The Clinical Etymologist
Dr. Kim, a general internist, hosts this podcast exploring the origins of medical terminology. Each episode blends language, history, and clinical insight to reveal the hidden roots of words used in medicine. The show uncovers eponyms and metaphors that shape how we understand health and illness. It is designed for curious listeners who enjoy learning in a meaningful and fun way.
Episodes
Malaria Headphone
Send us Fan MailA returning traveller with fever reminds us that malaria prophylaxis reduces risk—but never eliminates it. We explore why low platelets can signal malaria even when hemoglobin remains normal. “Thick finds, thin defines”—and tiny “headphones” inside a red blood cell offer a memorable diagnostic clue.Discover why malaria means “bad air,” and how our ancestors blamed the wrong thing c
Mi Amigo, Pablo
Send us Fan MailWhat do a Bolivian schoolboy, a few bitter green leaves, and a patient having a seizure have in common? More than you might think. Forty years ago, while attending middle school in Buenos Aires, my friend Pablo offered me my very first coca leaves. At the time, I had no idea that this ancient Andean plant would one day reappear at the bedside of a critically ill patient. In this ep
Tuna Hematology
Send us Fan MailWhat do a Pacific bluefin tuna and clinical hematology have in common? More than you might think. In this episode, our beloved Clinical Etymologist, Dr. Simon Kim, takes his hardworking medical students to a Japanese sushi restaurant, where an ordinary lunch unexpectedly becomes a masterclass in transfusion medicine. As one magnificent tuna is transformed into increasingly selectiv
Special Bulletin: Hanta Children's Summer Camp
Send us Fan MailIn this special bulletin episode of The Clinical Etymologist™ , Dr. Kim traces the haunting story of hantavirus from the battlefields of the Korean War to a childhood summer camp by the Hantan River. Through memory, etymology, and pathophysiology, he explores how a tiny rodent-borne virus came to shape global medical history. Along the way, listeners discover the origins of Hanta a
Sodium Conundrum
Send us Fan MailIn this episode of The Clinical Etymologist™, Dr. Kim returns to the mystery of hyponatremia through the lens of soda, sodium, and the kidney’s inner logic. From the ancient chemistry of soda water to the modern lab value of serum sodium, Jennifer the Padawan learns that hyponatremia is usually less about salt and more about water. Together, they review how ADH explains urine osmol
Sodium Doom
Send us Fan MailA quiet weekend on call begins with the retirement of Dr. Flow, a urologist who made the difficult look simple. A search for the perfect farewell wine—Pee No More—is abruptly interrupted by a sodium of 122. At the bedside, memorized algorithms begin to unravel under real clinical pressure. Through conversation, we explore ADH, aquaporins, and the physiology behind hyponatremia.
Reacting to CRP
Send us Fan MailIn medicine, we often order tests reflexively, trusting that numbers will guide us toward truth. But what happens when a test is elevated — or completely normal — and the patient remains a mystery? In this episode, we explore C-reactive protein, a familiar marker that is often misunderstood. Through one challenging patient, we uncover what CRP truly measures — and what it does not.
Anemia of Chronic Confusion
Send us Fan MailIn this episode of The Clinical Etymologist, we explore a common clinical paradox—anemia in the presence of abundant iron. Through a real bedside conversation, we move beyond memorized lab patterns and uncover the physiology that explains them. What does it mean when ferritin is high, yet the patient remains anemic? Why does the body hide iron during inflammation, and what role doe
Professor Magneto and Iron Deficiency
Send us Fan Mail Some time ago in a teaching hospital far, far away,a Marvel supervillain interrupted a lesson in hematology.What happens when all the iron in your body suddenly disappears?Do red blood cells simply fade… or do they shrink in quiet protest?Tonight, we explore iron deficiency, microcytosis, and the elegant physics of erythropoiesis.
The Bladder Whisperer
Send us Fan MailIn today’s episode, we explore how an overlooked organ can reveal a neurologic emergency. We question whether every “mechanical fall” is truly mechanical. We trace the hierarchy of micturition — from pons to sacrum. And we see how careful listening at the bedside leads to diagnosis.
Memory of Foul Smelling Urine
Send us Fan MailIn today’s episode, we explore one of the most common — and most misunderstood — diagnoses in medicine: urinary tract infection. Why does foul-smelling urine trigger antibiotics? What truly defines a UTI — bacteria, inflammation, or symptoms? And how often are we treating colonization instead of infection? Let’s return to the bedside, where a simple urine odor almost led us astray.
Lactate Ringer's: Guilt by Name, Innocent by Physiology
Send us Fan MailSome time ago in a teaching hospital far, far away, a familiar IV bag sparked an unfamiliar question. Why does a fluid that contains lactate not worsen lactic acidosis? Why is it safe in septic shock — and even preferred? And why do its electrolytes matter more than most of us were ever taught? In this episode of The Clinical Etymologist, we follow an emergency department encounter
ABNORMAL Normal Saline
Send us Fan MailWelcome to Season 20.9% “Normal” Saline is one of the most commonly prescribed intravenous fluids in medicine, yet its name is one of the great misnomers of clinical practice.In this episode, The Clinical Etymologist traces the laboratory origins of 0.9% sodium chloride and explains why it was never designed to replicate human plasma.Through bedside teaching and clinical physiology
Ode to Gettysburg
Send us Fan MailSome 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 Pump The Pipe and The Product
Send us Fan MailOn 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
The Lord of Clerks : An Inferior Awakening
Send us Fan MailA 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—fr
Knowledge Gap in Osmolar Gap
Send us Fan MailMr. Alexander Kole presents with alcohol intoxication. Odd lab value is noted thathides more than it reveals. In this episode, Dr. Kim and his Padawan Layla explorethe 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.
The Kissing Disease
Send us Fan MailInfectious 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
Ninety Nine Toy Boat
Send us Fan MailIn 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.
Celebrate Lactate
Send us Fan MailThree 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
Pernicious Precision
Send us Fan MailThe 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 nuan
Only A Second Year Student
Send us Fan MailThe 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,
Special Episode : Letting Go, Gently
Send us Fan MailSo 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 lin
Cranial Nerves Were All "Normal"
Send us Fan MailToday, 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 f
The Cortisol Strikes Back : Part 2
Send us Fan Mail 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.
The Rise of Cortisol : Part 1
Send us Fan MailThis 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 tal
Asterixis : The Liver Flap
Send us Fan MailAsterixis: 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.
Once Upon A Time In Philadelphia
Send us Fan MailIn 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
30/20/10 Rule of Orthostatic Hypotension
Send us Fan MailIn 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 durin
Scleral Icterus : The Yellow Misnomer
Send us Fan MailIn 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 do
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