Did Sir William Osler perform an autopsy at the Johns Hopkins Hospital?
Sir William Osler was the preeminent internist of his time, who also worked as a pathologist for a considerable period during his career. Between 1876 and 1889, he performed nearly 1000 autopsies in Montreal, Quebec, and Philadelphia, Pa. Many authors concluded that Osler stopped performing autopsies once he moved to Baltimore, Md, because the autopsy service was organized under William Welch, the professor of pathology. However, this assertion has been contradicted by a recent biography of Dr Osler. To reexamine this issue, the autopsy records of The Johns Hopkins Hospital and relevant publications were examined. The evidence suggests that Dr Osler was an enthusiastic, and sometimes engaged, observer of Hopkins autopsies but that he did not function as an autopsy prosector.
Lucey
Brendan P
BP
Department of Neurology, Washington University Medical Center, St Louis, MO, USA. brendanlucey@hotmail.com
Hutchins
Grover M
GM
D001344:Autopsy / Q000266:history*; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006784:Hospitals, Teaching / Q000266:history*; D006801:Humans; D008396:Maryland; D010340:Pathology, Surgical / Q000266:history*; D012577:Schools, Medical / Q000266:history