Medical philately: The pen and the scalpel -- the story of medicine and literature.

The medical profession has always been prominent in the cultural life of the community. Many doctors have been able to carry out their professional duties as well as actively to pursue their outside interests. Some have abandoned their medicine altogether -- they have been called 'medical truants'. Literature and medicine have always been closely associated, and a number of literary doctors who have appeared on stamps are presented in this article.