Famous literary deaths

Bedside teaching can be unpredictable - suitable patients for teaching may not be immediately available. There are many accounts of the dying and deaths of historically notable persons, some of which may serve as useful teaching cases.

Chosen, to illustrate this, are several literary figures, all who have made contributions to the literature of palliative care and who had deaths worthy of consideration because of relevant medical issues. Presented will be these historic accounts which provoke reflection about what is a 'good death', the intentional misappropriation of the medical events causing death, the management of difficult symptoms, and the possibility of physician assisted suicide.