Metaphors are used daily by doctors as a way to communicate with patients. Rather than using complex jargon or literal language, doctors use metaphors to create images that can be more easily understood. However, the way metaphors are used, especially in medicine, can drastically alter the patient’s understanding of what the doctor is actually trying to convey. For example, On Immunity: An Inoculation by Eula Biss compares disease to Dracula as a way of allowing the reader to understand the unstoppable spread of a virus. In contrast, “The Trouble with Medicine’s Metaphors” by Dhruv Khullar describes how disease is often thought of as a battle and how these kinds of military metaphors can obscure the patient’s understanding of the disease. Both pieces of work help to show how metaphors can be used to both inform and obscure the patient’s understanding of the field of medicine. 

To begin with, in On Immunity: An Inoculation, Biss uses metaphors to show the stigma of vaccines by initially comparing them to vampires. Biss states that, “Known to feed on the blood of babies, the vampires of that time became a ready metaphor for the vaccinators who inflicted wounds on infants”(Biss 14). Similar to how vampires are known to inject their teeth into babies and other humans in order to suck blood, vaccinators were known for causing physical wounds on patients as well as injecting them with foreign substances. This kind of metaphor allowed people to only think of doctors as monstrous beings who inject harmful substances in the form of vaccines to patients. However, Biss notes that, “But it is difficult to read [Dracula] as a vaccinator. Of all the metaphors suggested within the plentiful pages of Dracula, disease is one of the most obvious”(Biss 15). Biss notes that similarly to the spread of a virus, Dracula spreads his evil as soon as he arrives in England by biting a woman who later feeds on children. This slight change in the wording of the metaphor helps to create a completely different interpretation in the reader’s mind and allows them to decide whether vaccinators or diseases are more destructive to the human body. 

In this example, the metaphor is used as a way to inform the reader. The first metaphor used allows the reader to understand how vaccinators can be dangerous. While doctors are now considered as compassionate healers, they were once considered as “a last resort and frequently a precursor to death”(Hochberg, 2007). According to “The Doctor’s White Coat: An Historical Perspective” by Dr. Mark S. Hochberg, “Until the last third of the 1800s, an encounter with a physician rarely benefited the patient. In fact, up to that point, virtually all of “medicine” entailed many worthless cures and much quackery”(Hochberg, 2007). As a result, doctors were often associated with death rather than being able to heal their patients during this Victorian era. Similar to how Dracula is seen as a demonic death-causing monster, doctors were seen as the last people patients saw before they died. Therefore, this created a negative reputation for doctors among the general public. The addition of these vaccines didn’t help either as they were seen as unknown substances that could alter the purity of the body. On the other hand, the second metaphor used allows the reader to understand that disease can be just as, if not more, dangerous to the human body as doctors. Similar to Dracula spreading his evil across England, diseases are able to spread their infectious traits across the human body and cause more harm than good. These two metaphors help inform the public to make a choice about what they prefer, whether that be the vampire-vaccinator or the deadly disease. These examples help to show how multiple metaphors of the same topic, especially in the field of medicine, are important in helping to inform the reader/patient. 

Moreover, in “The Trouble with Medicine’s Metaphors”, Khullar demonstrates how using military metaphors can do more harm than good to a patient. Throughout the article, Khullar states how using militaristic terms such as “battle” as a comparison for illness can lead to more emotional distress for the patient. Khullar states that, “studies that have interviewed cancer patients around the time of diagnosis and followed them for years have found that patients who view their disease as an ‘enemy’ tend to have higher levels of depression and anxiety, and poorer quality of life than those ascribe a more positive meaning”(Khuller 6). Doctors who use militaristic metaphors intend to encourage their patients to continue fighting their disease. However, this creates an unwanted consequence as many patients just become more distressed which further lowers their health. 

This example obscures the patient’s understanding of illness. Militaristic metaphors create winners and losers and may further discourage the patient if they feel that they aren’t doing enough to “beat” their disease. As a result, the patient may create a negative self-image where they can only see themselves as weak and as losers in the situation. Although these metaphors work for certain patients, it’s important for doctors to recognize the patients who would most benefit from these kinds of metaphors. 

In conclusion, metaphors are used in a variety of ways in the field of medicine. Sometimes they can be used as a way to further inform the reader as seen with Biss’ writing as they allow the reader to open their mind to different perspectives. However, other times they can be detrimental to the patient’s health as seen in the examples used by Khuller as they can prevent the patient from having a positive outlook on their condition. Using the same metaphors for every patient won’t lead to all patients viewing their disease in the same way. Overall, it is important for doctors and other healthcare providers to recognize what metaphors work best for certain patients. This will help to prevent patients from blaming themselves for their condition and overall improve the patient’s quality of life. 

Works Cited 

Biss, E. (2016). On Immunity: An Inoculation. Fitzcarraldo Editions. 

Hochberg, M. S. (2007, April 1). The Doctor’s White Coat: An Historical Perspective. Journal of 

Ethics | American Medical Association. https://journalofethics.ama-assn.org/article/doctors-white-coat-historical-perspective/2007-04 

Khullar, D. (2014a, August 7). The Trouble With Medicine’s Metaphors. The Atlantic.