Life of Sir William Osler, Volume 2

William Osler (1849-1919) is widely regarded as one of the most influential physicians of the late 19th and early 20th century and a key figure in the history of medicine. Besides his research activities and his dedicated scientific work, Osler s greatest contribution to the medical world has been the system of residency which he developed at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, thus introducing a new and deeply humanistic approach to the strictly scientific realm of traditional medicine.
Harvey Cushing (1869-1939), a former student and close friend of Osler s and a pioneer of neurosurgery, has himself become an icon of modern medicine. He was one of the first physicians to use X-rays for diagnosing brain tumours and he developed revolutionary methods of blood pressure measurement. He also discovered Cushing s syndrome, the first autoimmune disease identified in a human being.
This monumental biography earned him the Pulitzer Prize in 1926.