A Note From the Editors
Dear Readers,
Welcome to the fifth edition of The Lumen – an art & literary magazine of the University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences.
As an initiative of the Medical Humanities Club, The Lumen celebrates the intersection of art, history, literature, and medicine. Amidst an environment of scientific research and clinical experience, it aims to cultivate an appreciation of the soft sciences; a seemingly niche area that perhaps should not be so obscure.
As editors and future physicians, we are not unaware of our privilege. Patients seek healthcare not only in their most vulnerable states, but in some of the most important moments of their lives. We experience birth, death, suffering, and recovery in all their humanness, and so it is only fair that we see our patients fully. Beyond a list of symptoms and ailments lie endless stories, the intricate layers of which we will only unfurl if we pay attention. This serves as a reminder of the profound importance of the humanities, which are essential to understanding the human condition.
We hope The Lumen can connect our academic experiences with our more personal ones, illuminating a diversity of voices within our community and showing that the humanities are not separate from, nor are they simply ancillaries to medicine.
In medicine and biology, a lumen, as our colleagues very well know, is the innermost part of something. A lumen may house blood or bile, may carry or absorb, may empty and fill. We at the Medical Humanities Club and The Lumen editorial board see the arts and humanities as occupying a central, luminal position in the world of medicine.
We encourage you to contribute to future editions and to explore more of our work on our website, www.lumenmag.org. Please reach out to us at utcomls.lumen@gmail.com with any feedback or thoughts—we’d love to hear from you!
Finally, we extend our deepest thanks to our contributors, who spent their precious time creating pieces that intrigue, inspire, and empower. We are grateful for the support we’ve received from mentors, faculty, and the College. We are especially thankful to Dr. Hussain, our editor-in-chief and faculty advisor, for his constant guidance, to Dr. Matus for her commitment to the medical humanities, and lastly to Dean Ali for his generous support.
The Lumen Editorial Board
Thu Nguyen, MS4
Lena Berz, MS3
Zainab Lughmani, MS3
Jack Newman, MS2
Solee Cheon, MS2
Back — Left to Right: Dr. S. Amjad Hussain, Solee Cheon, Jack Newman
Front — Left to Right: Thu Nguyen, Zainab Lughmani, Lena Berz
