Preview
  • Discover Magazine's Vital Signs

  • True Tales of Medical Mysteries, Obscure Diseases, and Life-Saving Diagnoses
  • By: Dr. Robert A. Norman
  • Narrated by: Mark Moseley
  • Length: 7 hrs and 14 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (106 ratings)

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Discover Magazine's Vital Signs

By: Dr. Robert A. Norman
Narrated by: Mark Moseley
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Publisher's summary

From a case of hysterical paralysis to a pregnancy puncturing a lung, twenty-five of the most thrilling medical mysteries known to man (and doctor)."Vital Signs," a popular column featured in Discover Magazine, has long been a favorite of readers, showcasing, each month, fascinating new tales of strange illnesses and diseases that baffle doctors and elude diagnosis. Each tale is true and borders on the unbelievable.

It's no wonder that throughout the years the column has become an unofficial textbook for medical students, interns, doctors, and anyone interested in human illness and staying healthy.

Now, physician and "Vital Signs" editor Robert Norman has compiled the very best of the series into an intriguing and suspenseful collection for fans and new listeners alike. A young woman carries a baby that wasn't her own - and wasn't even a human; Aretha Franklin gives a physician the insight needed to save a life; a modern gynecologist faces an ancient disease. These cases and more, representing a wide variety of unique medical anomalies and life-or-death situations, bring listeners to the front lines of the medical fray.

Fans of hit medical dramas such as House MD will savor the opportunity to listen to the real-life cases that puzzled doctors, the gripping detective work that ensued, and the completely unexpected, often life-saving diagnoses. Discover Magazine's Vital Signs is a glimpse into the exciting work of real medical professionals, told from their perspective, and revealing that anything can happen in medicine. Listeners will never look at a "routine check-up" the same again.

©2013 Robert A. Norman (P)2013 Audible, Inc.
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Editorial reviews

"Vital Signs" is a wildly popular column in Discover magazine that describes bizarre, comical, and sometimes squeamish medical cases and mysteries.

This thrilling audiobook, compiled by Dr. Robert A. Norman, and narrated with gripping simplicity by Mark Moseley, compiles the best real-life articles from the series, including: a pregnant woman whose unborn baby may or may not even be human, the recurrence of an ancient disease thought to be eradicated, the time Aretha Franklin told a perplexed doctor how to save a patient’s life, and many more crazy tales.

Pretend you’re a detective mastermind, get your sleuthing hat on, and see if you can solve these outlandish medical mysteries.

What listeners say about Discover Magazine's Vital Signs

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Nice compilation of medical stories

Overall a very nice, and digestible, group of stories. I listened to them on my walk to and from work.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Fascinating and enlightening

(As posted in GoodReads)
I would love to be able to subscribe just to Discover magazine's "Vital Signs signs" column, but I'm not sure how I would do that, but the subject matter truly intrigues me!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Fascinating stories

As a retired clinical pharmacist, I found all of these stories fascinating! There were a couple of times that I had to re-pronounce some words that the narrator had said in my head to figure out what he was saying! LOL! But I know many people pronounce the name of medication and procedures differently. Downloaded this to keep me company for a 6 Hour drive and it was well worth the time to listen to it.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Not for a hypochondriac!

The incorrect pronunciation of many medical terms was very irritating. Please re-record this correctly. Many of the stories were very basic and will bore those with some medical background but most are fascinating and all well presented, succinct and suspenseful for any layman. Beware that everyone will identify with symptoms in some of the stories so anyone with hypochondriac tendencies should avoid this.

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4 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Phenomenal and fascinating

This book is very well written, well narrated and an absolute pleasure to listen to! Get it and you will be drawn in to the interesting case presentations, it is by far my favorite Audible book so far!

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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Unique and entertaining

Any additional comments?

I really enjoyed listening to the articles and trying to figure out what was going on in each situation. I have a fairly substantial history with medicine, which helped, but I don't think would be necessary to enjoy this book.
I very rarely give 5 star reviews; I reserve those for books that change my life. While this one was educational and fascinating, it just didnt blow my cocks off.

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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Tedious

Half of the book seems to be repetitive biographies of the contributors to the book. The incidents themselves were lacking although I'm sure not so to the individuals involved.

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3 people found this helpful