Paul R. Cazier

PAUL R. CAZIER received an M.D. from the University of Chicago. He is currently a clinical instructor in neuroradiology at the University of California, San Francisco. He and his wife have three children.

Embracing the Flesh: In Praise of the Natural Man

Articles/Essays – Volume 31, No. 2

Ten years ago I cut to pieces another human being. Using scalpel, electric bone saw and tweezers, and blunt dissection, I slowly removed the flesh from her body over a six-month period. I was never arrested, nor charged with any crime. In fact, I was encouraged by the society around me. It was considered part of the learning process.

Stealing the Reaper’s Grim: The Challenge of Dying Well

Articles/Essays – Volume 32, No. 4

I first encountered death at age three when my infant brother, after only one day of life, succumbed to respiratory failure. I have few memories of the viewing, but do recall the delicate blue veins on the side of his infant scalp. There was great sorrow in the chapel. But, as the years passed, his death became an abstraction. Now, over three decades later, after witnessing a fair amount of human suffering and death, both through personal experiences and my professional role, the process of dying is no longer an abstraction to me. I have, in fact, become a reluctant authority.