Author information from the last article
E-post: erlend.hem@medisin.uio.no
Legeforskningsinstituttet
og
Universitetet i Oslo
Erlend Hem er instituttsjef i Legeforskningsinstituttet, professor ved Universitetet i Oslo og styreleder i Helsehistorisk forum.
Articles by Erlend Hem
Sandborg-Vedeler's forceps – an innovation in the golden age of obstetric forceps
- Per E. Børdahl,
- Erlend Hem
25.06.2025:
Few medical disciplines have undergone such a radical transformation due to a single instrument as obstetrics did with the introduction of forceps: they made it possible to save both mother and child (1). In Europe, forceps came into use in the 1730s. Modifications quickly followed, and in the 1740s...
Ibsen's wallet – an insight into the poet's prescriptions
- Erlend Hem,
- Jan Frich
22.04.2025:
Henrik Ibsen's daughter-in-law, Bergliot Ibsen (1869–1953), bequeathed a number of his personal possessions to the Ibsen Society (1). The plan was to transform Venstøp farm, Ibsen's childhood home, into a museum, with his possessions forming its core collection (2, 3). One of the items was a wallet...
Konrad Wagner and the conflict at the Department of Anatomy during the occupation
- Erlend Hem,
- Magne Nylenna
21.03.2025:
There are many reasons for the continued interest in World War II. Most of those who witnessed the war are now gone, archives are being declassified and new information is coming to light. Moreover, the current international situation brings the threat of war into sharp focus. When Norway became...
The history of Jervell and Lange-Nielsen syndrome
- Erlend Hem,
- Knut Tjøl Gjesdal,
- Lisbeth Tranebjærg,
- Magne Nylenna
16.12.2024:
Jervell and Lange-Nielsen syndrome is one of the best-known medical syndromes named after Norwegian doctors (1). It is a life-threatening hereditary condition characterised by deafness and prolonged QT intervals (2). The QT interval is measured on an electrocardiogram (ECG) from the start of the QRS...
The fair-haired giant
- Karl O. Nakken,
- Torleiv Svendsen,
- Erlend Hem
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,...
Roar Strøm – the Norwegian surgeon who was three years ahead of Zollinger and Ellison
- Jon Arne Søreide,
- Erlend Hem
09.12.2019:
In 1952, surgeon Roar Strøm (Figure 1) published an article detailing a case of illness in a 32-year-old man (1). Strøm had operated on the man the previous year for recurrent dyspeptic pain and discomfort. This is one of the first descriptions of the rare syndrome now known as Zollinger-Ellison...
Patients with borderline personality disorder need tailored emergency care
- Øivind Ekeberg,
- Øyvind Urnes,
- Elfrida Hartveit Kvarstein,
- Ingeborg Ulltveit-Moe Eikenæs,
- Erlend Hem
21.10.2019:
There has been considerable pessimism surrounding the treatment potential for borderline personality disorder, but there is growing evidence to support the efficacy of tailored care. Patients with borderline personality disorder are often regarded as ungrateful and difficult to treat. The stigma...
Suicidal patients with personality disorder
- Øivind Ekeberg,
- Elfrida Hartveit Kvarstein,
- Øyvind Urnes,
- Ingeborg Ulltveit-Moe Eikenæs,
- Erlend Hem
14.10.2019:
A number of patients whom the admitting doctor considers to be acutely suicidal are denied admission to a psychiatric ward or discharged after a short time. The usual justification is that the receiving doctor believes the patient to be 'chronically suicidal' and that hospitalisation will exacerbate...