The House of God - Cultural References

Cultural References

In-jokes abound in the work. One of the principal characters is Eat My Dust Eddie, a doctor so-called because of the saying embroidered on his jacket. His name is often abbreviated as EMD, which is also the acronym of the feared terminal cardiac event electromechanical dissociation, otherwise known as pulseless electrical activity.

In 1984, a film was made out of the book but never released in theaters or on VHS/DVD. The film was shown on HBO a few times, mostly as filler in non-peak hours. It starred Charles Haid as The Fat Man, Tim Matheson as Roy, with Bess Armstrong, Ossie Davis, Sandra Bernhard, and Michael Richards in supporting roles.

The TV medical sitcom-drama Scrubs features numerous references to The House of God, which was reading material for some of the show's writers.. "Turfing", "Bouncing" and "Gomers" occasionally feature in the show's dialogue. In the episode "My Balancing Act", Dr. Cox quotes the Zebra rule ("Newbie, do you happen to know what a zebra is? It's a diagnosis of a ridiculously obscure disease when it's much more likely that the patient has a common illness presenting with uncommon symptoms. In other words, if you hear hoof-beats, you just go ahead and think horsies -- not zebras.") And in the episode "My Student", J.D. quotes the medical student rule, "A famous doctor once said, 'Show me a med student that only triples my work, and I'll kiss his feet.'" One episode focuses on Dr. Dorian saving a patient by "doing nothing," which is a major theme of the novel.