title: Language and medicine in the Zamenhof family.
abstract: The Zamenhof family is famous for Dr Ludwik Lejzer Zamenhof (1859-1917), who created the artificial language Esperanto and who initiated a social movement for peace and against any sort of discrimination. Ludwik was an ophthalmologist. Adam, Leon, Alexander, and Julian Zamenhof were medical doctors and noted surgeons, while Sophia Zamenhof was a paediatrician. Ludwik Zamenhof often referred to the biblical story of the Tower of Babel, in which diversity of languages was the punishment for builders who were arrogant and uncaring. With the help of Esperanto, the Zamenhofs metaphorically wanted to overcome the curse of Babel and restore the sense of human unity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Maria Sklodowska-Curie, Memorial Bialystok Oncology Center, Ogrodowa, Poland. ruahpolin@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Andrzej
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wincewicz
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lebard Zamenhof
authors.forename: Maryse Wanda
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Zaleski-Zamenhof
authors.forename: Ludwik Krzysztof
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: Zaleski-Zamenhof
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lieberman
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zamenhof
authors.forename: Andrzej
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Grzybowski
authors.forename: Mariola
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sulkowska
authors.forename: Stanislaw
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sulkowski
mesh_terms: D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D008037:Linguistics / Q000266:history*; D009885:Ophthalmology / Q000266:history*; D011044:Poland