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Harvey Williams Cushing

Born

in Cleveland, Ohio, The United States

April 08, 1869

Died

October 07, 1939

Website

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvey_Williams_C...

Genre

Science, Medicine, Neurosurgery

Influences

William Osler

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Harvey Williams Cushing (April 8, 1869 – October 7, 1939) was an American neurosurgeon. A pioneer of brain surgery, he was the first person to describe Cushing's syndrome. He is often called the "father of modern neurosurgery."

In the beginning of the 20th century he developed many of the basic surgical techniques for operating on the brain. This established him as one of the foremost leaders and experts in the field. Under his influence neurosurgery became a new and autonomous surgical discipline.

He considerably improved the survival of patients after difficult brain operations for intracranial tumors.

He used x-rays to diagnose brain tumors.

He used electrical stimuli for study of the human sensory cortex.

He played a pivotal role in developm Harvey Williams Cushing (April 8, 1869 – October 7, 1939) was an American neurosurgeon. A pioneer of brain surgery, he was the first person to describe Cushing's syndrome. He is often called the "father of modern neurosurgery."

In the beginning of the 20th century he developed many of the basic surgical techniques for operating on the brain. This established him as one of the foremost leaders and experts in the field. Under his influence neurosurgery became a new and autonomous surgical discipline.

He considerably improved the survival of patients after difficult brain operations for intracranial tumors.

He used x-rays to diagnose brain tumors.

He used electrical stimuli for study of the human sensory cortex.

He played a pivotal role in development of the Bovie electrocautery tool with W. T. Bovie, a physicist.

He was the world's leading teacher of neurosurgeons in the first decades of the 20th century.

Arguably, Cushing's greatest contribution came with his introduction to North America of blood pressure measurement. On visiting colleague Scipione Riva-Rocci, an Italian physician, Cushing was astonished at Riva-Rocci's non-invasive way to measure intra-arterial pressure. In 1896, Riva-Rocci developed a wall-mounted mercury manometer linked to a balloon-inflated cuff that would measure the pressure needed to compress arterial systolic pressure, i.e. systolic blood pressure measurement. Riva-Rocci's design was based on a more primitive version developed by French physician Pierre Potain. Cushing brought back a sample of Riva-Rocci's sphygmomanometer, and blood pressure measurement became a vital sign and its use spread like wildfire across the US and western world as a direct contribution by Harvey Cushing. Its use remained until Russian physician Nikolai Korotkov included diastolic blood pressure measurement in 1905 (after he discovered the famed "Korotkoff sounds") with his modern sphygmomanometer, which also replaced the mercury manometer with a smaller, round dial manometer.

Cushing's name is commonly associated with his most famous discovery, Cushing's disease. In 1912 he reported in a study an endocrinological syndrome caused by a malfunction of the pituitary gland which he termed "polyglandular syndrome." He published his findings in 1932 as "The Basophil Adenomas of the Pituitary Body and Their Clinical Manifestations: pituitary Basophilism". Cushing was also awarded the 1926 Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography for a book recounting the life of one of the fathers of modern medicine, Sir William Osler. In 1930, Cushing was awarded the Lister Medal for his contributions to surgical science. As part of the award, he delivered the Lister Memorial Lecture at the Royal College of Surgeons of England in July 1930. Cushing was elected to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in 1934, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of London. He served as president of the History of Science Society in 1934.

In 1988, the United States Postal Service issued a 45 cent postage stamp in his honor, as part of the Great Americans series.

Aside from Cushings many accomplishments, he developed many surgical instruments that are still in use today, most notably the Cushing Forcep. This instrument is used to grasp the thick tissues of the scalp during cranial surgery. He also developed a surgical magnet while working with the Harvard Medical Unit in France during World War I to extract bullets from the heads of wounded soldiers.

In 2010, Yale placed on display Cushing's collection of brain specimens. There is also a collection of his papers at the National Library of Medicine. ...more

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Harvey Williams Cushing’s books

Average rating: 4.11 · 46 ratings · 4 reviews · 19 distinct works

	The Life of Sir William Osler 4.38 avg rating — 16 ratings — published 1956 — 10 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	William Osler, the Man 4.08 avg rating — 13 ratings — published 2014 — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The life of Sir William Osler, Volume 1 3.80 avg rating — 10 ratings — published 2010 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The life of Sir William Osler, Volume 2 3.75 avg rating — 4 ratings — published 2007 — 12 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	From a Surgeon's Journal, 1915-1918 really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 2 ratings — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Dr. Garth the Kit-Kat poet 1661-1718 it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating — published 2013 — 22 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Intrakranielle Tumoren: Bericht über 2000 Bestätigte Fälle mit der Zugehörigen Mortalitätsstatistik by Harvey Williams Cushing, F.K. Kessel 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — published 1935 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Consecratio Medici; And Other Papers 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Tumors of the Nervus Acusticus and the Syndrome of the Cerebellopontile Angle 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — published 2015 — 29 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Pituitary Body and its Disorders; Clinical States Produced by Disorders of the Hypophysis Cerebri. An Amplification of the Harvey Lecture for December, 1910 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — published 2010 — 43 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Quotes by Harvey Williams Cushing (?)

“A physician is obligated to consider more than a diseased organ, more than even the whole man—he must view the man in his world.”
― Harvey Cushing

tags: disease, physician, science, view, world

12 likes

“There is only one ultimate and effectual preventative for the maladies to which flesh is heir, and that is death.”
― Harvey Cushing

tags: death, effectual, flesh, humor, maladies, prevention, science

2 likes

“The capacity of man himself is only revealed when, under stress and responsibility, he breaks through his educational shell, and he may then be a splendid surprise to himself no less than to his teachers.”
― Harvey Williams Cushing

tags: disease, medicine, responsibility, stress

0 likes

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Topics Mentioning This Author

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NonFiction Pulitzers: * Biography/Autobiography List	13	133	May 05, 2020 09:21AM

Harvey Williams Cushing’s Followers (8)

Harvey Williams Cushing

Combine EditionsHarvey Williams Cushing’s books

Topics Mentioning This Author

Combine Editions
Harvey Williams Cushing’s books