Scatologic Verse: The BOTTOM LINE of MEDICAL HUMOR

CURRENT CONTENTS:

Anorectal disorders

Anal fissure

Beano

Borborygmi

Diarrhea

Flatus

G.I.T. (gastrointestinal tract)

Hemorrhoids

The Word on G.E.R.D. (4 stanzas, a 'brief saga')

Authors' Note: In North America, many proctologists now prefer to be known (professionally) as 'colorectal surgeons'.

Authors' Note: 'Aneous', a puerile neologism, has been used here to close the verse, as the proper medical term 'anus' may not function appropriately in this instance.

Authors' Note: 

cruciferae: vegetables in the cabbage family

Aspergillus: more fully, Aspergillus niger, the species of fungus from which chemists derive alpha-galactosidase, the principal active enzyme ingredient of flatulence-suppressants.  The concept of a supplement to suppress the discomfort and gas associated with eating vegetables such as beans and cabbage was presumably proposed by Benjamin Franklin in the 1780s. In 1981, Alan Kligerman initiated research that resulted in the development of the commercial enzymatic supplement Beano® , and a Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1991. 

Authors' Note: Borborygmi (plural of the Latin borborygmus) , a normal phenomenon, are rumbling noises in the abdomen related to movement of fluid and gas through gastrointestinal viscera (hollow organs).

Authors' Note:  

  A euphemism allows one to skirt around the messy details. 

  Diarrhea, a term coined by Hippocrates, derives from the Greek for a flow going through; the details are linked by longstanding usage to the specific intestinal inconvenience, sometimes characterized as "the trots".

  The authors regret that there are no appropriate images to accompany this verse.

Authors' Note: The concept of a formal truce was approached by both parties following the authors' misguided indulgence in the preparation for an endoscopic procedure.

Authors' Note:  The long-term effectiveness of surgical and other treatments for hemorrhoids is disappointingly low. 

(Note that the four stanzas of this "brief saga" can be found in more readily legible format on the blog "Daily Illustrated Nonsense"; click HERE.) 

Here's a LIST OF LINKS to collections of intriguing poems (over 200 of these!) on medical/dental topics, updated to December 2024. 

GENERAL DIRECTIONS FOR WEB-EXPLORERS: 

To resume the sequence of daily titillations on our related blog "Daily Illustrated Nonsense", click HERE. Once you arrive, you can select your time frame of interest from the calendar-based listings at the bottom of the page, and check the daily offerings for any month from the start of 2020 until December 2024. 

As of December 2024, there are 1800 unique entries available on the daily blog, displaying individual poems (often illustrated) and wordplay, but also with some photo-collages and parody song-lyrics. Most of their key elements are also presented here on "Edifying Nonsense" in topic-based collections, such as this one. The "Daily" format also has the advantage of including some song-lyrics, videos and other material that are not shown here on this topic-based blog.