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Perspective
Volume 361:841-843 August 27, 2009 Number 9
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Elements of Danger — The Case of Medical Imaging
Michael S. Lauer, M.D.

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 by Fazel, R.
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According to the Book of Exodus, a man who assaults another must pay a physician to heal the wounds. A careful examination of the Hebrew text reveals that the word "heal" appears twice; the literal reading is "and heal he shall be healed." The 13th-century medieval physician and philosopher Nachmanides interprets this redundant phrase to mean that physicians require permission to heal, for "without the warrant to treat, physicians might hesitate to treat patients . . . `in that there is an element of danger in every medical procedure; that which heals one may kill another.'" This 800-year-old warning seems self-evident, yet . . . [Full Text of this Article]


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From the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, Bethesda, MD.


Related Letters:

Radiation Exposure from Medical Imaging Procedures
Applegate K. E., Amis E. S. Jr., Schauer D. A., Becker G. J., Bosma J., Hendee W., Mezrich R. S., Budhraja V., Diamond B. F., Fazel R., Krumholz H. M., Nallamothu B. K., Lauer M. S.
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N Engl J Med 2009; 361:2289-2292, Dec 3, 2009. Correspondence

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