Medical Research
Health & Medicine
A Mother's Account of Medical Negligence and Loss in Lagos
A Nigerian author describes the death of her young son following what she characterizes as criminal negligence by an anesthesiologist during routine procedures at a Lagos hospital. The piece details lapses in monitoring and protocol that she argues led directly to her child's death, and raises questions about institutional accountability.
SUDEP: The Silent Killer
Sudden Unexplained Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP) is a rare but fatal condition that claims the lives of people with epilepsy, often during sleep, with no apparent cause. While famous cases have brought visibility to the condition, countless others die unwitnessed; the underlying mechanisms remain unclear, though seizure-related cardiac and respiratory failures are suspected.
A Doctor's Counsel on Cancer Screening: Chadwick Boseman's Death and the Rise of Early Disease in Young Cameroonians
Following actor Chadwick Boseman's death from colon cancer at 43, a Cameroonian physician uses the moment to educate young men on warning signs often mistaken for minor ailments, the availability and cost of colonoscopy screening in Cameroon, and the particular vulnerability of Black populations to colorectal cancer.
The Physics and Perils of Penile Fracture: A Clinical Note
A straightforward medical explainer on penile fracture—a real urological injury caused by blunt force to an erect penis—covering its anatomy, mechanisms, warning signs, and the sexual positions and acts most likely to precipitate it.
Penis Captivus: Medical Fact and Urban Legend
A humorous exploration of penis captivus—the rare physical phenomenon in which penile engorgement and involuntary vaginal muscle contraction temporarily prevent withdrawal during intercourse—and its cultural standing as a supposed instrument of witchcraft against unfaithful partners.