Anatomy is, moreover, the science which, of all others, excites the greatest curiosity

Abstract

Jean Cruveilhier (1791–1874), as translated by Pattison (1853), has said, Anatomy is, moreover, the science which, of all others, excites the greatest curiosity Pattison (1844). The translator of Cruveilhier's text is not well known to most. Granville Sharp Pattison (1791–1851) (Figure 1) trained at the University of Glasgow and was an anatomist and surgeon who taught in both Europe and the United States. His career was riddled with controversy and scandals including accusations of grave robbing, surgical malpractice, and adultery, and many quarrels with such notables as Charles Bell. William Osler referred to him as “that vivacious and pugnacious Scot.” Pattison was known to frequently challenge others to duels and kept a pair of pistols on his desk Pattison (1987). However, Pattison was not without his achievements and was author of Experimental Observations on the Operation of Lithotomy, Philadelphia, 1820. In Baltimore he edited the second edition of Allan Burns’ Observations on the Surgical Anatomy of the Head and Neck, which was published in 1823. In 1820 he edited the American Recorder, and the Register and Library of Medical and Chirurgical Science, Washington, 1833–6; and was co-editor of the American Medical Library and Intelligencer, Philadelphia, 1836. He translated Joseph Nicolas Masse's Anatomical Atlas. This issue of Clinical Anatomy is also the product of great curiosity with papers dedicated to muscle atrophy in patients with pathology of the acetabulum, ultrasongraphy-guided axillary nerve blockade via an anterior approach, the influence of aging on the insertion of Achilles’ tendon, and structures at risk during sacrospinous ligament fixation procedures.