The Classic

Abstract

Edgar M. Bick (1902–1978) (Fig 1) spent his entire life in New York City. He was educated in the public schools and attended Columbia University from which he received an AB, a master of arts, and a doctor in medicine, the latter in 1927. After an internship and a year of study in various clinics in Europe, he became an orthopaedic resident at the Hospital for the Ruptured and Crippled, now the Hospital for Special Surgery. At the completion of his residency, he entered practice in New York City, where he worked primarily at the Mount Sinai Hospital. When the Mount Sinai School of Medicine was established in 1968, Bick was made an emeritus clinical professor of orthopaedic surgery. His practice was interrupted by service in World War II. He was the orthopaedic surgeon for the 3rd General Hospital as it moved through North Africa, through Italy, and into southern France. He became a regional orthopaedic consultant in the European Theater of Operations. Bick was a fellow of the New York Academy of Medicine, serving as chairman of its orthopaedic section and as a member of its library committee. It was this association with the library that sparked his interest in the history of orthopaedic surgery and led to the publication of the “Source Book of Orthopaedic Surgery,” which became a standard reference on the subject. Bick had a busy orthopaedic practice. He had a great interest in the field of geriatrics and published several articles on the subject of diseases and injuries of the aged. One of these articles was chosen as The Classic.