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Doctors in satirical prints and cartoons

H Reginald Magee
Med J Aust 2007; 187 (11): . || doi: 10.5694/j.1326-5377.2007.tb01485.x
Published online: 3 December 2007

Satirical prints and drawings have been popular for centuries, and politicians and prominent people have been fair game for the barbed pen of the artist. The medical profession has come in for its share of satire, usually in relation to the treatment available and the fees charged

In newspapers and periodicals, artistic expressions of political and social events are presented to us daily in various forms, from caricatures of prominent people to line drawings and thumbnail sketches that depict a particular situation.




Correspondence: reginaldm@bigpond.com

Acknowledgements: 

I wish to thank Ms Robyn Backholm, Librarian at the Brisbane Private Hospital, for her assistance in obtaining the source material and Ms Debra Cassidy, of the computer graphics section of the Princess Alexandra Hospital, for her assistance in preparing the illustrations.

Competing interests:

None identified.

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  • 3. Porter R. Dr Doubledose: a taste of one’s own medicine. BMJ 1994; 309: 1714-1718.
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  • 6. Butterfield WC. The medical caricatures of Thomas Rowlandson. JAMA 1973; 224: 113-117.
  • 7. Mr. Punch among the doctors. London: Methuen, 1933.
  • 8. Pickering L. The Weekend Australian 1979; 3–4 Nov: 12.

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