Send us a text Some time ago in a teaching hospital far, far away… A new call shift had just been announced, and our clinical etymologist found himself preparing for another unpredictable day. It felt fitting—almost poetic—that it was November 19th, the anniversary of the Gettysburg Address. Little did the Clinical Etymologist know that this call would bring together etymology, Greek legend, and the physiology of hormonal clearance in the most unexpected way. Medicine has a ...

Send us a text On a routine day call, two eager pre-clerks join the Clinical Etymologist in the ER, hoping to witness internal medicine in action. What we get instead is a cramped cast room, a patient with right-sided weakness, and a half full urinal that almost fell. Not an ideal setting for teaching or learning. This episode isn’t about rare diagnoses — it’s about staying steady when the answers aren’t clear. We explore stroke, vasculitis, and the power of physical exam. But mor...

Send us a text A group of soon-to-be clerks join Dr. Kim in a high-stakes simulation to unravel the physiology, history, and bedside reasoning behind acute myocardial infarction. Through dialogue, humor, and hypothesis-driven examination, they explore chest pain differentials, inferior STEMI nuances, vagal physiology, and the careful use of nitroglycerin. The episode highlights rapid therapies—from aspirin’s buccal absorption to the early plaque-stabilizing power of statins. ...

Send us a text Mr. Alexander Kole presents with alcohol intoxication. Odd lab value is noted that hides more than it reveals. In this episode, Dr. Kim and his Padawan Layla explore the clinical mystery of the osmolar gap — when numbers deceive and time unmasks the truth. Through humor, teaching, and reflection, this case shows how physiology, not formulas, saves the day.

Send us a text Infectious mononucleosis reminds us that medicine often lives in the space between certainty and curiosity. The tests help, but the story — the pattern of fatigue, fever, and swollen nodes — still matters most. Every patient teaches us that diagnosis is not a checkbox, but a dialogue between cells, science, and clinical sense. And sometimes, the most contagious thing in the room is curiosity itself.

Send us a text In this episode, Dr. Kim and his Padawan, Nina, rediscover the forgotten art of the respiratory exam—from tactile fremitus to percussion, from the German for 99 to toy boat. Through etymology, history, and bedside humor, they explore how sound and touch connect anatomy, pathophysiology, and the human story behind every breath.

Send us a text Three days of call. Three dozen consults. Three cups of coffee barely holding the Clinical Etymologist together. This is the story of what happens when exhaustion meets imagination — and a lactate lesson hidden inside a Matrix dream. In this episode of The Clinical Etymologist, we blur the lines between reality and dream, weaving medicine, etymology, and a touch of cinema into one teaching pearl. From Enterococcus articles to Neo’s slow-motion battles, from ur...

Send us a text The momentous discovery of Cobalamin 77 years ago made a macrocytic impact on medicine, saving millions of lives from their pernicious fate. In celebration, we take a subacute and combined degenerative dive into the world of Vitamin B12 deficiency. From raw liver cures to Nobel Prizes, from cobalt atoms to collapsed gait, this episode traces the fascinating history and clinical nuance of a vitamin that does far more than make red cells. Join Dr. Kim and a curious medical studen...

The previous episode Letting Go, Gently was a heartfelt reminder of the human side of medicine, a glimpse into one of those moments that shape us as not just health care providers but also healers. Sometimes, we need to pause to reflect as physicians. Today, we pivot back to the bedside, to the Emergency Room of a teaching hospital where a timid second-year student, a brand name, and a routine clinical checkbox unexpectedly converge into a tale that weaves pharmacology, etymology...

So far, our beloved clinical etymologist, Dr. Kim, has explored the roots of medical language through history, etymology, and clinical reasoning. But today is different. Instead of tracing the origin of a word, he turns to the origin of something far more profound—the human moments that shape medicine itself. This special episode steps away from terminology and textbooks, and lingers instead on the quiet space between a mother and daughter, a physician and his patient...

Today, we venture beyond the usual clinical vignettes and into the art of examination itself. In honor of Dr. Heinrich Quincke—who, in August 1891, performed the world’s first lumbar puncture in Kiel, Germany— we celebrate the neurological exam by revisiting a phrase uttered all too casually: “Cranial nerves were all normal.” But what do we really mean when we say that? To help us find out, I’m joined by my Padawan Donald—tall, confident, and emphatically surgical— whose certain...

In this episode of The Clinical Etymologist, the saga of the adrenal glands continues. Join Dr. Kim and his Padawan William as they navigate Cold War cortisol curves, Addison’s mysteries, and the art of stress-dose steroids. This is The Cortisol Strikes Back — where endocrinology meets storytelling, and medicine meets the Force.

This is Part 1 of a two-part podcast all about the adrenal glands. In this episode, we go back to the beginning — to anatomy, etymology, and the history behind cortisol. We'll follow a curious medical student and discover how adrenal glands were first identified, how cortisol was isolated, and what cow adrenal glands had to do with World War II. All of that, before we even talk about stress steroids.

Asterixis: If it's not a liver tremor, what is it then? In this episode, Dr. Kim unpacks the etymology, pathophysiology, and clinical relevance of this peculiar sign. From hepatic encephalopathy to hidden thalamic lesions, we explore the many meanings behind a fluttering hand. And yes, it all starts with a Pedawan medical student and ends with a nerdy neurological farewell.

In this episode, Dr. Kim travels back to the summer of 1976 — when veterans gathered in Philadelphia and unknowingly faced a microscopic enemy hiding in the air. Join us for an etymological dive into a bacterium that once wreaked havoc in Philadelphia. From Greek etymology to cooling towers, and from Rocky to respiratory failure, this is the legend of Legionella — the pneumonia with a punchline.

In this episode, Dr. Simon Kim takes you on a head-spinning journey through the physiology, history, and humor behind orthostatic hypotension. What do a fainting patient, a Greek root word, and a Jedi medical student all have in common? You’re about to find out. From the true meaning of orthostatic, to the origins of the 30/20/10 rule, to why your patient might be tipping over during rounds, this episode breaks down complex clinical reasoning with storytelling, etymology, and just the right d...

In the inaugural episode of The Clinical Etymologist, Dr. Simon Kim an internist and self-appointed Clinical Etymologist unpacks the case of “scleral icterus” — a phrase we all use, but one that’s anatomically inaccurate. Through storytelling, humor, and clinical clarity, this episode explores the physiology of bilirubin, the causes of jaundice, and why the yellowing of the eyes doesn’t involve the sclera at all. We’ll trace the path of bile from hemoglobin to urobilin, decode the pre-,...