The Remarkable Surgical Practice of John Benjamin Murphy

Abstract

Members of the staff of Mercy Hospital and Medical Center, Chicago, Ill, have collaborated to publish a summary of the life and work of J. B. Murphy, 1857-1916, the legendary master surgeon and teacher. His writings and operations were so prodigious in number and extent that the editors, R. L. Schmitz, MD, professor emeritus, University of Illinois, and T. T. Oh, chief librarian, Mercy Hospital, wisely have chosen to summarize Murphy's accomplishments in a series of chapters devoted to general surgery, gynecology, neurosurgery, orthopedics, thoracic surgery, urology, vascular surgery, and infectious disease. In addition, there are brief accounts of his life and the Chicago setting in which he flourished. Perhaps only a skilled librarian could collect and record Murphy's enormous output of written material, which is clearly and comprehensively presented at the end of this volume. The reader gains an immediate feeling for the spellbinding performances of Murphy as he