William Osler (1849-1919) is widely regarded as one of the most
influential physicians of the late 19th and early 20th century and a key
figure in the history of medicine. Besides his research activities and
his dedicated scientific work, Osler's greatest contribution to the
medical world has been the system of residency which he developed at the
Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, thus introducing a new and deeply
humanistic approach to the strictly scientific realm of traditional
medicine. Harvey Cushing (1869-1939), a former student and close friend
of Osler's and a pioneer of neurosurgery, has himself become an icon of
modern medicine. He was one of the first physicians to use x-rays for
diagnosing brain tumours, he developed revolutionary methods of blood
pressure measurement, and he discovered Cushing's syndrome, the first
autoimmune disease identified in a human being. This monumental
biography earned him the Pulitzer Prize in 1926.