title: James Lawrence Cabell, one of the most influential of America's early surgeons.
abstract: Dr. James Lawrence Cabell was one of the most important, farsighted, and influential surgical educators and leaders in the United States in the 19th century. He was appointed as Chair of Surgery and Physiology at the University of Virginia by Thomas Jefferson's successor as Rector of the University, James Madison, and held that Chair for over 50 years, the longest tenure of any American medical academician. He was a founding member of the American Medical Association, the American Surgical Association, and the National Board of Health. He is best remembered as an articulate, incessant, and early proponent of public health and the delivery of quality health care in the United States. His legacy and that of his protégés has continued to influence health care in this country, especially in the realm of the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases, even into the present time.
authors.affiliation: Division of Vascular Surgery at the University of Texas at Houston, Houston, Texas, USA.
authors.forename: Joseph
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: DuBose
authors.forename: Curt
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tribble
mesh_terms: D004501:Education, Medical / Q000266:history*; D013502:General Surgery / Q000193:education / Q000266:history*; D049672:History, 19th Century; D006801:Humans; D008887:Military Medicine / Q000266:history*; D011634:Public Health / Q000266:history*; D012955:Societies, Medical / Q000266:history; D014481:United States; D014768:Virginia