BMJ NO 7072 Volume 313 Saturday 21-28 December 1996
Christmas issue

Editorials

1565 Implementing the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child Gerison Lansdown, Tony Waterston, David Baum

1566 Falling back on charity Robert Pinker

1567 What makes a just healthcare system Solomon R Benata

1568 Medicine, postmodernism, and the end of certainty Paul Hodgkin

1569 The power of placebo E Ernst

1570 The magic of seven Ian Stewart

1571 How can we live forever? Tom Kirkwood

1571 Jonathan Swift on immortality: over-rated

1572 Distance is dead: the world will change Richard Smith

Unequal in Death

1573 "I'm all right, John": voting patterns and mortality in England and Wales, 1981-92 George Davey Smith, Daniel Dorling
The way the British vote is closely related to their chances of dying young

1577 Attendance at cultural events, reading books or periodicals, and making music or singing in a choir as determinants for survival Lars Olov Bygren, Boinkum Benson Konlaan, Sven-Erik Johansson
Those who sing in choirs live longer

1581 Which doctors die first? Analysis of BMJ obituary columns D J M Wright, A P Roberts
Doctors from the Indian subcontinent and anaesthetists die youngest

1582 Freedom, responsibility, and health John P Bunker, Stephen Stansfeld, Jenny Potter

1584 Commentary George Davey Smith, Matthias Egger
Less than complete freedom may be good for your health

1585 And God will fill the bullet holes with candy Barbara J Genovese
Listening to the voices of homeless children in Los Angeles

1587 Dances of death, occupational mortality statistics, and social critique Johan P Mackenbach
Medieval artists knew how to depict social inequalities in death, but modern ones don't

1591 Cover story Tony Delamothe
We asked Adrian Wiszniewski to respond to the challenge of representing social inequalities and death

Seven Deadly Sins

1592 Lust Liam Farrell; Envy Louis Appleby; Wrath Simon Chapman; Pride Simon Wessely; Gluttony John Garrow; Sloth James McCormick; Greed Ralph Crawshaw
Are the seven deadly sins so deadly? Seven writers argue no with a little help from seven advertising agencies

1597 Circaseptennial rhythm in ear growth Jos Verhulst, Patrick Onghena
Ear growth in men has seven phases each of seven years

1598 Reflections on a tsuba J P Lissenden
A tsuba, or decorative guard on a samurai sword, with a medical theme

Into the Valley of the Shadow of Death

1599 A personal therapeutic journey Cicely Saunders
How palliative care has developed over the past half century-from treatment as required to tailored responses to patients' spiritual and physical needs

1601 Oh, for a little humanity Sally Magnusson
The doctor never looked her in the eye, never seemed to speak to her directly, just barked questions

1603 Don't leave a mess. Call Triple S! Thomas Lynch
An undertaker's view of death's opportunities

1605 Rowlandson's Death in the Nursery Fiona Haslam
Past ages had it in for nurses

Further down the Information Highway

1606 SatelLife: getting relevant to the developing world Trish Groves
The most advanced electronic technology is being used to get information to the developing countries

1609 Rights, wrongs, and journals in the age of cyberspace

"We all want to change the world" Ronald E La Porte, Bernard Hibbitts

1611-2 Commentaries Richard Smith; Richard Horton; George D Lundberg; Frank Davidoff
Scientists don't need journals: they can publish on the Internet. Four editors insist they are still needed

On the Road

1613 Egil's or Paget's disease? Thordur Hardarson, Elisabet Snorradottir
Did Egil Skallagrimsson, ruthless and ugly hero of one of the most popular Icelandic sagas, have Paget's disease?

1615 Promoting attachment, providing memories Ben Stenson
Staff in a neonatal unit write patient diaries from the viewpoint of the babies to give positive messages to parents

1616 Premature grey hair and hair loss among smokers: a new opportunity for health education? J G Mosley, A C C Gibbs
Appealing to young people's vanity may be a way to stop them from smoking

1617 A fish induced pneumothorax: dilemmas in the remote management of a sucking chest wound David Berger

1618 Commentary John Rees
A "Ripping Yarn" from the Solomon Islands with a London commentary

1619 Clinically significant pulmonary barotrauma after inflation of party balloons Andrew D Mumford, Keyoumars Ashkan, Stuart Elborn
Blowing up balloons can burst your alveoli

1620 "Phlebomania Hancocksia": prevalence of a previously undescribed psychomotor disturbance Lindsay C H John
"What, that's almost an armful!" was quoted by a fifth of patients giving a large blood sample

Aspects of Drugs

1621 Buccaling under the pressure: influence of secondary care establishments on the prescribing of glyceryl trinitrate buccal tablets in primary care A J Pryce, H F Heatlie, S R Chapman
How Dr Watson, Miss Scarlett, and Colonel Mustard helped solve a case of high prescribing

1624 Effect of colour of drugs: systematic review of perceived effect of drugs and of their effectiveness Anton J M de Craen, Pieter J Roos, A Leonard de Vries, Jos Kleijnen
The colour of drugs influences their effectiveness

1627 Product names, proper claims? More ethical issues in the marketing of drugs Soren Holm, Martyn Evans
Drug names that imply benefits beyond the known pharmaceutical effects of the drugs raise ethical problems

1630 Narcosis and nightshade Anthony John Carter
Ingested anaesthesic agents were used long before the birth of Christ and inspired Shakespeare

From the Gallery

1633 A trio of treasurers Richard Smith
Photos of the last three treasurers of the BMA presage a major exhibition of photographs of doctors

1634 Chelsea and Westminster Hospital Arts Project Tony Delamothe
Not just a hospital but a collection of world class art

Professional Associations

1635 A training culture in surgery David H Hargreaves
How a cardiothoracic surgical unit created a training culture

1640 To err was fatal Carlo Fonseka
A doctor confesses to committing five fatal errors over 36 years as a result of breaking rules

1643 Is this what we really want? James Harrison
Although vocation may be an old fashioned concept, should medicine simply be reduced to art employment opportunity?

1643 Beards, academia, and anaesthesia: a controlled study John Curran, Brian Pollard
Academic anaesthetists are more likely to have beards or moustaches than their NHS counterparts

1644 Recharging the batteries Kieran Murphy
A doctor returns to the refugee camp for Tibetan refugees that he last saw 11 years ago

1646 Why do medical students choose St Mary's Hospital Medical School J H Baron
St Mary's is so popular because it's seen as small and friendly

1647 Does nursing have a future? Alison L Kitson
Nursing needs a clear vision of where it's going

Minerva

1653

Words, Words, Words

1654 From a flea's teeshirt
Highlights from the writings of Ruth Holland, the "BMJ" reviews editor who died this year

1656 Poignant medicines Peter A G M De Smet
Two Nigerian tribes make special pots to cure specific ailments

1657 The truth about doctor's handwriting: a prospective study Donald M Berwick, David E Winickoff
Doctors' handwriting is no less legible than that of other executives

1658 Mizzspellin and MedlineJoel G Ray, Marian J Vermeulen
Ten misspelt medical terms retrieved 200 citations in a Medline search

1659 Introducing Selfcite 2.0 - career enhancing software Nick Craddock, Michael C O'Donovan, Michael J Owen
Now there is a software package to maximise the benefit of citing your previous work in all your subsequent papers

1660 The unbearable inadequacy of language Liam Farrell
Irish place names are put to work to describe embarrassing and difficult situations for which there are no words