Medical Sideline

Dr. Michael A. Petti '37, a well-known Cleveland physician, has found an entertaining but informative method of presenting helpful medical knowledge to the reading public. By combining his professional background with a desire to write, he has placed before the public easy-to-understand medical facts and figures.

His first venture in the field of writing was a comic strip entitled "Dr. Guy Bennett" and this was followed last month by a new cartoon series called "Health Capsules."

"Health Capsules," published by United Features Syndicate, Inc., is an attempt on Dr. Petti's part to inform the public about important and interesting medical matters and at the same time to correct misinformation about medical practices. Dr. Petti has said, "One thing that never ceases to amaze me is the extraordinary amount of misinformation I come across every day in dealing with my patients."

In presenting medical information to the public, he relies upon a method which is brief, eye-catching and contains an element of humor. In less than ten seconds a reader obtains a question and answer to a medical fact, while at the same time an element of humor is added by means of a cartoon.

"Health Capsules," however, are a different approach than that used in the "Dr. Guy Bennett" comic strip. First appearing in April 1955, the comic strip built a story around a particular medical problem, portrayed with unfailing accuracy. It has appeared in over 85 newspapers in fifteen countries, under the pen name Dr. B. C. Douglas.

Dr. Petti's newspaper work is purely a spare-time activity. In addition to his private practice, he is currently assistant clinical professor of medicine at Western Reserve University and a lecturer at Western Reserve Dental School. Dr. Petti also is assistant physician in medicine at the University Hospitals and a consultant at Benjamin Rose Hospital and Crile Veterans Hospital, both in Cleveland. Mrs. Petti also is a doctor and is a graduate of the University of Michigan School of Medicine. They met while both were interning at Lakeside Hospital in Cleveland in 1941.

Today the Petti household includes three sons, Michael Joseph, age 14, Richard James, 12, and Robert Charles, 10.