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Full-Text Articles in Arts and Humanities
Vivien Thomas: Master Craftsman, Gifted Teacher, And Unsung Hero., Alisha Joyner, B.S., Charles J. Yeo, Md, Pinckney J. Maxwell, Iv, Md
Vivien Thomas: Master Craftsman, Gifted Teacher, And Unsung Hero., Alisha Joyner, B.S., Charles J. Yeo, Md, Pinckney J. Maxwell, Iv, Md
Department of Surgery Gibbon Society Historical Profiles
The field of pediatric cardiovascular surgery gained international recognition in 1944 with the first successful correction of a tetralogy of Fallot congenital anomaly in a 15-month-old patient. Dr. Helen Taussig (1898 to 1986), a pediatrician at Johns Hopkins Hospital, recognized the need for the procedure. Dr. Alfred Blalock (1899 to 1964), Chief of Surgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital, is credited with performing the surgery. However, there is an unsung hero who for many years did not receive a single mention in the medical literature. Vivien Thomas (1910 to 1985) was Dr. Blalock’s research assistant who is said to have stood …
Francis Daniels Moore: One Of The Brightest Minds In The Surgical Field., Sara L. Low, Bs, Charles J. Yeo, Md, Scott W. Cowan, Md, Ashesh P. Shah, Md
Francis Daniels Moore: One Of The Brightest Minds In The Surgical Field., Sara L. Low, Bs, Charles J. Yeo, Md, Scott W. Cowan, Md, Ashesh P. Shah, Md
Department of Surgery Gibbon Society Historical Profiles
Francis Daniels Moore was a pioneer ahead of his time who made numerous landmark contributions to the field of surgery, including the understanding of metabolic physiology during surgery, liver and kidney transplant, and the famous Study on Surgical Services of the United States (SOSSUS) report of 1975 that served for decades as a guideline for development of surgical residencies. He was the epitome of what a physician should be, a compassionate and dedicated surgeon, innovative scientist, and a medical professional dedicated to quality medical education across all specialties.
Dr. Mary Edwards Walker: Years Ahead Of Her Time., Dre M. Irizarry, Bs, Nicole Salomone, As, Karen A. Chojnacki, Md, Charles J. Yeo, Md, Scott W. Cowan, Md, Linda J. Bogar, Md
Dr. Mary Edwards Walker: Years Ahead Of Her Time., Dre M. Irizarry, Bs, Nicole Salomone, As, Karen A. Chojnacki, Md, Charles J. Yeo, Md, Scott W. Cowan, Md, Linda J. Bogar, Md
Department of Surgery Gibbon Society Historical Profiles
Women phsycians in the United States were virtually nonexistent in the early to mid-1800s. Traditional medical schools still did not accept women, and few secretarian or eclectic medical schools were beginning to open their doors to female students. In 1849 at Geneva College, Elizabeth Blackwell became the first woman to achieve a medical degree in the United States.1 At the time of the Civil War, the few women who had managed to obtain medical degrees mainly served as nurses in the war, because society was not yet ready to accept the female physician.2 Dr. Mary Edwards Walker would help change …
Francis F. Maury, M.D. (1840 To 1879): An Often Forgotten Pioneer In Early American Surgery., Guillaume S. Chevrollier, B.S., Scott W. Cowan, Md, Charles J. Yeo, Md, John C. Kairys, Md
Francis F. Maury, M.D. (1840 To 1879): An Often Forgotten Pioneer In Early American Surgery., Guillaume S. Chevrollier, B.S., Scott W. Cowan, Md, Charles J. Yeo, Md, John C. Kairys, Md
Department of Surgery Gibbon Society Historical Profiles
Francis F. Maury (Fig. 1) was born on August 9, 1840, in Danville, Kentucky, where he was raised on a farm by his mother and father. His father was an Episcopal clergyman of Huguenot descent, whose forefathers had fled from France to escape religious persecution. After receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree from Center College in the summer of 1860, he entered medical school at the University of Virginia. After one full term, he matriculated to Philadelphia’s Jefferson Medical College and completed his medical education as a private student under the direction of Dr. Samuel D. Gross.1, 2 He obtained …
Ambroise Paré (1510 To 1590): A Surgeon Centuries Ahead Of His Time., James T. Shen, B.S., Michael Weinstein, Md, Alec C. Beekley, Md, Charles J. Yeo, Md, Scott W. Cowan, Md
Ambroise Paré (1510 To 1590): A Surgeon Centuries Ahead Of His Time., James T. Shen, B.S., Michael Weinstein, Md, Alec C. Beekley, Md, Charles J. Yeo, Md, Scott W. Cowan, Md
Department of Surgery Gibbon Society Historical Profiles
In their extensive writings, Hippocrates and Celsus counseled physicians to be knowledgeable in both the medical and surgical management of patient recovery. However, their words fell by the wayside because cutting of the body was forbidden by the Roman Catholic Church. Furthermore, the contemporaneous Arabic medical teachings emphasized tradition and authority over observation and personal experience. This created an ever-growing rift between the schools of surgical and pharmacologic medicine with both groups denying their involvement in the other domain. Surgeons had been plagued by postoperative complications including infection, malnutrition, and muscular wasting for centuries. Surgeons were forced to re-examine how …
Edoardo Bassini (1844-1924): Father Of Modern-Day Hernia Surgery., Wei Phin Tan, B.S., Harish Lavu, Md, Ernest L. Rosato, Md, Charles J. Yeo, Md, Scott W. Cowan, Md
Edoardo Bassini (1844-1924): Father Of Modern-Day Hernia Surgery., Wei Phin Tan, B.S., Harish Lavu, Md, Ernest L. Rosato, Md, Charles J. Yeo, Md, Scott W. Cowan, Md
Department of Surgery Gibbon Society Historical Profiles
According to Roman scripture, it was Celsus who attempted the first inguinal hernia repair in history during the first century A.D. His attempts were unsuccessful and resulted in an early recurrence of the hernia, which eventually led to the patient’s death.1 Over the next two millennia, little understanding was gained regarding the anatomy of the inguinal canal. It was only in the last 100 years that major advancements in herniorrhaphy were established, thanks in large part to the work of Edoardo Bassini, who revolutionized the surgical treatment of the inguinal hernia with a technique which has become the basis of …
Abdominal Intercostal Hernia: A Rare Complication After Blunt Trauma., Phi D Nguyen, B.A., Michael J. Pucci, Md, Jay S. Jenoff, Md, Scott W. Cowan, Md
Abdominal Intercostal Hernia: A Rare Complication After Blunt Trauma., Phi D Nguyen, B.A., Michael J. Pucci, Md, Jay S. Jenoff, Md, Scott W. Cowan, Md
Department of Surgery Gibbon Society Historical Profiles
Abdominal intercostal hernia (AIH) is uncommonly reported in the literature with only 20 cases reported to date.1–3 We report a case of a delayed incarcerated AIH secondary to blunt trauma from a motor vehicle accident in which the colon and diaphragm herniated through an associated chest defect that was repaired successfully through a transabdominal approach using primary repair of the defect in combination with onlay porcine patch reinforcement.
Samuel D. Gross, M.D. (1805-1884): An Innovator, Even In Death., Peter R. Bucciarelli, B.S., John C. Kairys, Md, Ernest L. Rosato, Md, Charles J. Yeo, Md, Scott W. Cowan, Md
Samuel D. Gross, M.D. (1805-1884): An Innovator, Even In Death., Peter R. Bucciarelli, B.S., John C. Kairys, Md, Ernest L. Rosato, Md, Charles J. Yeo, Md, Scott W. Cowan, Md
Department of Surgery Gibbon Society Historical Profiles
Dr. Samuel Gross' contributions to the field of surgery are well known and range from numerous clinical advances to pioneering scholarship and professional activities. Dr. Gross was ceaselessly ambitious and even remarked in his autobiography that his ‘‘conviction has always been that is far better for a man to wear out than to rust out.’’1 It is through this frame of motivation that Dr. Gross lived his life.
John Chalmers Dacosta (1863-1933): Restoration Of The Old Operating Table., Madalyn G. Peters, Md, Adam C. Berger, Md, Gordon Schwartz, Md, Mba, Facs, Charles J. Yeo, Md, Scott W. Cowan, Md
John Chalmers Dacosta (1863-1933): Restoration Of The Old Operating Table., Madalyn G. Peters, Md, Adam C. Berger, Md, Gordon Schwartz, Md, Mba, Facs, Charles J. Yeo, Md, Scott W. Cowan, Md
Department of Surgery Gibbon Society Historical Profiles
John Chalmers DaCosta was an influential chairman and the first Samuel D. Gross Professor of Surgery at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia. He was well known throughout the field as a skilled surgeon, passionate speaker, and exceptional writer. In addition to countless accomplishments during his career, DaCosta was deeply dedicated to the preservation and commemoration of surgical history. This ideology was exemplified when he set out on a mission to recover the old wooden operating table used by many of his iconic mentors including Samuel D. Gross, Joseph Pancoast, and William W. Keen. This table was originally used for surgical …
Baron Guillaume Dupuytren: When Brilliance Combats Professionalism., Sean M. Devitt, Md, Charles J. Yeo, Md, Pinckney J. Maxwell, Iv, Md
Baron Guillaume Dupuytren: When Brilliance Combats Professionalism., Sean M. Devitt, Md, Charles J. Yeo, Md, Pinckney J. Maxwell, Iv, Md
Department of Surgery Gibbon Society Historical Profiles
Baron Guilluame Dupuytren was a French anatomist and surgeon who practiced during the 1800s and is considered by some to be the most brilliant and gifted surgeons of his time. His contributions to the field of surgery are quite extensive, yet his eccentric personality and attitude toward his colleagues, students, and patients raises a very interesting question: could Dr. Dupuytren (Fig. 1) and his many contributions to the field of surgery have thrived in today’s era of professionalism? The concept of professionalism is emphasized to medical students starting from day one of their medical training. How would Dr. Dupuytren, an …
John Blair Deaver, M.D., And His Marvelous Retractor., Timothy E. Newhook, Md, Charles J. Yeo, Md, Pinckney J. Maxwell, Iv, Md
John Blair Deaver, M.D., And His Marvelous Retractor., Timothy E. Newhook, Md, Charles J. Yeo, Md, Pinckney J. Maxwell, Iv, Md
Department of Surgery Gibbon Society Historical Profiles
John Blair Deaver was born near Buck, Pennsylvania, in Lancaster County on July 25, 1855, to Dr. Joshua Montgomery Deaver and Elizabeth Clair Moore. The elder Deaver was a reputable country physician, educated at the University of Maryland, who fathered three physicians and a college president. John Blair Deaver (Fig. 1) went to boarding school at West Nottingham Academy in Maryland. After boarding school he taught in Lancaster County country schools to raise funds to attend the nation’s first medical school, the University of Pennsylvania. On receiving his M.D. degree in 1878, Dr. Deaver completed 1-year internships at both Germantown …
James Marion Sims, M.D., Ll.D., Jonathan Tavares, B.S., Charles J. Yeo, Md, Pinckney J. Maxwell, Iv, Md
James Marion Sims, M.D., Ll.D., Jonathan Tavares, B.S., Charles J. Yeo, Md, Pinckney J. Maxwell, Iv, Md
Department of Surgery Gibbon Society Historical Profiles
Few physicians have been as celebrated and loathed as James Marion Sims, M.D., LL.D. Dr. Sims’ modest early life and education never could have predicted that he would one day be called the ‘‘Father of American Gynecology.’’1, 2 Lauded by contemporaries and early historians as ‘‘one of the most original and gifted of American surgeons,’’ he performed the first successful operation to correct vesicovaginal fistulas (a condition that prior to 1852 was known as the ‘‘stumbling-block of gynecology’’).1 Today, the same work that earned Dr. Sims fame, fortune, and innumerable honors has been called into question, because of the unethical …
The Evolution Of Cauterization: From The Hot Iron To The Bovie., Michelle F. Deleon, Ms, Charles J. Yeo, Md, Pinckney Maxwell, Iv, Md
The Evolution Of Cauterization: From The Hot Iron To The Bovie., Michelle F. Deleon, Ms, Charles J. Yeo, Md, Pinckney Maxwell, Iv, Md
Department of Surgery Gibbon Society Historical Profiles
The Bovie electrocautery has become a fundamental tool of modern-day surgery, particularly for its integral role in hemostasis, yet despite this landmark invention and its widespread use, there is very little said about the man behind the machine: William T. Bovie. It would be thousands of years from the inception of cautery in medicine until the birth of Dr. Bovie and his device. However, his work in biophysics and collaboration with Dr. Harvey Cushing would revolutionize surgical practice in the early 20th century and forever ingrain his name into the field of surgery.
Robert Milton Zollinger, M.D., Teacher, Surgeon, Soldier, And Farmer., Fiona M. Chory, B.S., Charles J. Yeo, Md, Pinckney J. Maxwell, Iv, Md
Robert Milton Zollinger, M.D., Teacher, Surgeon, Soldier, And Farmer., Fiona M. Chory, B.S., Charles J. Yeo, Md, Pinckney J. Maxwell, Iv, Md
Department of Surgery Gibbon Society Historical Profiles
From Humble roots, Dr. Robert Milton Zollinger worked his way to a position in history among the giants of American surgery. He was born on September 4, 1903, in the central Ohio town of Millersport, the son of Elmira and William Zollinger. Neither of his parents had a high school education, but they supported education and always expressed a confidence that young Robert would be successful at anything he attempted.1 He had aspirations of attending West Point, a dream that was never fulfilled when he decided to be a surgeon. On being informed of his son’s intentions, Zollinger’s father bestowed …
The Gross Clinic, The Agnew Clinic, And The Listerian Revolution., Caitlyn M. Johnson, B.S., Charles J. Yeo, Md, Pinckney J. Maxwell, Iv, Md
The Gross Clinic, The Agnew Clinic, And The Listerian Revolution., Caitlyn M. Johnson, B.S., Charles J. Yeo, Md, Pinckney J. Maxwell, Iv, Md
Department of Surgery Gibbon Society Historical Profiles
Thomas Eakins was an American artist whose unique and prolific style set him apart from other artists of the late 19th century.1 He chose to portray his subjects with intense objectivity, never deviating from reality. Even during his era when art was expected to be always beautiful, demonstrating Victorian morals of decency and decorum, Eakins chose to paint the naked truth.1 Walt Whitman was noted to have said, ‘‘I never knew of but one artist, and that’s Tom Eakins, who would resist the temptation to see what they ought to be rather than what it is.’’2 It was Eakins’ rigid …
John H. Gibbon, Jr., M.D.: Surgical Innovator, Pioneer, And Inspiration., Jordan P. Bloom, B.S., Charles J. Yeo, Md, Herbert E. Cohn, Md, Pinckney J. Maxwell, Iv, Md
John H. Gibbon, Jr., M.D.: Surgical Innovator, Pioneer, And Inspiration., Jordan P. Bloom, B.S., Charles J. Yeo, Md, Herbert E. Cohn, Md, Pinckney J. Maxwell, Iv, Md
Department of Surgery Gibbon Society Historical Profiles
Throughout history there have been many discoveries that have changed the world, including Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity, Alexander Graham Bell’s telephone, and Jack Kilby and Robert Noyce’s microchip. There are a few analogous contributions that have been made in medicine: Sir Alexander’s discovery of penicillin, Lister’s principles of antiseptic technique, Salk and Sabin’s vaccines for polio, as well as numerous others. These innovative thinkers all had two factors in common. First, they were pioneers who faced problems that had no solutions at the time and who refused to accept the status quo in the face of great scrutiny and …
Thomas Dent Mütter: The Humble Narrative Of A Surgeon, Teacher, And Curious Collector., Jennifer A. Baker, B.S., Charles J. Yeo, Md, Pinckney J. Maxwell, Iv, Md
Thomas Dent Mütter: The Humble Narrative Of A Surgeon, Teacher, And Curious Collector., Jennifer A. Baker, B.S., Charles J. Yeo, Md, Pinckney J. Maxwell, Iv, Md
Department of Surgery Gibbon Society Historical Profiles
Thomas Dent Mutter, a beloved teacher, respected colleague, devoted husband, surgical pioneer, and legendary collector, emerged from a tragic childhood as an ambitious young physician who would leave a permanent imprint on medical education (Fig. 1). Dr. Mutter is best known in the Philadelphia area for the museum of medical curiosities, which bears his name. Overflowing with various medical memorabilia, anatomical and pathological specimens, casts, models, watercolors, and historical instruments, the Mutter Museum often overshadows the numerous other contributions Dr. Mutter made during his shortened life.1 A quote from Henry Brooks Adams is quite apropos, ‘‘A teacher affects eternity; he …