A DOCTOR ENJOYS SHERLOCK HOLMES “Nor must you find fault with me if I often give you what I have borrowed from my various reading, in the very words of the authors themselves” (Macrobius--trans. by Boswell). Boswell: _The Hypochondriack_, No. XXI A DOCTOR ENJOYS SHERLOCK HOLMES Edward J. Van Liere VANTAGE PRESS NEW YORK WASHINGTON HOLLYWOOD FIRST EDITION _All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form._ Copyright, 1959, by Edward J. Van Liere, M.D. Published by Vantage Press, Inc. 120 West 31st Street, New York 1, N. Y. Manufactured in the United States of America Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 59-14293 To my grandsons: Edward Van Liere Batchelder and Terry Lewis Batchelder. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am indebted to several people for helpful criticism in the writing of these essays. My medical colleagues, Dr. Gordon R. McKinney, and Dr. David W. Northup, read a number of the essays and made many helpful suggestions. Professor Armand E. Singer of the Romance Language Department of West Virginia University critically reviewed all the manuscripts, and his scholarly erudition is indeed appreciated. The sympathetic assistance of my wife is also gratefully acknowledged. On occasion, she took me gently by the hand, and led me away from many a pitfall. The kind people who aided me must not be taken to task for errors of commission. I alone am responsible for these. It is a pleasure to thank my capable and efficient secretaries, Mrs. Mildred Fisher and Mrs. Ann Beavers, for typing the manuscripts. Several of these essays have appeared in the following journals: _The West Virginia Medical Journal_ _Harvard Medical Alumni Journal_ _The Physiologist_ _The Baker Street Journal_ _The Quarterly of the Phi Beta Pi Medical Fraternity_ _The Student Journal of the American Medical Association_ Permission has been kindly granted to reproduce these essays here. CONTENTS