27.06.2022: The much-loved fictional character of Jonas Fjeld is a heroic surgeon. But who was he modelled on? It may have been Dr. Tandberg at Lillehammer. In the period between 1911 and 1935, Øvre Richter Frich (1872–1945) wrote twenty-one books about a fictional surgeon and general super-hero, Jonas Fjeld, 'the fair-haired giant'. This series of thrillers was immensely popular at the time. Many have speculated on who Jonas Fjeld (1) may have been modelled on. The author gave more than one explanation. In an interview in 1932, Frich explained that the character was modelled on no-one in particular, but...

27.06.2022: Throughout history, cannabis has been suggested as a treatment for numerous diseases. Despite being in use for over 5000 years, cannabis is still a hot topic of debate and the subject of discussion among politicians and the medical community. The earliest record of cannabis is from China and dates back around 5000 years, when the cannabis plant was used for medicinal purposes. Ma was the Chinese character for hemp fibre, and it had two connotations: one meaning was numerous or chaotic, which is believed to reflect the physical appearance of the plant fibres, and the second was numbness or...

22.03.2021: The story of research on multiple sclerosis in Norway starts in 1945 at a private Catholic hospital in the town of Hamar, where the ophthalmologist Marius Haarr was treating patients with retinal periphlebitis and neurological symptoms. He completed his doctoral degree while raising two young children as a widowed father. 'In 1945, a patient with an interesting clinical picture was admitted to St Torfinn Hospital in Hamar... Some time later, I found abducens nerve palsy in a patient who had had retinal periphlebitis two years earlier. It was treating these two patients that gave me the idea...

22.02.2021: Forensic medicine has been taught as part of the medical studies programme since 1814. Soon, this discipline can finally become a medical specialty in Norway. In 2018, Olaug Bollestad, then Deputy Chair of the Standing Committee on Health and Care Services, asked Bent Høie, Minister of Health and Care Services, what the cabinet minister intended to do to ensure that the entire country has access to competent experts in forensic medicine (forensic pathology and clinical forensic medicine), and what he would do to encourage doctors to choose forensic medicine as a line of work. The Ministry of...

22.01.2021: In 1912, an epilepsy colony was established in Bærum, inspired by similar colonies in other countries. Its first years were marked by financial constraints and limited treatment options. In the basement of the National Centre for Epilepsy in Bærum we recently came across a number of historical documents. These give an insight into the first years of what can be referred to as organised epilepsy care in Norway, and include patient protocols for the period 1913–20, five copybooks for the period 1905–23 and a ledger for the period 1905–20 (Figure 1). Prior to 1920, patients did not have...

08.11.2018: Doctors made a significant contribution to the United Nations' decision to ban nuclear weapons in 2017. What can we learn from this history, and how can doctors continue to be involved in the efforts to free the world from nuclear weapons? To date, 2017 has represented the high point of the so-called humanitarian nuclear disarmament initiative. That year, the UN adopted a treaty to ban nuclear weapons, with a resounding majority (1). The same year, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), a campaign launched by International Physicians...