this issue
previous article in this issuenext article in this issue

Document Details :

Title: Les malades imaginés
Subtitle: Diseases in fiction
Author(s): KRÉMER, René
Journal: Acta Cardiologica
Volume: 58    Issue: 4   Date: August 2003   
Pages: 349-354
DOI: 10.2143/AC.58.4.2005293

Abstract :
Writers often introduce into fiction works characters who suffer from one disease or another. The purpose of this literary finesse is to enrich the intrigue or to create a favourable environment for the observation of a group of human beings. The introduction of the sick person sometimes offers a chance to warn against venereal diseases or alcoholism or an opportunity to critize medicine and doctors. The writers more exceptionally express visionary views on the future of medicine. This paper selects a few interesting examples of “imagined diseases”.