From the New York University School of Medicine comes LitMed Database: "a collection of literature, fine art, visual art and performing art annotations." This database was launched in 1996 and is currently edited by Lucy Bruell. The database currently contains well over 3,000 resources related to the medical humanities. Visitors may browse these resources alphabetically in the A-Z index, where annotations can be explored by title, author/artist/director, keyword, or genre. Alternatively, visitors can also browse the collection by format (e.g. painting/ drawing; fiction; film, T.V., video). Each entry includes a summary of the item's content along with additional commentary. In addition, entries are tagged with themes for easy browsing. For example, an entry about the television show Downton Abbey includes the tags caregivers, family relationships, trauma, and war and medicine (among others). This database may be especially helpful to educators interested in leading discussions about the portrayal of health and medicine in literature and popular culture. In addition, this database may also be useful for practitioners and patients looking for resources about a specific topic.
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