September 2, 2007

neonate

DEFINITION: (noun) A newborn infant, especially one less than four weeks old. SYNONYMS: newborn, newborn baby. USAGE: The doctor examined the writhing neonate with great care but with a seeming coldness that bothered the baby's mother.

Did Doctor’s Medical Treatment Kill Beethoven?

Prior to his death in 1827, composer Ludwig van Beethoven suffered from edemas of the abdomen. His doctor treated this condition by puncturing Beethoven's abdominal cavity and then sealing the wound with a lead-laced poultice. Forensic analysis of Beethoven's hair has shown that lead concentrations in his body spiked after each visit to his doctor, and these medical treatments may have contributed to his untimely death. Though the poultice did not contain lethal lead doses, Beethoven also suffered from cirrhosis of the liver, and the lead further damaged the afflicted organ.

The Death of Marat

The Death of Marat, painted by Jacques-Louis David, depicts the 1793 assassination of radical journalist and revolutionary activist Jean-Paul Marat and is one of the most famous images of the French Revolution. Marat was stabbed while writing in his bathtub, and his murderer's name is written on the paper he holds in the painting. David's representation of this scene is reminiscent of depictions of Christian martyrs in religious works. What is the political significance of this imagery?