SALMACIS &
HERMAPHRODITUS
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HYPNOS, GOD OF SLEEP
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MEDICAL ALLUSIONS PAGE TWO
Hebe was the daughter of Hera, queen of the Olympians
and the cupbearer to the gods. She was the personification of
Youth and the wife of the great hero Hercules.
Hebe is
the root of the term "hebephrenic", which means
"suffering from a form of schizophrenia characterized by foolish
mannerisms and senseless laughter along with delusions and
regressive behavior", adolescent behavior in other words.
Hermaphroditus was a handsome son of Aphrodite,
goddess of love. He was a very desirable young man with whom the
nymph Salmacis fell in love. One day he got undressed and
plunged into the lake of Salmacis. When she tried to embrace her
love, Hermaphroditus was repulsed and pushed her away. Salmacis
then prayed to the gods to cause their bodies never to be
separated. Suddenly their two bodies started to merge, until
male and female became one, giving life to the first
hermaphrodite.
A
hermaphrodite in clinical terms is a person that possesses both
male and female genitals.
Hygeia (health) was the daughter of
the famous physician Asclepius, ancient Greek god of medicine.
She was the personification of good health and gave her name to terms
such as:
hygiene and hygienic
Hymen, or Hymenaeus was the son of
Dionysus, god of wine, and Aphrodite, goddess of love. He was
the ancient Greek god of marriage.
The piece of the elastic membrane to the entrance to the vagina is
called after Hymen or Hymenaeus
The word 'hysteria' comes from the Greek word
'hyster' meaning uterus. Ancient Greeks
believed that women were especially susceptible to emotional
disorders, which originated from the uterus. This also explains
the use of the word 'hyster' in medical terminology such as:
hysterectomy
Hypnos was the son of Nyx (Night) and Erebus and
twin brother of Thanatos (Death). His name in Greek means 'sleep'
and he had 1000 children. He gave us words such as:
Hypnosis, hypnagogic
phenomena, etc.
Nyx was also the mother
of Geras (old age) from whose name we
get modern terms such as:
Geriatric medicine
Morpheus was one of Hypnos's 1000 children.
The drug morphine was
named after him.
Mania was the personification of madness
in Greek mythology.
The term "mania"
is widely used in medical terminology to signify various forms
of madness or mental disease.
Medical Allusions continues on
page
three!
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