of hormonal clearance in the most unexpected way. Medicine has ...

Send us Fan Mail A group of soon-to-be clerks join Dr. Kim in a high-stakes simulation to unravel the physiology, history, and bedside reasoning behind acute myocardial infarction. Through dialogue, humor, and hypothesis-driven examination, they explore chest pain differentials, inferior STEMI nuances, vagal physiology, and the careful use of nitroglycerin. The episode highlights rapid therapies—from aspirin’s buccal absorption to the early plaque-stabilizing power of statins.&nbs...

Send us Fan Mail Infectious mononucleosis reminds us that medicine often lives in the space between certainty and curiosity. The tests help, but the story — the pattern of fatigue, fever, and swollen nodes — still matters most. Every patient teaches us that diagnosis is not a checkbox, but a dialogue between cells, science, and clinical sense. And sometimes, the most contagious thing in the room is curiosity itself.

Send us Fan Mail Three days of call. Three dozen consults. Three cups of coffee barely holding the Clinical Etymologist together. This is the story of what happens when exhaustion meets imagination — and a lactate lesson hidden inside a Matrix dream. In this episode of The Clinical Etymologist, we blur the lines between reality and dream, weaving medicine, etymology, and a touch of cinema into one teaching pearl. From Enterococcus articles to Neo’s slow-motion battles, from ...

Send us Fan Mail The previous episode Letting Go, Gently was a heartfelt reminder of the human side of medicine, a glimpse into one of those moments that shape us as not just health care providers but also healers. Sometimes, we need to pause to reflect as physicians. Today, we pivot back to the bedside, to the Emergency Room of a teaching hospital where a timid second-year student, a brand name, and a routine clinical checkbox unexpectedly converge into a tale that weaves pharma...

Send us Fan Mail Today, we venture beyond the usual clinical vignettes and into the art of examination itself. In honor of Dr. Heinrich Quincke—who, in August 1891, performed the world’s first lumbar puncture in Kiel, Germany— we celebrate the neurological exam by revisiting a phrase uttered all too casually: “Cranial nerves were all normal.” But what do we really mean when we say that? To help us find out, I’m joined by my Padawan Donald—tall, confident, and emphatically surgical—&nb...

Send us Fan Mail This is Part 1 of a two-part podcast all about the adrenal glands. In this episode, we go back to the beginning — to anatomy, etymology, and the history behind cortisol. We'll follow a curious medical student and discover how adrenal glands were first identified, how cortisol was isolated, and what cow adrenal glands had to do with World War II. All of that, before we even talk about stress steroids.

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Dr. Kim travels back to the summer of 1976 — when veterans gathered in Philadelphia and unknowingly faced a microscopic enemy hiding in the air. Join us for an etymological dive into a bacterium that once wreaked havoc in Philadelphia. From Greek etymology to cooling towers, and from Rocky to respiratory failure, this is the legend of Legionella — the pneumonia with a punchline.

Send us Fan Mail In the inaugural episode of The Clinical Etymologist, Dr. Simon Kim an internist and self-appointed Clinical Etymologist unpacks the case of “scleral icterus” — a phrase we all use, but one that’s anatomically inaccurate. Through storytelling, humor, and clinical clarity, this episode explores the physiology of bilirubin, the causes of jaundice, and why the yellowing of the eyes doesn’t involve the sclera at all. We’ll trace the path of bile from hemoglobin to urobilin,...