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Fascinomas - Fascinating Medical Mysteries
Fascinomas –fascinating medical mysteries. A paralyzed teen recovers overnight. A woman complains her breast implants speak. A man and his dog become gravely ill at the exact same time. These strange real-life cases and many more can be found in author and physician Clifton K. Meador’s newest collection, Fascinomas. Combining the word “fascinating” with the term for a tumor or growth, “fascinoma” is medical slang for an unusually interesting medical case. These are the extraordinary stories medical professionals recall forever and pass from one colleague to another in hospital lounges and hallways. Every medical professional has at least one fascinoma to tell, and in this collection of bizarre-but-true stories, Meador retells some of the most memorable. In the vein of Berton Roueché, the famed medical writer for The New Yorker, the author of True Medical Detective Stories is back with an all-new book of complex cases, where medical professionals must often race against the clock to find clues in the most unusual places. Fascinomas is an entertaining and informative collection for physicians, nurses, medical students and those who simply can’t get enough of bizarre clinical cases. Written from the point of view of an experienced doctor, the stories are crafted in an engaging style that can be enjoyed by medical professionals and laypeople alike. More than just interesting tales, however, these real-life mysteries serve as great examples of the need for doctors to listen closely to and ask the right questions of their patients, even in the computer age, when so much information is at their fingertips. Sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction, and you never know where a crucial piece of evidence will be found by one of the detectives of the medical world.
151 pages, Paperback
First published October 29, 2013
176 people are currently reading
373 people want to read
About the author
Clifton K. Meador
15 books2 followersCllfton Meador is a retired physician and professor of medicine emeritus at Vanderbilt Medical School. He is author of 13 books. His "Med School" is a year by year humorous and serious account of medical school in the 1950s. "True Medical Detective Stories" tells in detective fashion the story of 19 unusual cases. His latest book, "Fascinomas -fascinating medical mysteries" reports 35 medical mysteries shared by his colleagues from around the country. He has a fascination about the efffects of mind on body,psychosomatic diseases, and Voodoo hexing. The books emphasize the importance of careful listening and engaging the patient in the search for causes of illness.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
May 24, 2018
A darling little book for those who love case histories of medical mysteries. These are short and without padding - most are two pages long - and not as elegant as a more professionally edited book, but that doesn't detract from their intrigue and usefulness. If you are a medical student - or plan to become one - this is most definitely a short, quick, easy read that you should have under your belt, odd little stories that are one-in-a-million, and how to spot them. From arsenic poisoning to toxic bleu cheese, to tick paralysis and back-alley paraffin breast augmentation, Meador gives us a look into the sometimes bizarre world of medicine, reminding us that humility, memory, rapport, and focus are also the hallmarks of an excellent diagnostician, with or without the presence of complicated testing.
Good!
Good!
June 9, 2023
This book is a treat for the medical professional! You won't find any common vignette here, only defying situations and inventive solutions.
September 4, 2015
Fun and quick read, but really much more anecdotes than involved stories. For instance, I loved Dr. Nagami's book because she really weaved her own personal experience into medical stories of infectious disease. This book really just skimmed the surface- hit the high points but there was no personal reflective or deeper exploration of the case study. That said, I did learn about vicarious menstruation, in which uterine tissue somehow grows in the lungs or nose making those parts of the body bleed on a monthly basis. So, there's that....
July 2, 2023
Una curiosa colección de diagnósticos médicos sorprendentes, difíciles, o con algún tipo de un giro inesperado. Podría haber sido el libro de cabecera de los guionistas de la serie Doctor House (y no me extrañaría descubrir que así fue).
Entre todas las afecciones que describe, las que más me llaman la atención son aquellas causadas por la mente humana: enfermedades psicosomáticas, cuyos síntomas son tan reales como los de cualquier otra, pero cuyas causas se esconden en la psicología del paciente. Muchas veces son los casos más difíciles de identificar y de diagnosticar. En ese sentido, me recordó mucho a "It's all in Your Head" de Suzanne O'Sullivan.
Entre todas las afecciones que describe, las que más me llaman la atención son aquellas causadas por la mente humana: enfermedades psicosomáticas, cuyos síntomas son tan reales como los de cualquier otra, pero cuyas causas se esconden en la psicología del paciente. Muchas veces son los casos más difíciles de identificar y de diagnosticar. En ese sentido, me recordó mucho a "It's all in Your Head" de Suzanne O'Sullivan.
June 4, 2024
The author says something strange about "people getting attached to their diagnoses," specifically "fibromyalgia, hypoglycemia, and chronic fatigue syndrome." I'm paraphrasing, but what a bizarre attitude to take. Of course patients are "attached" to their diagnoses. It explains what's wrong with them. It doesn't escape my notice, either, that these are diseases/conditions that mostly affect women. Let's stop being weirdly victim-blamey when it comes to chronic illness. It comes across like the author is accusing patients of faking these illnesses, which some people of course do, but the vast majority of people do not. (I have CFS myself.)
April 14, 2020
Fascinomas features medical cases from a variety of doctors (it's just edited together by the author) with a handful of doctors submitting multiple stories, many of them Drs in Tennessee. Unfortunately the fact that there are so many different people contributing means that the quality of the stories varies widely, though even the best were not particularly compelling. Despite it being a short book I found it to be quite tiresome reading.
July 20, 2022
This short book contains some stories which are genuinely intriguing as well as some stories that are little more than extra padding to the book's length.
I failed to spot the fascinoma in an old woman chewing ten packs of gum a day and thus having diarrhea. Nor did the patient with breast implants merit any interest on the reader's part. The book is written in simple terms with enough genuine fascinomas that reading it wasn't a waste of time.
I failed to spot the fascinoma in an old woman chewing ten packs of gum a day and thus having diarrhea. Nor did the patient with breast implants merit any interest on the reader's part. The book is written in simple terms with enough genuine fascinomas that reading it wasn't a waste of time.
September 9, 2018
Interesting, if a bit dry
Nothing too technical, which is nice for a medical book. The wiring is a bit dry, no drama or audience really, but the stories are bizarre and oddly intriguing.
Nothing too technical, which is nice for a medical book. The wiring is a bit dry, no drama or audience really, but the stories are bizarre and oddly intriguing.
May 27, 2021
Not as fascinating as they'd like you to think
The cases described in this book Are interesting enough although not dramatically so. I object to the pointlessly arrogant tone of the entire book.
The cases described in this book Are interesting enough although not dramatically so. I object to the pointlessly arrogant tone of the entire book.
June 18, 2025
Not knowing a ton about the Medical field, this was a nice Intro to unusual cases, often written about in published journals. There's a lot of Short chapters and Fascinating cases which made it a good read.
December 10, 2018
Very interesting short stories about mysterious medical cases. Quick, fascinating read.
September 29, 2019
QUick, fluff read, although I enjoyed Meador's first book better. Many of these are fascinating rural issues.
November 11, 2022
Interesting stories
There is enough information here entertainingly educational reading. And for difficult medical terms, the author explains it in layman's words.
There is enough information here entertainingly educational reading. And for difficult medical terms, the author explains it in layman's words.
March 4, 2023
A very fascinating read! Very quick read too. I read this on my lunch breaks at work and always left me wanting more!
March 31, 2023
Short book covering medical investigation for unusual or unexplained conditions. Like House, but without the attitude. It was a light and fun read.
April 27, 2023
Definitely not fascinating, mostly not medical. Just stories about patients hiding information.
September 17, 2023
Not quite as "fascinating" as I had hoped but not bad either. Like reading a clickbait listicle without the bothersome ads. If you love reddit thread compilations but hate ads, you'll love this book
November 20, 2013
Head scratchers and Insights into diagnostic problems physicians face
Clifton K. Meador, MD has a gift for filtering through tales and ‘can you beat this one’ stories that are passed around doctors’ lounges and ORs and coming up with succinct but extremely entertaining stories. A ‘Fascinoma’, as Meador defines, is medical slang for an unusually interesting medical case. He has gleaned and collected and curated 35 such cases from his own experience and the experiences of colleagues who have given permission to re-tell their own blockbusters. Each case is reads like a short story – the presentation of a strange set of symptoms, the initial response of the examining doctor(s), gradual revelation of further symptoms (sometimes via revealed secrets from the presenting patient), and the final diagnosis. Fellow Physicians will find both hilarious entertainment along with some ‘aHa!’ moments that will sharpen their diagnostic acumen. For the general reader this book is not only entertaining but very informative about many aspects of the practice of medicine that should prove fascinating in the realm of Ripley’s Believe it or Not!
Some of the cases (and each is so short that giving away too many examples would hamper the joy of reading this book for those who wish to purchase it) include a strange case of ascending paralysis in a young girl that could have proven fatal had not a curious nurse in ICU no found the bulbar tick bite in the girl’s long hair, the removal of which immediately reversed the life threatening neurologic disorder that had puzzled all physicians involved, a case of an obese couple placed on a diet to reduce – not knowing that the woman would chew exorbitant amounts of sugarless gum (containing the culprit sorbital) that resulted is serious diarrhea, cases of Munchausen Syndrome (patients who inflict harm on themselves for secondary gain), a tale of the helpful aspects of rat eating snakes, a bizarre diagnosis of carbon monoxide poisoning that is a ‘true detective mystery’ sort, a case of dose and generic pill color resulting in adverse reactions easily altered by a bright observing physician’s thoughtful input, some old wive’s tales intervening in diagnostic dilemmas that prove to be not elegant possible surgical diagnoses but chicken pox!. The lost goes on and on.
Meador’s quite the gifted writer in discussing these cases and keeps just the right amount of mirth along side pertinent learning information to make these stories appeal to both medical and non medical readers: he has been writing satiric medical articles in the best of journals for many years now! Highly recommended.
Grady Harp
Clifton K. Meador, MD has a gift for filtering through tales and ‘can you beat this one’ stories that are passed around doctors’ lounges and ORs and coming up with succinct but extremely entertaining stories. A ‘Fascinoma’, as Meador defines, is medical slang for an unusually interesting medical case. He has gleaned and collected and curated 35 such cases from his own experience and the experiences of colleagues who have given permission to re-tell their own blockbusters. Each case is reads like a short story – the presentation of a strange set of symptoms, the initial response of the examining doctor(s), gradual revelation of further symptoms (sometimes via revealed secrets from the presenting patient), and the final diagnosis. Fellow Physicians will find both hilarious entertainment along with some ‘aHa!’ moments that will sharpen their diagnostic acumen. For the general reader this book is not only entertaining but very informative about many aspects of the practice of medicine that should prove fascinating in the realm of Ripley’s Believe it or Not!
Some of the cases (and each is so short that giving away too many examples would hamper the joy of reading this book for those who wish to purchase it) include a strange case of ascending paralysis in a young girl that could have proven fatal had not a curious nurse in ICU no found the bulbar tick bite in the girl’s long hair, the removal of which immediately reversed the life threatening neurologic disorder that had puzzled all physicians involved, a case of an obese couple placed on a diet to reduce – not knowing that the woman would chew exorbitant amounts of sugarless gum (containing the culprit sorbital) that resulted is serious diarrhea, cases of Munchausen Syndrome (patients who inflict harm on themselves for secondary gain), a tale of the helpful aspects of rat eating snakes, a bizarre diagnosis of carbon monoxide poisoning that is a ‘true detective mystery’ sort, a case of dose and generic pill color resulting in adverse reactions easily altered by a bright observing physician’s thoughtful input, some old wive’s tales intervening in diagnostic dilemmas that prove to be not elegant possible surgical diagnoses but chicken pox!. The lost goes on and on.
Meador’s quite the gifted writer in discussing these cases and keeps just the right amount of mirth along side pertinent learning information to make these stories appeal to both medical and non medical readers: he has been writing satiric medical articles in the best of journals for many years now! Highly recommended.
Grady Harp
February 24, 2017
Nice light reading
Nice set of medical mysteries for some light after noon reading. Nothing gross or depressing, just intriguing.
Read via Kindle Unlimited
Nice set of medical mysteries for some light after noon reading. Nothing gross or depressing, just intriguing.
Read via Kindle Unlimited
December 11, 2014
This is a book that will interest all people, independent of their ability to understand medical situations and jargon. It is a collection of medical events where the attending and consulting physicians were baffled with the situation. Large numbers of tests were performed, yet there was a lack of proof for a diagnosis, even when the symptoms indicated a specific condition.
The most disturbing cases were those where the symptoms were self-inflicted. There are the cases of a woman that continues to cough up bloody sputum from puncturing her gums with a pin and a man with seriously infected lesions on one arm due to his rubbing infectious material such as feces on it. There is even some humor, such as the woman that wants her breast implants removed because Martians were communicating through them or the couple seeking help at a fertility clinic when they haven’t had intercourse in years. You can imagine the sound of the jaw dropping when the physician asks them how often they have intercourse and their reply is that they don’t.
The extremely unusual nature of these cases is demonstrated by two of them. In one case a man that ate blue cheese every day was being poisoned by the penicillin released by the molds that make the dressing. The other case was a college student that suffered from a serious rash due to the gold present in the cinnamon schnapps he was drinking. There is a statement in medicine that when you hear hoof beats you should look for horses and not zebras. In these cases the solution is often a zebra with no tail.
This book was made available for free for review purposes and this review appears on Amazon.
The most disturbing cases were those where the symptoms were self-inflicted. There are the cases of a woman that continues to cough up bloody sputum from puncturing her gums with a pin and a man with seriously infected lesions on one arm due to his rubbing infectious material such as feces on it. There is even some humor, such as the woman that wants her breast implants removed because Martians were communicating through them or the couple seeking help at a fertility clinic when they haven’t had intercourse in years. You can imagine the sound of the jaw dropping when the physician asks them how often they have intercourse and their reply is that they don’t.
The extremely unusual nature of these cases is demonstrated by two of them. In one case a man that ate blue cheese every day was being poisoned by the penicillin released by the molds that make the dressing. The other case was a college student that suffered from a serious rash due to the gold present in the cinnamon schnapps he was drinking. There is a statement in medicine that when you hear hoof beats you should look for horses and not zebras. In these cases the solution is often a zebra with no tail.
This book was made available for free for review purposes and this review appears on Amazon.
March 27, 2015
Educational & Entertaining! Here is another collection of fascinating medical mysteries. Written in the same vein as his other book, True Medical Detective Mysteries, Meador delivers an entertaining array of the bizarre, little known, and unusual medical cases. I enjoyed this book just as much as his previous collection.
This collection has a greater number of self-inflicted illnesses and conditions than the first book did. I found these to be especially interesting. Sometimes they were seeking attention, sometimes they were ingesting something they did not know was the cause of their illness. There was once a time, not too long ago, when it was unknown acetaminophen could damage the liver if ingested in a large enough dose. Then there was the blue cheese case. The other side of the coin is well demonstrated by a case with a young athlete – the first three doctors assumed he was a drug seeker. Unfortunately, he was suffering from a real medical issue and only his life-long doctor took him seriously.
The stories are told as if you have sat down to have a whiskey and chat with Meador. I can just picture the author and a colleague telling old war stories in a cozy library. While I enjoy big words and have a biology degree, I still appreciate that this book is written so that it is easily accessible to non-medical people.
Narration: James Kiser did another great job on this book. He delivers the cases in a clear, yet conversational, voice. He has no trouble with the occasional medical jargon.
This collection has a greater number of self-inflicted illnesses and conditions than the first book did. I found these to be especially interesting. Sometimes they were seeking attention, sometimes they were ingesting something they did not know was the cause of their illness. There was once a time, not too long ago, when it was unknown acetaminophen could damage the liver if ingested in a large enough dose. Then there was the blue cheese case. The other side of the coin is well demonstrated by a case with a young athlete – the first three doctors assumed he was a drug seeker. Unfortunately, he was suffering from a real medical issue and only his life-long doctor took him seriously.
The stories are told as if you have sat down to have a whiskey and chat with Meador. I can just picture the author and a colleague telling old war stories in a cozy library. While I enjoy big words and have a biology degree, I still appreciate that this book is written so that it is easily accessible to non-medical people.
Narration: James Kiser did another great job on this book. He delivers the cases in a clear, yet conversational, voice. He has no trouble with the occasional medical jargon.
February 12, 2014
I get a kick out of books like this. Meador is a physician who gathered stories from other physicians about cases they found perplexing. Usually these were cases of medical conditions that were so rare, they may of heard of them happening in school but would never see a case in real life. So when it actually happened, only those doctors who were really prepared actually would know what they were dealing with. Sometimes, cases were emerging diseases happening in this country...and the doctors who recognized them were from other countries. I'm afraid that's going to happen more often in the near future with the easy transportation of people from country to country.
Many times stories like these are 'Eureka' moments for both the physicians and the readers. Some of the cases I knew the answers before I got very far, others I didn't have the foggiest idea what the problem was. It is nice to pick up a book like this and learn something new that you didn't know before.
My big problem with this book was that many of these stories seemed a little old. I was expecting a few more recent stories in this compendium than were actually there. I'm hoping to find more recent stories in the future...
Many times stories like these are 'Eureka' moments for both the physicians and the readers. Some of the cases I knew the answers before I got very far, others I didn't have the foggiest idea what the problem was. It is nice to pick up a book like this and learn something new that you didn't know before.
My big problem with this book was that many of these stories seemed a little old. I was expecting a few more recent stories in this compendium than were actually there. I'm hoping to find more recent stories in the future...
March 21, 2015
I like mysteries and true mysteries are just a bonus. This was an interesting listen on audio. AT first I admit I was a little disappointing that many of these cases are old cases, back in the day – WAY back. Yet as I listened I started to get into it… each case so unique and interesting how the doctor figures out what is going on. What is truly baffling are the cases that are self-inflicted and how they do it, I guess I knew that happened, I didn’t realize it happened so often.. people finding a need within them to have someone help them, even if it is false. Crazy stuff!
The narration by James Kiser took a bit of getting used to for me. He narrates like he is a radio personality and much like the book, eventually I was ok with his narration, even thinking that this may be a good listen for someone who does not normally listen to audio because it does narrate like a documentary and it is fairly short
Recommended for those who like medical mysteries. The book is never gory and some of the cases are truly interesting.
For my full review: http://bookjourney.net/2015/03/18/fas...
The narration by James Kiser took a bit of getting used to for me. He narrates like he is a radio personality and much like the book, eventually I was ok with his narration, even thinking that this may be a good listen for someone who does not normally listen to audio because it does narrate like a documentary and it is fairly short
Recommended for those who like medical mysteries. The book is never gory and some of the cases are truly interesting.
For my full review: http://bookjourney.net/2015/03/18/fas...
December 27, 2015
Another interesting book by Dr Meador. A "fascinoma" is "medical slang for an unusually interesting medical case." Dr Meador has collected 35 medical mysteries from his colleagues, illustrating "the old dictum that it is as important for know the patient with the disease as it is to know the disease." Of course, in some of these cases, the patients hold back important information and the doctors never really understand the reason for the condition (such as "Mysterious Mammaries"), or the reason is so obscure the patient doesn't even mention it ("A Sticky Situation"). Dr Meador does not talk down to his readers and the stories are easy to understand. This is a quick, short (133 pages) read. I also recommend Dr Meador's True Medical Detective Stories, and The Medical Detectives by Berton Roueché, who is Dr Meador's inspiration for these books.
December 16, 2013
Fascinomas is a book of true medical mysteries. Each short story presents the patient’s symptoms and then goes into the process of making the diagnosis. These are interesting cases with unusual symptoms and the diagnoses takes a lot of true detective work. The stories have been collected by the author from different doctors around the country.
My favorite story was Chapter 9, Medicine Can Be a Humbling Profession. Of course to explain why it was my favorite would give away the mystery and I won’t do that, but it was honest and definitely humbling for the doctor involved.
Clifton K. Meador, M.D. is also the author of True Medical Detective Stories , another excellent book on medical mysteries. I highly recommend both True Medical detective Stories and Fascinomas-Fascinating Medical Mysteries. Love the book's cover!!
My favorite story was Chapter 9, Medicine Can Be a Humbling Profession. Of course to explain why it was my favorite would give away the mystery and I won’t do that, but it was honest and definitely humbling for the doctor involved.
Clifton K. Meador, M.D. is also the author of True Medical Detective Stories , another excellent book on medical mysteries. I highly recommend both True Medical detective Stories and Fascinomas-Fascinating Medical Mysteries. Love the book's cover!!
May 28, 2018
My first encounter with Dr Meador’s work was reading True Medical Detective Stories, reviewed [here]. As you’ll read, I wasn’t really all that thrilled in that he was no Berton Roueché (who is), but it was well-worth the read as a snack-food book.
This time, the vignettes were written by other health professionals, outlining interesting cases and for the most part, were well-worth the read. Some of the essays were well-done or interesting, some were neither.
This was a perfect read for post-lunch reading (which is the time I put aside in reading science books as opposed to the cozy mysteries I tend to read during the evening hours). And I would recommend it if you enjoy short writings about interesting medical cases.
I’ll give this book 3.9 stars – well worth reading as long as you don’t pay full price.
This time, the vignettes were written by other health professionals, outlining interesting cases and for the most part, were well-worth the read. Some of the essays were well-done or interesting, some were neither.
This was a perfect read for post-lunch reading (which is the time I put aside in reading science books as opposed to the cozy mysteries I tend to read during the evening hours). And I would recommend it if you enjoy short writings about interesting medical cases.
I’ll give this book 3.9 stars – well worth reading as long as you don’t pay full price.
January 25, 2020
This book has some of the most interesting cases which are true medical mystery's that were all puzzling at first but eventually solved. This book has some very interesting stories that just make you wonder about people. I found the book fascinating although I didn't care much for this title that the author chose for the book. I think it sounded a little confusing if you didn't already know what it meant. The stories are compelling and will leave you wanting more. This was an easy book to read because the stories are short and to the point. I was pleased to find that he has written many books and several books like this one. He has a web site you can check out and find all his books there.
May 10, 2015
I would like to thank the author Dr. Clifton K. Meador and Bostick Communications for giving me an audio copy of this book to review. According to the author, a fascinoma is medical slang for an interesting and usually rare medical case study. Entertaining at times and certainly informative, this book is full of fascinomas that range from the bizarre to the almost mundane. The audio version of this book is narrated well and the short segments made it easy to find a good place to pause when needed. I enjoy Dr. Meador's writing style and look forward to listening to or reading more books by him in the future.
April 21, 2015
I received a free copy of the audio book in exchange for an honest review
Loved this! It is truly amazing; both what the human body is capable of as well as the weird, wonderful and horrifying things that can happen to this. The audiobook is great and the medical jargon is at a minimum so that anybody is able to read/listen to it if they are interested. I did however find the narration to be a bit slow however i think that is due to the differences in accents; I am from Ne Zealand and i think we talk faster so not a 'negative' as such. Very well written overall!
Loved this! It is truly amazing; both what the human body is capable of as well as the weird, wonderful and horrifying things that can happen to this. The audiobook is great and the medical jargon is at a minimum so that anybody is able to read/listen to it if they are interested. I did however find the narration to be a bit slow however i think that is due to the differences in accents; I am from Ne Zealand and i think we talk faster so not a 'negative' as such. Very well written overall!
May 26, 2015
Not bad. There were a lot of interesting stories, but they did not go into nearly enough depth with each one. Some of them were hardly more than a couple of paragraphs long. Since these were collected directly from doctors, rather than patients, I was hoping for more medical details of each case. Instead, it felt like a series of teaser trailers for interesting cases that suddenly got resolved and then the book moved onto the next case.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews