title: Alfred W. Adson (1887-1951): his contributions to surgery for tumors of the spine and spinal cord in the context of spinal tumor surgery in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
abstract: Alfred W. Adson was a pioneer in the field of neurosurgery. He described operations for a variety of neurosurgical diseases and developed surgical instruments. Under his leadership the Section of Neurological Surgery at the Mayo Clinic was established and he functioned as its first chair. Adson's contributions to the understanding of spinal and spinal cord tumors are less well known. This article reviews related medical records and publications and sets his contributions in the context of the work of other important pioneers in spinal tumor surgery at the time.
authors.affiliation: Division of Neurosurgery, Department of Surgery, University of Alabama at Birmingham;
authors.forename: Christoph J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Griessenauer
authors.forename: R Shane
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Tubbs
authors.forename: Mohammadali M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Shoja
authors.forename: Joel
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Raborn
authors.forename: Christopher J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Boes
authors.forename: Martin M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Mortazavi
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lanzino
mesh_terms: D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D009493:Neurosurgery / Q000266:history*; D013120:Spinal Cord Neoplasms / Q000266:history*; D013125:Spinal Neoplasms / Q000266:history*