Influential Physician Research Articles

Diet and metabolism are back: The oldest known Islamic medical manuscript bridges the gap from ancient to modern gout management.

Gout is a chronic disease frequently associated with lifestyle; its prevalence is increasing in Western societies, as well as in the Middle East. Apart from its partial genetic features, diet accounts for 12% of the causality of the disease, while purine-rich foods contribute decisively to its development and evaluation. The influential Persian physician of the medieval ages, Abu Bakr Muhammad Ibn Zakariya al-Razi (or by his Latin name Rhazes; 860-925 AD), wrote a short book (20 chapters) entitled 'Treatise on gout'. Rhazes adopted the Hippocratic humoralism, and suggested that the disease results from metabolic excess in the peripheral blood, presenting sex dimorphism and age-dependence. His therapeutic guidelines include a diet prescribed by a physician, the use of laxatives and emetics, counter-balancing excess or deficiency of bile or phlegm and analgesics, bloodletting, foot and steam baths, as well as salves and poultices as preventive measures. He appends differential dietary restrictions/suggestions for phlegmatic or choleric patients: Small rations and intake of good quality foods low in purine by 20% for phlegmatic and 28% for choleric patients, as well as the restriction of foods high in purine by 27% for phlegmatic and 22% for the choleric patients. Finally, the acidic to alkaloid food intake ratio suggested is 2/5 for choleric and 3/7 for phlegmatic patients. His suggested foods and drugs are vitamin C and B-rich complexes, thereby inhibiting the accumulation of tophi.

In the Tradition of William Osler: A New Biohumanistic Model of Psychiatry.

William Osler (1849-1919) is often considered the most influential physician in the emergence of science-based medicine. However, his approach to clinical medicine tends to be misunderstood, and its relevance to psychiatry has not been explored systematically. Osler's approach to the patient had four components: biological reductionism about disease, a scientific approach to clinical diagnosis, therapeutic conservatism, and a humanistic approach to the person. These concepts conflict with the pragmatic, eclectic, anti-reductionistic assumptions of contemporary psychiatry, as codified in its interpretation of a "biopsychosocial" model. This model leads to unscientific practice, with excessive use of medications given for symptoms, and inattention to identifying and treating diseases. This article suggests that implementing Osler's philosophy of medicine in psychiatry would greatly benefit the latter. It would inaugurate a new "biohumanistic" approach to psychiatry.

Miao Zunyi - his life, writings and students

Miao Zunyi was an influential physician in the mid-Qing Dynasty. He was self-taught as he read a great amount of prescription books of traditional Chinese medicine. He was proficient in medical theories but flexible in treatment. It was recorded in Draft of Qing History that Miao Zunyi, Ye Tianshi and Xue Shengbai were named as "the three schools of Wuzhong". He began to write books in his later years. He wrote prefaces to Pulse Causes, Syndrome and Treatment (Mai Yin Zheng Zhi) and Wu Yi Hui Jiang. His existing works include Treatise on Febrile Disease (Shang Han Ji Zhu), Wen Re Lang Zhao, Song Xin Notes and Song Xin Medical Cases. Miao's Medical Cases and Song Xin Tang Yi An Jing Yan Chao. He had many remarkable students, such like Huang Tang, Guan Ding, Miao Song, and Shen Nianzu.

Evaluation of the National Institutes of Health–Supported Relative Citation Ratio Among Fellowship-Trained American Orthopaedic Joint Reconstruction Surgery Faculty: A New Bibliometric Measure of Scientific Influence

BackgroundThe relative citation ratio (RCR), a novel National Institutes of Health–Supported measure of research productivity, allows for accurate interdisciplinary comparison of publication influence. This study evaluates the RCR of fellowship-trained adult reconstructive orthopaedic surgeons with the goal of analyzing potentially influential physician demographics. MethodsAdult Reconstruction Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education fellowship-trained faculty for orthopaedic residency programs were identified via departmental websites. The National Institutes of Health’s iCite database was retrospectively reviewed for mean RCR, weighted RCR, and publication count by surgeon. Multivariate analyses were performed using the Wilcoxon rank-sum tests and analyses of variance testing to compare sex, career length, academic rank, and professional degrees in addition to an MD or DO. Significance was considered P < .05. ResultsA total of 488 fellowship-trained adult reconstruction faculty from 144 programs were included in the analysis. Overall, the faculty recorded a median RCR of 1.65 (interquartile range: 1.01-2.28) and a median weighted RCR of 16.59 (interquartile range: 3.98-61.92). The weighted RCR and total number of publications were associated with academic rank and career longevity, while the mean RCR was associated with academic rank. The median RCR ranged from 1.12 to 1.87 for all subgroups. ConclusionAdult reconstruction faculty are exceptionally productive and generate highly impactful studies as evidenced by the high median RCR value relative to the National Institutes of Health standard value of 1.0. Our data have important implications in the assessment of grant outcomes, promotion, and continued evaluation of research influence within the hip and knee community.

Understanding attributes and characteristics of the PA leader-physician relationship.

This study sought to evaluate the attributes and characteristics of physician mentors, dual-roled physician assistant (PA) leaders, and how this relationship affects PA leaders and the PA leader-physician relationship. Dual-role PA leaders may possess additional formal job titles and duties as well as having direct reports. We surveyed PA leaders at a single large academic medical center and its associated health system. The survey instrument evaluated perceptions, attitudes, and characteristics of the PA leader and influential physician and their relationship. Of the 56 PA leaders surveyed, 34 responded, for a 60.7% response rate. Effective communication was the most prevalent relational characteristic ranked as most important for both PA leaders (30%) and physician mentors (36%). Additional self-identified positive attributes of the team included collaborative mindset, reliability/trustworthiness, work ethic, and delivery of patient care. Influential physician mentors may have a significant effect on PA leader job satisfaction and career advancement. This is a novel study of PA leaders examining perceptions, beliefs, and characteristics of the PA leader-physician relationship. PAs are integral healthcare team members and medical providers. As PAs work closely in physician-led teams, further understanding the PA leader-physician relationship could influence PA and physician professional development, career trajectory, and healthcare team outcomes.

Celebrating the Life of David S. Warner, MD: Influential Academic Physician, Scientist, Mentor, and Friend.

Celebrating the Life of David S. Warner, MD: Influential Academic Physician, Scientist, Mentor, and Friend.

UNANI PERSPECTIVE OF OLIGOMENORRHOEA: AN UPDATED LITERARY RESEARCH

Infrequent and scanty menstruation is a common problem in women belonging to reproductive age group. Oligomenorrhoea affects 6-18% of women of reproductive age and is mostly managed by hormone therapy which has got its own side effects. One of the most influential Iranian physician, Avicenna (980-1037 A.D.) in his famous book, Canon of medicine, describes oligomenorrhoea under the title of ihtibas-i-tamth. According to USM, normal menstruation is an indicator of healthy normal reproductive organs. One of the main function of the uterus is to excrete the khūn-i-hayd (menstrual blood) which should be normal in amount and duration. Any kind of imbalance between quwwat-i-masika (retentive faculty) and quwwat-i-dafi‘a (expulsive faculty) of rahim (uterus) causes menstrual irregularities. It is caused by domination of khilt balgham (phlegm) which increases the viscosity of blood. Majoosi stated the cause of qillat-i-tamth is su’i-mizāj bārid of rahim (cold temperament of uterus) and siman mufrit (obesity). Unani physicians have given a line of management based on correction of temperament, menstrual regulation by regimental therapies and emmenagogue drugs.

The genitourinary and reproductive systems: Interpretation of Avicenna's (980–1037 AD) treatise in the Canon of Medicine

Avicenna (also known as Ibn Sina 980–1037 AD) was the most influential Persian physician and scholar in the medieval times (9–12th century AD). Avicenna contributed to various fields of medicine, astronomy and metaphysics during his time. In the field of basic medical sciences, Avicenna systematically described the anatomy and pathology of various organs of the human body and devised surgical interventions towards the treatment of disorders associated with them. Avicenna compiled his famous book the Canon of Medicine which went on to become a reference textbook of medicine in the region and the West. Although neither formal human cadaveric dissection nor surgical training was recorded during his time, the anatomical and surgical information presented in the Canon of Medicine is comparable to modern literature. In the current vignette, we present an analysis of the basic structural anatomy and functional aspects of the genitourinary and reproductive systems and some reproductive concepts presented in the Canon of Medicine textbook and compare their relevance in modern medical literature. We found Avicenna's information on these systems to be congruent to modern anatomy and physiology literature. The only differences are attributed to the differences in the experimental approaches with Avicenna's information being derived in an era with less technological advances especially on the histology of organs. However, Avicenna's information in this treaty can be regarded as pioneering in the fields of urology and gynaecology.

The Neglected Role of Buddhism in the Development of Medicine in Late Imperial China Viewed through the Life and Work of Yu Chang (1585-1664).

Despite significant revisions over recent decades, the field of medicine in late imperial China continues to be defined by a number of problematic boundaries such as that between medicine and religion. In this article I challenge the validity of this boundary through a detailed examination of the life and work of the hugely influential seventeenth-century physician Yu Chang (1585-1664), whose openly Buddhist critique of literati medicine has hitherto largely escaped the attention of medical historians. I argue that Yu Chang's case, read against the more widespread revival of Buddhism at the time, the important historical role of literati-Buddhist networks, and evidence of many other late imperial physicians' interest in Buddhism, was not exceptional. A wider reevaluation of Buddhism's role in the development of medicine in late imperial China as well as its historical neglect is therefore called for.

GyanPrakashEmergency Chronicles: Indira Gandhi and India's Turning PointPrinceton: Princeton University Press, 2019. 439 pp. Index.

GyanPrakashEmergency Chronicles: Indira Gandhi and India's Turning PointPrinceton: Princeton University Press, 2019. 439 pp. Index.

An irritable state: the contingent politics of science and suffering in anti-cancer campaigns in South India (1940–1960)

This article traces the making of anti-cancer campaigns in South India. Set at the cusp of decolonization, it explores how provincial physicians and women activists framed cancer care in the 1940s and 1950s. It offers insights into the argumentative, contingent ways in which public health concerns were framed and mobilized in Indian cities between a middle class public, medical experts and state agency. These cancer campaigns and local health debates have been neglected because historians have tended to focus on national level, political visions of health, on debates regarding international aid, transfer of medical technology, and targeted disease control programs. This has also shaped and limited how we have understood the complex, changing meanings and expectations of health and development in newly decolonized societies such as India. Analyzing the activist campaigns and writings of Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddi an influential physician, renowned Women’s Indian Association leader, and legislator, and tracing the making of urban, anti-cancer networks, I argue that cancer care campaigns both invoked and challenged nationalist and developmental priorities, and questioned assumptions about what were termed as ‘normative’ diseases and health risks in India. Even though they spoke of the curative, technoscientific and specialized aspects of cancer treatment and urged its provision in local hospitals, they also encouraged the state and philanthropists to assume moral responsibilities for care and chronic suffering. They built on contemporary social and political metaphors, especially Tamil cultural representations of women. These ideas created emerging spaces for debates through multiple discursive ambits that emerged while trying to articulate and balance ‘needs’ that were seen as dichotomous and competing between managing population wide, curable diseases and the needs of a vocal, minority of advocates supporting cancer care. These debate were no doubt also limited by the visions of middle-class women, urban philanthropy, and engagements with male political leaders, and health officials.

Revisiting Avicenna's (980–1037 AD) anatomy of the abdominal viscera from the Canon of Medicine

Avicenna (980-1037 A.D) was the most influential Iranian physician and philosopher in the medieval era. Avicenna composed and compiled treaties on various aspects of medicine in his famous book the Canon of Medicine. Avicenna's treaties have inspired countless debates in all fields of medicine including basic medical sciences. In his treaties, Avicenna adopted the practical approach to the descriptions of the human body and the diseases associated. He made substantial contribution to the medical literature and medical education through his observations and clinical studies. In the current treaties we analysed the anatomy extracts on the topographic and functional anatomy on the abdominal viscera including the gastrointestinal tract presented in the Canon of Medicine and compared to them to extant anatomical textbooks, particularly those adopted in modern curriculums. We found that Avicenna described fairly the anatomy and topographic relations of the abdominal viscera and associated digestive organs. Avicenna's anatomy contributed immensely to the evolution of anatomical sciences and related medical disciplines despite being written 1000 years ago.

Francis Andrew Boddy

Francis Andrew Boddy, who has died in Glasgow aged 82, was an influential public health physician, researcher, and educator, who made an important contribution during a key period in the...

Promoting free flow in the networks: Reimagining the body in early modern Suzhou.

The history of Chinese medicine is still widely imagined in terms dictated by the discourse of modernity, that is as ‘traditional’ and ‘Chinese.’ And yet, so as to be intelligible to us moderns, it must simultaneously be framed through categories that make it comparable somehow to the ‘West’ and the ‘modern’ from which it is said to be essentially different. This is accomplished, for instance, by viewing Chinese medicine as fundamentally shaped by cosmological thinking, as focusing on process rather than matter, and as forever hampered by attachments to the past even when it tries to innovate. At the same time, it is described as pursuing its objectives in ways that make sense in ‘our’ terms, too, such as the goal of creating physiological homeostasis through methods of supplementation and drainage. In this paper, I seek to move beyond this kind of analysis through a two-pronged approach. First, by focusing on the concept of tong 通 - a character that calls forth images of free flow, connectivity, relatedness and understanding - I foreground an important aspect of Chinese medical thinking and practice that has virtually been ignored by Western historians of medicine and science. Second, by exploring how the influential physician Ye Tianshi 葉天士 (1664–1746) employed tong to advance medical thinking and practice at a crucial moment of change in the history of Chinese medicine, I demonstrate that physicians in early modern China moved towards new understandings of the body readily intelligible by modern biomedical anatomy. I argue that this mode of analysis allows us to transcend the limitations inherent in the current historiography of Chinese medicine: because it allows for comparison to emerge from our subject matter rather than imposing our imaginaries onto it in advance.

How to make opinion leaders and influence people.

At face value, a key opinion leader (or more commonly “KOL”) in medicine is an influential physician or researcher who is held in high esteem by their colleagues. The term originates from studies of influence in the 1940s by communications theorist Paul Lazarsfeld, who was skeptical about how

An Account of ... William Cullen: John Thomson and the Making of a Medical Biography.

John Thomson's An Account of the Life, Lectures and Writings of William Cullen (1832; 1859) remains a primary source for the career of the most influential academic physician in eighteenth-century Scotland and is also a significant work of medical history. But this multi-authored text, begun around 1810 by the academic surgeon, John Thomson, but only completed in 1859 by Dr David Craigie, has its own complex history. This chapter addresses what this history can reveal about the development of medical biography as a literary genre. It argues that the Account is a hybrid work shaped by a complex array of practical, domestic, intellectual, and professional pressures, as Thomson, in seeking to bolster his own career, was caught between the demands of Cullen's children for a traditional "Life" and his own more theoretical and socio-cultural interests.

Encomium: Giovanni Neri—Polyhedral and down‐to‐earth mentor

Encomium: Giovanni Neri—Polyhedral and down‐to‐earth mentor

A discussion with digital health pioneer Dr. Eric Topol

Digital health pioneer Dr. Eric Topol was the most influential physician executive in the United States in 2012, according to a national poll by Modern Healthcare . Topol is a professor of genomics and the Gary and Mary West Endowed Chair of Innovative Medicine at the Scripps Research Institute in

To Repent or To Rationalize: Three Physicians Exchange Letters on the Ethics of Experimentation in Postwar Medicine

In the late 1990s, three prominent figures of 20th-century medicine-Paul Beeson, Howard Burchell, and Shimon Glick-exchanged private letters on the ethics of experimentation in the years following World War II. What began as a brief published back-and-forth blossomed into a long correspondence filled with humor and wisdom even in the face of continued disagreement. The history of postwar investigation unfolds memorably in their letters, starting with the whistleblowing of Beecher and Pappworth and moving into the 21st century. The heart of the discussion focuses on the ethics of consent and legitimate risk in clinical investigation, and on the prevalence of violations of patients' rights. Glick openly discusses his views about the widespread practice of their subjection to experiments without benefit or unrelated to their conditions. In opposition, Burchell claims that accusations of ethical misconduct during this period were exaggerated, and that most of these studies would pass review boards today. Just when things seem to reach an immutable impasse, Beeson weighs in with keen insight and personal experience. The debate provides not only an intimate perspective on some of the most influential physician investigators of the last half-century, but also a context for productively approaching ethical questions of today.

Muhammad Akbar Arzānī (–1772): Mughal physician and translator

Muhammad Akbar Arzānī was an influential Mughal physician famous throughout Iran and South Asia. His reputation is considered from contemporary accounts of his importance within the broader scholarship in South Asian culture and history. A brief synopsis of his life is provided, followed by a bibliography of his writings. Arzānī made Greco-Arabic knowledge accessible for Indo-Persian audiences in the 18th century.