The article presents an axiological analysis of the medical joke as a specific folkloric and professional genre through which values related to medical practice, group identity, and mechanisms of psychological defense are systematically manifested. The relevance of the work is determined by the dual nature of medical humor: on the one hand, it eases the experience of professional stress and strengthens group cohesion among healthcare workers; on the other, it can conflict with the ethical norms of the profession, devalue patients, and reinforce stereotypes. The aim of the study is to systematize data on the value content of medical humor, identify persistent axiological dilemmas, and describe its culturally specific forms.The work was carried out as a narrative thematic review of a corpus of 18 sources from 1988–2024, including empirical studies (analysis of joke corpora, surveys of medical students, residents, and practicing physicians) and theoretical works on folklore studies, medical anthropology, bioethics, and coping psychology. The material is organized into four thematic blocks: universal values, axiological aspects, cultural markers, and discursive functions of humor.

The results show that medical humor encodes values of professional competence, group solidarity, and emotional self-regulation, serving consolidating, educational, and protective functions. At the same time, a systemic conflict was identified between empathy as an ethical ideal and the distancing, ironic practice of joking, which can provoke patient stigmatization and ethical erosion. It was established that the moral acceptability of humor is determined primarily by the context of its utterance rather than by the content of the joke itself, and that its themes vary significantly depending on national and linguistic tradition. The conclusion is drawn that reflective discussion of the functions, boundaries, and risks of humor should be included in medical education programs.

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