[Elementary, my dear Watson].
Sherlock Holmes, the greatest detective who never lived, draws a great amount of influence from the medical world. Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes creator and the author of his many adventures, was a physician, before devoting himself to writing. Doyle was fascinated with the incredible abilities of his legendary teacher, Dr. Joseph Bell, to draw conclusions based on apparently minor unimportant details. At a later stage, Doyle admitted that Sherlock Holmes' character was based upon Joseph Bell way of practicing medicine. Sherlock Holmes' adventures are paved with medical descriptions of various illnesses. This article reviews the connection between the author, the detective and the medical world.
Rimar
Yossi
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Department of Pediatrics, Bnei Zion Medical Center, Haifa.
D004739:England; D005197:Famous Persons; D049672:History, 19th Century; D006801:Humans; D008093:Literature, Modern / Q000266:history*; D008513:Medicine in Literature