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What do a Bolivian schoolboy, a few bitter green leaves, and a patient having a seizure have in common? More than you might think. Forty years ago, while attending middle school in Buenos Aires, my friend Pablo offered me my very first coca leaves. At the time, I had no idea that this ancient Andean plant would one day reappear at the bedside of a critically ill patient. In this episode, we'll trace the remarkable journey of coca—from sacred indigenous tradition to one of medicine's most dangerous recreational drugs. Along the way, we'll uncover why cocaine can trigger seizures, heart attacks, strokes, hyperthermia, and sudden death. This is the story of Mi Amigo Pablo.

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What do a Pacific bluefin tuna and clinical hematology have in common? More than you might think. In this episode, our beloved Clinical Etymologist, Dr. Simon Kim, takes his hardworking medical students to a Japanese sushi restaurant, where an ordinary lunch unexpectedly becomes a masterclass in transfusion medicine. As one magnificent tuna is transformed into increasingly selective sushi dishes, fresh frozen plasma, cryoprecipitate, PCC, and tranexamic acid suddenly become remarkably easy to understand. By the end of this meal, you'll never look at blood products—or sushi—the same way again.

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In this special bulletin episode of The Clinical Etymologist™ , Dr. Kim traces the haunting story of hantavirus from the battlefields of the Korean War to a childhood summer camp by the Hantan River. Through memory, etymology, and pathophysiology, he explores how a tiny rodent-borne virus came to shape global medical history. Along the way, listeners discover the origins of Hanta and Sin Nombre viruses, the mystery of capillary leak syndrome, and the deeply human stories hidden inside medical vocabulary. And yes… the Sodium Doom trilogy will eventually continue.