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This paper examines the significant contribution of Dr. Valentín Grandis and Dr. Virgilio Ducceschi to the founding and development of experimental physiology at the Faculty of Medical Sciences of the National University of Córdoba (UNC), Argentina. Although the most notable contribution to the field of experimental physiology in Argentina is attributed to Bernardo Alberto Houssay, this study highlights the importance of the previous and fundamental efforts of Grandis and Ducceschi, two Italian professors whose work in Buenos Aires and Córdoba laid the foundations for research and teaching in this discipline. The paper details how, in 1904, the arrival of Valentin Grandis at the UNC marked the formal beginning of the teaching and practice of experimental physiology at the institution, followed by the incorporation of Virgilio Ducceschi, who continued and expanded Grandis' legacy. The work of these two Italian masters involved not only the installation of a state-of-the-art laboratory but also the establishment of a solid academic and scientific foundation that would influence future generations of Argentine physicians and researchers. Through a detailed analysis of their biographies, scientific contributions, and the impact of their work, this paper illustrates how Grandis and Ducceschi were key figures in the development of medical science in Argentina, particularly in the field of experimental physiology. Furthermore, the study highlights the importance of their educational approach and their ability to train disciples who would continue their research, thus ensuring the permanence of their legacy at the National University of Córdoba and in Argentine science in general. In conclusion, this paper vindicates and celebrates the contributions of Valentín Grandis and Virgilio Ducceschi to the initiation of research and experimentation in physiology and biological chemistry at the UNC, highlighting their importance in the advancement of medicine and science in Argentina., (Universidad Nacional de Córdoba)

Competing Interests: Competing interests: Nav Persaud reports being supported by the Canada Research Chairs program, by the Department of Family and Community Medicine at St. Michael’s Hospital within Unity Health Toronto, and by the University of Toronto Department of Family and Community Medicine. Outside of this work, he has received research funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Reseach and the Ontario SPOR Support Unit. No other competing interests were declared.

Summary: The Department of Surgery of the Université de Montréal was officially chartered in 1961, but the structure had been in place since since 1951. The department grew as a fusion of hospital-based surgery training programs from the largest French-speaking hospitals in Montreal. Currently 448 professors (135 women and 313 men) teach in the department. The research activity, both clinical and applied, is in strong progression. The Department of Surgery is the largest French and bilingual training centre in Canada and North America. In 2021 the department will celebrate its 70th anniversary. As members, we should be proud of the work achieved by our predecessors and by the current rank of professors, teachers and researchers. The department strives to promote the essential role of and highlight the rewards and benefits of academic surgery., Competing Interests: Michel Carrier is an associate editor of CJS; he was not involved in the review or decision to accept this manuscript for publication. No other competing interests were declared., (© 2020 Joule Inc. or its licensors)

History provides wonderful insights into how society develops, providing innumerable lessons that can be used as individuals and institutions move into the future. The history of medicine provides particular value, yet it is so often overlooked by the present, society taking for granted what has often been a tremendous struggle to achieve. This overview of the history of paediatric surgery at the University of the Witwatersrand provides amazing insights into what has been achieved in a period spanning three centuries.

Competing Interests: None

Objective: The Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) is one of the pillars of Brazilian Medicine and, in Neurology, has always shown prominence, with notable professors such as Antônio Austregésilo and Deolindo Couto. Historically, practitioners of the UFRJ Medical School have discovered neurological signs that, although used in medical and academic practice, have never been published. Our aim was to bring these signs to the forefront so that they become properly recognized and studied., Methods: We conducted our search by questioning 49 professors and physicians by e-mail about neurological signs that they remembered having had contact with at UFRJ., Results: We report on the unpublished pillow sign in progressive supranuclear palsy; the Brazilian sandal sign in functional or malingering patients; the dermographism sign in acute meningitis; the reverse forearm rolling sign in functional palsies; the cycling maneuver in parkinsonian syndromes and the Sá Cavalcanti sign, a Babinski equivalent. We have also recollected the following published signs for their historical relevance: the Austregésilo sign (Antônio Austregésilo), another Babinski equivalent; the digiti quinti rolling sign in subtle palsies (Péricles Maranhão) and the digiti quinti sign in hemiplegic migraine (Maurice Vincent). These signs are easily reproduced and have potential clinical applicability, deserving to be more thoroughly studied., Conclusions: Through a qualitative methodology, we have identified six original unpublished neurological signs known by the academic community, establishing the contribution of these individuals to the expansion of neurological semiology.

Dr. James McCune Smith, the first African-American to obtain a medical degree, has a remarkable legacy of historical proportions, yet his immense impact on society remains relatively unknown. He may be most celebrated for his effectiveness in abolitionist politics, however, his pioneering influence in medicine is equally remarkable. As examples, McCune Smith pioneered the use of medically based statistics to challenge the notion of African-American racial inferiority. He scientifically challenged the racial theories promoted in Thomas Jefferson's Notes on the State of Virginia (Jefferson T., 1832), and he was a harsh critic of phrenology (study of the shape and size of the cranium as a supposed indication of character and mental abilities). Furthermore, notwithstanding being denied entry to America's universities and medical societies because of his race, McCune Smith became a giving physician to orphans, an accomplished statistician, medical author, and social activist who worked to end slavery. His pioneering work debunked doubts about the ability of African-Americans to transition into free society. Specifically, he used his training in medicine and statistics to refute the arguments of slave owners and prominent thought leaders that African-Americans were inferior and that slaves were better off than free African-Americans or white urban laborers. Frederick Douglass, narrator of the Anti-Slavery Movement, cited Dr. James McCune Smith as the single most important influence on his life. Dr. McCune Smith, along with Frederick Douglass, Gerrit Smith, John Brown and other intellectual pioneers of the time, were instrumental in making the elimination of slavery possible.

The Royal College of Surgery of New Spain, in Mexico City, was established by decree of King Carlos III, in Spain, on March 17, 1768. Two surgeons from the Royal Colleges of Surgery of Cádiz and Barcelona were sent to the new continent, to start the activities of this school. The peninsular Spanish surgeons brought with them the most recent knowledge of European surgery, as well as more rational methods in the surgical treatment of some diseases. The Royal College of Surgery allowed to regulate and professionalize the practice of Surgery in New Spain., (Copyright: © 2019 Permanyer.)

Objective: To describe the highlights in the personal, professional, and political life of the first Brazilian Professor of Psychiatry., Methods: The article draws on a wide range of documents: newspaper articles, documents of Brazilian medical institutions, scientific articles, theses, and books., Results: João Carlos Teixeira Brandão was a distinguished 19th-century Brazilian psychiatrist and leader of the institutionalization and consolidation of the field of Psychiatry in Brazil. He contributed to the recognition of the professional jurisdiction of the "alienist", a specialized professional, qualified in clinical practice, diagnosis, and the definition of the boundaries between sanity and madness, based on scientific criteria, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries., Conclusion: This article highlights the key moments in the professional and political career of Professor João Carlos Teixeira Brandão, from his graduation from the Rio de Janeiro School of Medicine in 1877 to his death in 1921, when he was still active in national politics.

This lecture remembers Professor Nicolai Volodos, a pioneer innovator and a giant in vascular and endovascular surgery, who performed the first endovascular repair of a thoracic aneurysm in 1987 and developed a complex endovascular program by the end of the 1980s. The manuscript recalls major innovations and innovators in vascular surgery, examines the challenges innovators and those who adopt innovations face and discusses the modern meaning of the Hippocratic Oath. The author concludes that surgical innovations are essential to advance cost-effective care, and shared decision making on adopting new therapies by an ethical surgeon and a well informed patient is the cornerstone of ethical patient care., (Copyright © 2018 European Society for Vascular Surgery. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest

Objective: "History, Theory, Ethics of Medicine" (German: "Geschichte, Theorie, Ethik der Medizin", abbreviation: GTE) forms part of the obligatory curriculum for medical students in Germany since the winter semester 2003/2004. This paper presents the results of a national survey on the contents, methods and framework of GTE teaching. Methods: Semi-structured questionnaire dispatched in July 2014 to 38 institutions responsible for GTE teaching. Descriptive analysis of quantitative data and content analysis of free-text answers. Results: It was possible to collect data from 29 institutes responsible for GTE teaching (response: 76%). There is at least one professorial chair for GTE in 19 faculties; two professorial chairs or professorships remained vacant at the time of the survey. The number of students taught per academic year ranges from <100 to >350. Teaching in GTE comprises an average of 2.18 hours per week per semester (min: 1, max: 6). Teaching in GTE is proportionally distributed according to an arithmetic average as follows: history: 35.4%, theory 14.7% and ethics 49.9%. Written learning objectives were formulated for GTE in 24 faculties. The preferred themes of teaching in history, theory or ethics which according to respondents should be taught comprise a broad spectrum and vary. Teaching in ethics (79 from a max. of 81 possible points) is, when compared to history (61/81) and theory (53/81), attributed the most significance for the training of medical doctors. Conclusion: 10 years after the introduction of GTE the number of students and the personnel resources available at the institutions vary considerably. In light of the differences regarding the content elicited in this study the pros and cons of heterogeneity in GTE should be discussed.

Pierre and François have been the key figures of the Mauriac five children. Pierre introduced his hospital service in Bordeaux to bio-clinic and was a well-known professor before he became the dean of the Faculty from 1936 to 1945. As hero during the Great War he remained loyal to the "victor of the battle of Verdun" while his brother Frangois became a fervent 'Gaullist', "each of them climbing the same mountain along another side" according to François Mauriac in 1966. Pierre was a writer too and a medical adviser for the novelist.

During most of the nineteenth century, the discipline of pathology in Boston made substantial strides as a result of physicians and surgeons who practiced pathology on a part-time basis. The present essay tells the subsequent story, beginning in 1892, when full-time pathologists begin to staff the medical schools and hospitals of Boston. Three individuals from this era deserve special mention: William T Councilman, Frank Burr Mallory and James Homer Wright, with Councilman remembered primarily as a visionary and teacher, Mallory as a trainer of many pathologists, and Wright as a scientist. Together with S Burt Wolbach in the early-to-mid-twentieth century, these pathologists went on to train the next generation of pathologists-a generation that then populated the various hospitals that were developed in Boston in the early 1900s. This group of seminal pathologists in turn formed the diagnostically strong, academically productive, pathology departments that grew in Boston over the remainder of the twentieth century.

Doris Gordon Memorial Oration delivered to RANZCOG Annual Meeting, Wellington, 2 October, 2015.

Dr. Julie Phillips, an Associate Professor of Family Medicine at Michigan State University College of Human Medicine, has contributed several poems to Families, Systems, and Health over the last 2 years. This month's issue features her fourth poem in this journal, titled "Autumn Chores" (Phillips, 2015). We were interested in learning more about Julie's creative writing, why she writes poetry, how she balances writing and a demanding academic medical career, and what she hopes her poems might contribute to clinical practice and medical education. Colleen Fogarty interviewed her to find out the answers in this article. Julie's poems are indeed, as she says, carved from small moments in time, but they have a disproportionately large emotional impact. Her poems tackle issues such as the tension between medical and parental authority; professional boundaries; worklife balance; the still-gaping holes in our health care system; and what it means to care for others. To read her work, please search the journal index. (PsycINFO Database Record, ((c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).)