the funny hungarian

Sometimes pharmacology can be quite entertaining.  Today was one of those days.  This morning's two-hour lecture was about antibiotics, which would normally be a huge snooze-fest.  (Let's face it, who really wants to learn about the differences between penicillin, nafcillin, oxacillin, cloxacillin, ampicillin, amoxicillin, carbenicilin, ticarcillin, mezlocillin, and piperacillin?  No takers? Because the differences between cefazolin, cephalothin, cephalexin, cephradine, cefoxitin, ceflacor, cefprozil, cefotaxime, cefoperazone, ceftazidime, ceftriaxon, and cefixime are really quite riveting.)  However, we were lucky enough to have Dr. K lecture today.  He is originally from Hungary, has a thick accent (which almost sounds Russian), is in his mid-60s(?), wears glasses that make his eyes look about 3 times their normal size, and he holds his arms like a tyrannosaurus rex.  He says some very entertaining things on occasion, and today he brought his A-game.  Here are some gems...hopefully you don't need to be a nerdy science geek like me to appreciate these.

"Unfortunately, you can't listen to the sweet music of bacteria dying."

"I don't have lots of personal experience with drugs.  I teach pharmacology, I don't live it."  (At this point, my friend Kim leaned over and whispered "Unlike Dr. P...she has a personal story for everything!"  Indeed she does.  Our lecture on "drugs of abuse" was chock full of anecdotes.)

"I had scarlet fever as a child, back when penicillin was the new drug.  It wasn't really available yet, but my father managed to get some.  You see, he was a wealthy business man...or he was...until the Communists came and took it away, but that is a whole other story..."

"When I was in the army, I would see the soldiers come back from the 'weekend excursions.'  And they would be taking small steps because...[gestures downward]...it hurts like hell.  And they would come to me and say, 'Doc, I have a problem.'  And I would say, 'Take it out, let me see.' And it was gonorrhea.  Three shots of pen V was all it took, but it is not like that today."

True story.  Hopefully the rest of the antibiotic lectures will be equally as entertaining.  Because it will be hard to listen to anyone else ramble on about ketoconazole, itraconazole, fluconazole, voriconazole, clotrimazole, and miconazole and be able to pay attention.