Hippocrates
Splanchnon, the Greek word for the intestinal organs, was frequently used by the ancients to indicate affections, tender mercies, and compassion. While the Greeks regarded the bowels as the seat of the more violent passions, the Hebrews thought them to be the source of our tender affections.
We still carry the vestiges of this idea in modern English idioms when we refer to “gut feelings,” “going with your gut,” “gutting it out,” or having “butterflies in the stomach.” Somehow the gut and our feelings seem to be intricately bound together. more»
Brian T. Maurer has practiced pediatrics as a Physician Assistant for thirty years. His "Marginal Notes" column appears periodically in the Cell2Soul Blog. The title "Marginal Notes" is taken from a quote by Henry David Thoreau: "I love a broad margin to my life."