Humanism and values in the medical short stories of Arthur Conan Doyle

In 1894 Arthur Conan Doyle published 15 medical short stories under the title of Round the Red Lamp, a red lamp being the symbol for a physician's office in Victorian England. These 19th-century vignettes do not indulge in scientific descriptions of diseases, their processes, or their treatment. Instead, they are based upon the effects of illness on the lives, sentiments, and emotions of the afflicted, their families, and their physicians. The stories are suffused with romance and humor. Conan Doyle's medical fiction of almost 100 years ago constitutes a superbly written and engaging collection that ranges from the comic to the pathetic. They contain universal themes that are especially appropriate today when humanistic elements are being usurped by rampant technology in both medical education and medical practice. These tales can make a significant contribution in related seminars for both students and practitioners.