Kate Womersley

The chick and the dead: Clare Holman plays the pathologist Dr Laura Hobson in Inspector Morse. Rex images.

The perfect place to fall in love? The mortuary

22 April 2017 9:00 am

I grew up with a skeleton in the attic. My mother’s clinical training bestowed on our family a short man’s…

How to improve bedside manners

18 February 2017 9:00 am

‘A tricky part of my job,’ the GP said, scrolling through the next patient’s notes, ‘is breaking good news.’ As…

Siri Hustvedt’s thoughts on art, science and the human condition

21 January 2017 9:00 am

This past autumn has felt more uncomfortable than usual to be a woman looking at men looking at women. From…

Conceptual image of Lactobacillus acidolphus that occurs naturally in the gastrointestinal tract and mouth

Want to feel better? Be kind to your bugs

27 August 2016 9:00 am

There are more bacteria in your gut than there are stars in our galaxy. Ed Yong’s book explaining their possibilities is as wondrous as a sacred text, says Kate Womersley

Tommy Wieringa’s Job-like hero has an age-old problem

20 August 2016 9:00 am

With a title like A Beautiful Young Wife, this is of course about the decline of an older husband. Professor…

The lymphatic system of the human head, from a medical textbook of 1883

The enduring mystery of the human body

23 July 2016 9:00 am

It’s not unreasonable to expect that the anatomy syllabus for a medical degree should include breasts. Last year I performed…

The race from the Big C to the Big D

30 April 2016 9:00 am

The ‘journey’ — at least the one played out in public — begins with an announcement that you are incurable.…

A deadly role reversal

6 February 2016 9:00 am

Who would you trust to take a blade to your brain? Medical schools and hospitals, arbiters of this outrageous intimacy,…

Oliver Sacks bids farewell in style

12 December 2015 9:00 am

‘I cannot say there is no vanity in making this funeral oration of myself, but I hope it is not…

The kindness of strangers is a pleasing mystery

17 October 2015 8:00 am

When I applied to medical school, an experienced doctor offered me some advice: ‘Don’t give them reason to think you’re…

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The bewitching charms of Patience Gray

American-English has conquered the world

This ‘love letter’ to Hampstead should have been scrunched up and thrown in the bin

I’m being terrorised by a Surrey family of optometrists

Cartoons

‘So for the backpackers and gap-year students I’ve devised new, comforting Zen Lite.’
‘So for the backpackers and gap-year students I’ve devised new, comforting Zen Lite.’
‘I’m hoping to get a glimpse of the legendary Ruth Davidson.’
‘I’m hoping to get a glimpse of the legendary Ruth Davidson.’
‘OK, are you ready? I’m going to switch on the news.’
‘OK, are you ready? I’m going to switch on the news.’
‘He’s socially awkward but brilliant in his field.’
‘He’s socially awkward but brilliant in his field.’
‘Not only are they fattening — they’re also homophobic.’
‘Not only are they fattening — they’re also homophobic.’
‘…or as it’s known locally, the plotting shed.’
‘…or as it’s known locally, the plotting shed.’
‘It’s scary how the young have been affected by Jeremy Corbyn.’
‘It’s scary how the young have been affected by Jeremy Corbyn.’
‘There’s amazing footage of Theresa May surviving.’
‘There’s amazing footage of Theresa May surviving.’
‘That racket is the dawn chorus.’
‘That racket is the dawn chorus.’
‘Feeling cheap, used and empty usually means the detox has worked.’
‘Feeling cheap, used and empty usually means the detox has worked.’
‘Darling, they’re playing our ringtone!’
‘Darling, they’re playing our ringtone!’
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